Donovan Catholic softball tops Lancers for sixth SJ Non-Public A title in nine seasons
June 6, 2025 at 10:48 a.m.
What better showcase for the Donovan Catholic, Toms River softball team to display all its talents than a championship game?
The tenacity to rally from the behind – twice.
The ability of a quick-strike offense to turn the game around.
A versatile pitching staff that come at batters from the right or left.
It was all there in the Griffins 8-4 victory over St. John Vianney, Holmdel, in the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A championship game in Toms River June 5.
Donovan Catholic rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 4-3 and, on two consecutive pitches, went from losing by a run to leading by three.
St. John Vianney and Donovan Catholic softball players exchange high fives after the Griffins 8-4 victory over the Lancers in the South Jersey Non-Public A championship game. Photo by Rich Fisher“Those are the moments we’ve had all season,” coach Debbie Schwartz said. “It’s contagious. That’s our philosophy. Keep passing the bat.”
In unseating the two-time Non-Public A state champ, Donovan won its first sectional title since 2022 and its sixth since 2016. It is ranked No. 1 in the state by nj.com.
Senior shortstop Christina Ginex, who played on the Griffins last sectional champion, said it feels even better after not winning it for two years.
“As a senior I wanted to go out with a big bang and that’s definitely what we’re doing,” said Ginex, who had the game’s go-ahead hit. “Every time we went to practice or to a game, we worked harder and harder to get to this game. I’m really proud of every single one of us.”
It was the first SJ NPA crown for junior catcher Jaelynn Nunez, a Toms River East transfer who had a huge offensive game.
“It feels amazing,” Nunez said. “There’s nothing like it.”
The victory puts Donovan Catholic (26-1 record) into the state final against North Jersey champion Mount St. Dominic on June 11 in Newark. Mount St. Dominic lost the title game to St. John Vianney the previous two seasons and to Donovan Catholic in 2022 and 2018.
As someone who has been to the ultimate game before, Ginex will advise the younger players to, “Just believe in your teammates, calm down. It’s just another game, this is another fun time to be out there and live every single minute of it.”
That’s how Donovan got past SJV (18-3), by believing it could rally from behind.
The Lancers, ranked No. 3 in the state, helped by Olivia Lombardi’s two-run single, took a 3-0 lead in the first. Donovan got one back in the bottom of the inning when Nunez was hit by a pitch to force in a run.
“We answered right back,“ Schwartz said. “I felt like we were there the whole time. The kids were in it.”
In the third, Sophia Senger hit an RBI triple and scored on Gia Gordon’s single.
Olivia Lombardi regained SJV’s lead with a leadoff homer in the fourth and, after a hit batsmen, Schwartz inserted the left-handed Senger for the right-handed Gylian Hixenbaugh in the circle.
“Just a different look,” the coach said. “We get a feeling and we have a great combination of pitchers that we trust.
“It’s worked all year for us. It does throw batters off . . . All different looks, that’s helped us with our success.”
After an error put runners on first and second, Senger retired three straight to escape trouble. Her mindset at the time was “I know we all have each other’s backs. The most important thing is to trust each other.”
The offense then went to work.
Bella Maria started the fourth with an outstanding at-bat, fouling off several two-strike pitches before drawing a walk.
“Fantastic at-bat. Wow!” Ginex said. “That had me speechless. She was putting pressure on McDougall and that really showed her talent. When she got that walk it set the tone in our dugout.”
hird baseman Olivia Kurth (right) comes in to celebrate Donovan Catholic's South Jersey Non-Public A title with pitcher Sophia Senger. Photo by Rich FisherOliva Kurth was hit by a pitch and the runners engineered a double steal. Ginex grounded a single through the right side for a 5-4 Donovan lead.
“I just had to calm myself down, I couldn’t get too ahead of myself,” Ginex said. “I wanted to go to the opposite side. To do something so little to make something big happen is a great pleasure.”
Nunez then cracked the first pitch she saw for her ninth homer of the season.
“I just wanted to get a double or single,” she said. “I was looking for a strike and it happened to be right there. It was amazing to go back-to-back (with Ginex). It was perfection.”
The transfer has made a perfect impact on her new team.
“Glad to have her as a teammate and a friend,” Ginex said. “Man can she hit and man can she do the job behind me.”
Schwartz agreed, saying, “She’s delivered this year. She has matured tremendously over the course of the season to prepare for these big moments.”
Isabella Cino capped the uprising by doubling and scoring on a wild pitch, giving Senger a cushion to work with.
“I had some relief,” she said. “My anxiety came down a little bit.”
The senior threw four scoreless innings, yielding just two hits and one walk.
“I couldn’t be more proud of her as a friend and a teammate,” Ginex said. “I couldn’t ask for a better person in that position and she delivered.”
The entire team delivered. Ginex had three hits, Nunez had two hits and three RBI, Kurth and Gordon delivered two hits, Maria had a hit and two runs and Cino and Senger each collected a hit and run.
It was Donovan’s seventh win in the last 10 meetings with SJV, which all came in the conference or state tournament.
“We didn’t bring our best game,” Lancers coach Kim Lombardi said. “We had a couple of miscues pitching and didn’t capitalize when we had people in scoring position.
“I tip my hat to them, I wish them luck all the way through.”
As for her team, Lombardi said, “I thought the season went well. We’ve got work to do for next year but I couldn’t be more proud of my girls.”
Schwartz tipped her hat right back to SJV.
“Anytime you put St. John Vianney and Donovan Catholic on the same field, it’s gonna be a dogfight,” the coach said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kim Lombardi and her team. They have a bunch of great players. We beat a very good team today. “
The St. John Vianney softball team, which had won the previous two Non-Public A state titles, stands along the third baseline during pregame introductions at the South Jersey Non-Public title game. Photo by Rich FisherRelated Stories
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What better showcase for the Donovan Catholic, Toms River softball team to display all its talents than a championship game?
