FINAL CUT: Hun School softball player Brianna Riviello makes contact in a game earlier this spring. Last Thursday, senior third baseman Riviello went 2 for 3 with one RBI as second-seeded Hun fell 3-2 to third-seeded Lawrenceville in the Prep A state semis. The loss left the Raiders with a final record of 14-2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Brianna Riviello and her teammates on the Hun School softball team knew they were in for a scrap as they faced rival Lawrenceville for a third time this spring in the Prep A states semis last Thursday evening.

“We were expecting a tough battle but I think we were prepared,” said senior third baseman Riviello. “We practice hard enough.”

As the rivals battled on a turf field at the Jackson Adventure Sports & Entertainment complex, the teams had a hard time scoring as the game was knotted in a scoreless tie heading into the fifth inning with Hun’s Anna Murphy and Big Red hurler Emma Sung engaged in a tense pitcher’s duel.

Although third-seeded Lawrenceville broke through with three runs in the top of the fifth, the second-seeded Raiders didn’t hang their heads.

“It was a tough inning, one error stacked on top of another error but we rallied at the end,” said Riviello.

In the bottom of the sixth, Riviello stroked a single to drive in a run as the Raiders narrowed the gap to 3-1.

“It was a just a mindset shift,” said Riviello. “I just thought you have to get it done.”

In the bottom of the seventh, the Raiders almost got it done as Payton Poandl belted a run-scoring triple but that ended the scoring as Hun fell 3-2.

“I think we could have come back,” said Riviello, who went 2 of 3 with one RBI in the defeat. “We made a couple of aggressive mistakes.”

While the loss stung as the Raiders ended the spring with a 14-2 record, Riviello was proud of how Hun competed this spring.

“This is my fourth MAPL (Mid-Atlantic Prep League) title win so I am pretty proud of it,” said Riviello, who hit .333 this spring with 12 runs and 10 RBIs. “We approached the season with a different mindset every game. We all did our best and I think it paid off.”

In starring for Hun, Riviello followed in the footsteps of her older sister, Christina, a 2022 Hun alumna.

“She definitely was a mentor, playing with her was so fun,” said Riviello, noting that her sister was at the game last Thursday. “I took that mentorship with some of the younger girls on the team.”
Hun head coach Kathy Quirk liked the way her girls fought against Lawrenceville.

“I was expecting a battle, I was very proud of Murphy and how she carried herself on the mound,” said Quirk. “In the fifth, there were routine plays that we just didn’t make. We never gave up. We just made a couple of mistakes with base running that we normally don’t do.”

Quirk credited Riviello with stepping up under pressure.

“She had been clutch for us a few times,” said Quirk. “I was very happy for her.”

The Raiders, though, didn’t come through enough into clutch despite getting eight hits against the Big Red.

“We just didn’t hit the ball today the way we have been hitting it,” said Quirk. “On Saturday, we beat up on Germantown Academy (a 14-0 win) which was unbelievable.”

In Quirk’s postgame message to her players, she praised them for what they accomplished this spring.

“I told them in our huddle that I never expected to be here or even win a MAPL championship,” said Quirk. “If we were .500, I was going to be happy this year. They believed in themselves. They had games where we weren’t expected to win and we won.”

The team’s senior quintet of Emma [Eisenberg], Kailey [Jacobs], and Sophia Troiano along with Riviello and Murphy helped forge that belief.

“They are going to be very missed,” said Quirk. “Anna did a great job on the mound and Emma did behind the plate. Bri does a great job at third base, Kailey at shortstop and Ginger (Troiano) in left. I am just very proud of them. I am sorry that it had to end the way it did but that is the game.”

Riviello, for her part, is going to miss her Hun teammates.

“It is definitely the girls on the team,” said Riviello, when asked what stands out about her Hun softball experience. “The relationships on the team, that is something you don’t forget.”