Retooled Notre Dame softball team reaches CVCT final before losing in extras
May 23, 2025 at 7:00 a.m.
The Notre Dame High, Lawrenceville, softball team entered this season with a lot of new faces after graduating a dynamic senior class that included one of the state’s top pitchers.
Adopting the next-girl-up attitude, the Irish remained a force in the Colonial Valley Conference – one of the best leagues in the state – and reached the inaugural CVC Tournament’s championship game after winning the now-defunct Mercer County Tournament three of the past four years.
And while the ending was not a happy one for the Irish, it reflected the tenacity they displayed all season. Third-seeded Notre Dame (11-8) battled for nine innings before dropping a 4-0 heartbreaker to fourth-seeded Hightstown on May 20 at Ewing’s Armstrong Park.
Bianca Pesce“Both teams fought hard; I’m just so proud of our girls,” first-year Irish coach Mike McQuarrie said. “From the beginning of the season, they really wanted it. The girls this year wanted to show they played a large part in getting to this point in the last few years. And tonight proved they had a large part of the success in the past.
“Obviously we lost a phenomenal pitcher with Rylee (Michalak),” he continued, “but we had some really good position players who returned, and we get some of them back again next year.”
The Irish appeared to be losing steam as they were saddled with a five-game losing streak heading into the CVCT. But the bats of Riley Cunningham, Addison Louderbach, Madalena Creo and Bianca Pesce heated up as the ND scored 21 runs in wins over West Windsor-Plainsboro North and Robbinsville.
In the finals, however, Hightstown pitcher Kady Olsen provided a huge challenge. The tournament MVP allowed a fourth-inning single to Bella Mayer but no other hits.
Notre Dame’s biggest scoring chance came that same inning. With runners on first and second, Pesce hit a sinking line drive that Hightstown’s Haylie Bustos made a diving catch on to save what would have been the winning run.
“They made every single play in the field,” McQuarrie said. “That’s what it comes down to.”
Pesce matched Olsen’s zeroes on the mound, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the sixth and stranding 12 Ram runners through the first eight innings. Hightstown finally broke through with four in the ninth to end the Irish’s dream, but Pesce’s effort was impressive.
“She’s awesome,” McQuarrie said. “She’s a fighter. She talks on the mound, she’s a leader. She’s everything you would want. I’m super proud of her.”
Notre Dame has a regular-season game with Northern Burlington May 23 and then begins the uber-tough NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A tournament May 27.
“Kady Olsen is a phenomenal pitcher, so we have to learn from this game and as coaches make the adjustments, change things up,” McQuarrie said. “We’re ready to go. We have a really tough bracket but they’re all gonna fight.”
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The Notre Dame High, Lawrenceville, softball team entered this season with a lot of new faces after graduating a dynamic senior class that included one of the state’s top pitchers.
Adopting the next-girl-up attitude, the Irish remained a force in the Colonial Valley Conference – one of the best leagues in the state – and reached the inaugural CVC Tournament’s championship game after winning the now-defunct Mercer County Tournament three of the past four years.
And while the ending was not a happy one for the Irish, it reflected the tenacity they displayed all season. Third-seeded Notre Dame (11-8) battled for nine innings before dropping a 4-0 heartbreaker to fourth-seeded Hightstown on May 20 at Ewing’s Armstrong Park.
Bianca Pesce“Both teams fought hard; I’m just so proud of our girls,” first-year Irish coach Mike McQuarrie said. “From the beginning of the season, they really wanted it. The girls this year wanted to show they played a large part in getting to this point in the last few years. And tonight proved they had a large part of the success in the past.
“Obviously we lost a phenomenal pitcher with Rylee (Michalak),” he continued, “but we had some really good position players who returned, and we get some of them back again next year.”
The Irish appeared to be losing steam as they were saddled with a five-game losing streak heading into the CVCT. But the bats of Riley Cunningham, Addison Louderbach, Madalena Creo and Bianca Pesce heated up as the ND scored 21 runs in wins over West Windsor-Plainsboro North and Robbinsville.
In the finals, however, Hightstown pitcher Kady Olsen provided a huge challenge. The tournament MVP allowed a fourth-inning single to Bella Mayer but no other hits.
Notre Dame’s biggest scoring chance came that same inning. With runners on first and second, Pesce hit a sinking line drive that Hightstown’s Haylie Bustos made a diving catch on to save what would have been the winning run.
“They made every single play in the field,” McQuarrie said. “That’s what it comes down to.”
Pesce matched Olsen’s zeroes on the mound, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the sixth and stranding 12 Ram runners through the first eight innings. Hightstown finally broke through with four in the ninth to end the Irish’s dream, but Pesce’s effort was impressive.
“She’s awesome,” McQuarrie said. “She’s a fighter. She talks on the mound, she’s a leader. She’s everything you would want. I’m super proud of her.”
Notre Dame has a regular-season game with Northern Burlington May 23 and then begins the uber-tough NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A tournament May 27.
“Kady Olsen is a phenomenal pitcher, so we have to learn from this game and as coaches make the adjustments, change things up,” McQuarrie said. “We’re ready to go. We have a really tough bracket but they’re all gonna fight.”