The tenacity to rally from the behind – twice.
The ability of a quick-strike offense to turn the game around.
A versatile pitching staff that come at batters from the right or left.
It was all there in the Griffins 8-4 victory over St. John Vianney, Holmdel, in the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A championship game in Toms River June 5.
Donovan Catholic rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 4-3 and, on two consecutive pitches, went from losing by a run to leading by three.
St. John Vianney and Donovan Catholic softball players exchange high fives after the Griffins 8-4 victory over the Lancers in the South Jersey Non-Public A championship game. Photo by Rich Fisher“Those are the moments we’ve had all season,” coach Debbie Schwartz said. “It’s contagious. That’s our philosophy. Keep passing the bat.”
In unseating the two-time Non-Public A state champ, Donovan won its first sectional title since 2022 and its sixth since 2016. It is ranked No. 1 in the state by nj.com.
Senior shortstop Christina Ginex, who played on the Griffins last sectional champion, said it feels even better after not winning it for two years.
“As a senior I wanted to go out with a big bang and that’s definitely what we’re doing,” said Ginex, who had the game’s go-ahead hit. “Every time we went to practice or to a game, we worked harder and harder to get to this game. I’m really proud of every single one of us.”
It was the first SJ NPA crown for junior catcher Jaelynn Nunez, a Toms River East transfer who had a huge offensive game.
“It feels amazing,” Nunez said. “There’s nothing like it.”
The victory puts Donovan Catholic (26-1 record) into the state final against North Jersey champion Mount St. Dominic on June 11 in Newark. Mount St. Dominic lost the title game to St. John Vianney the previous two seasons and to Donovan Catholic in 2022 and 2018.
As someone who has been to the ultimate game before, Ginex will advise the younger players to, “Just believe in your teammates, calm down. It’s just another game, this is another fun time to be out there and live every single minute of it.”
That’s how Donovan got past SJV (18-3), by believing it could rally from behind.
The Lancers, ranked No. 3 in the state, helped by Olivia Lombardi’s two-run single, took a 3-0 lead in the first. Donovan got one back in the bottom of the inning when Nunez was hit by a pitch to force in a run.
“We answered right back,“ Schwartz said. “I felt like we were there the whole time. The kids were in it.”
In the third, Sophia Senger hit an RBI triple and scored on Gia Gordon’s single.
Olivia Lombardi regained SJV’s lead with a leadoff homer in the fourth and, after a hit batsmen, Schwartz inserted the left-handed Senger for the right-handed Gylian Hixenbaugh in the circle.
“Just a different look,” the coach said. “We get a feeling and we have a great combination of pitchers that we trust.
“It’s worked all year for us. It does throw batters off . . . All different looks, that’s helped us with our success.”
After an error put runners on first and second, Senger retired three straight to escape trouble. Her mindset at the time was “I know we all have each other’s backs. The most important thing is to trust each other.”
The offense then went to work.
Bella Maria started the fourth with an outstanding at-bat, fouling off several two-strike pitches before drawing a walk.
“Fantastic at-bat. Wow!” Ginex said. “That had me speechless. She was putting pressure on McDougall and that really showed her talent. When she got that walk it set the tone in our dugout.”
hird baseman Olivia Kurth (right) comes in to celebrate Donovan Catholic's South Jersey Non-Public A title with pitcher Sophia Senger. Photo by Rich FisherOliva Kurth was hit by a pitch and the runners engineered a double steal. Ginex grounded a single through the right side for a 5-4 Donovan lead.
“I just had to calm myself down, I couldn’t get too ahead of myself,” Ginex said. “I wanted to go to the opposite side. To do something so little to make something big happen is a great pleasure.”
Nunez then cracked the first pitch she saw for her ninth homer of the season.
“I just wanted to get a double or single,” she said. “I was looking for a strike and it happened to be right there. It was amazing to go back-to-back (with Ginex). It was perfection.”
The transfer has made a perfect impact on her new team.
“Glad to have her as a teammate and a friend,” Ginex said. “Man can she hit and man can she do the job behind me.”
Schwartz agreed, saying, “She’s delivered this year. She has matured tremendously over the course of the season to prepare for these big moments.”
Isabella Cino capped the uprising by doubling and scoring on a wild pitch, giving Senger a cushion to work with.
“I had some relief,” she said. “My anxiety came down a little bit.”
The senior threw four scoreless innings, yielding just two hits and one walk.
“I couldn’t be more proud of her as a friend and a teammate,” Ginex said. “I couldn’t ask for a better person in that position and she delivered.”
The entire team delivered. Ginex had three hits, Nunez had two hits and three RBI, Kurth and Gordon delivered two hits, Maria had a hit and two runs and Cino and Senger each collected a hit and run.
It was Donovan’s seventh win in the last 10 meetings with SJV, which all came in the conference or state tournament.
“We didn’t bring our best game,” Lancers coach Kim Lombardi said. “We had a couple of miscues pitching and didn’t capitalize when we had people in scoring position.
“I tip my hat to them, I wish them luck all the way through.”
As for her team, Lombardi said, “I thought the season went well. We’ve got work to do for next year but I couldn’t be more proud of my girls.”
Schwartz tipped her hat right back to SJV.
“Anytime you put St. John Vianney and Donovan Catholic on the same field, it’s gonna be a dogfight,” the coach said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kim Lombardi and her team. They have a bunch of great players. We beat a very good team today. “
The St. John Vianney softball team, which had won the previous two Non-Public A state titles, stands along the third baseline during pregame introductions at the South Jersey Non-Public title game. Photo by Rich Fisher