By John Spinelli
MIDDLETOWN – If there were a game that summarized the 2024 Middletown North softball season, the May 4 shutout of the Toms River North Mariners would be it. The Lions won 10-0 in six innings at the Rick Unterstein Invitational, improving to 13-3 on the season.
The Lions pounded 11 hits, with Hailey Keiser, Hailey Plath and Madilynn Boyce each producing two hits. Boyce is an excellent hitter with a .393 batting average, but she’s even better in the circle as one of New Jersey’s top pitchers. She threw a one-hitter with 14 strikeouts and three walks to get her over the 200-strikeout mark.
Middletown North is the fourth seed in the upcoming Shore Conference Tournament. Despite a seven-game win streak being snapped by Freehold Township in a tough 1-0 loss May 5, head coach Chris Hoffman’s team has the tools to finish the season strong. Assistant coach Lisa Dias said there’s no secret to this trend.
“We’re having fun out here and these girls are all here supporting each other,” Dias said.
“Compared to last year, the team struggled defensively, but we have really stepped up and, with practice, became better,” she said.
Last year, the Lions fell to Red Bank Catholic in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal and to Robbinsville in the NJSIAA semifinal.
But Boyce has made a difference in both leadership and statistics; she currently leads the Shore Conference in strikeouts with 228 through May 6.
“This team has really pulled through, everyone has chipped in and we’re hitting well,” she said about the season.
Boyce, only as a junior, has verbally committed to Seton Hall University. Her most impressive effort of the 2024 season came against crosstown rival Middletown South when she threw 10 shutout innings with an eye-popping 22 strikeouts resulting in a 1-0 win. She has at least nine strikeouts in every game she’s pitched and is in double-digit Ks in 16 of 17 games. So far, the Lions have secured their second consecutive “A” North title, but Boyce said there are more team goals than just that.
“I think this team is a force to be reckoned with come championship season. When we play our best game, there’s a lot of better teams we could compete with easily,” Boyce said. “We want to win it all and take home the state title, which we think could happen.”
The Rick Unterstein Invitational honors the longtime Middletown South teacher. All admission proceeds support scholarship opportunities for district Middletown students.
Middletown North won its first state softball championship in 2019. Whatever happens during the championship season this year, the future is bright for the Lions; many of the players are underclassmen and will return next year.
The article originally appeared in the May 9 – 15, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
