The combination of Brittany O'Donnell's pitching excellence and Jessica Long's toughness made all the difference on Saturday, as the Red Bank Catholic girls softball team won the NJSIAA Non-Public South title.

Above: Members of the Red Bank Catholic High School softball team celebrate after defeating Immaculate Heart during the NJSIAA Non-Public Group A softball championship, held at Toms River East High School on June 7. Below: Elizabeth Black slides into home plate safely during the game. The Caseys, who just days before had suffered a heart-breaking loss to Toms River East in the Shore Conference Tournament final, came back with a vengeance on Saturday in Toms River, beating Immaculate Heart, 1-0, behind Long's RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth.

That game-winning fly ball came just a little while after Long was taken out by a slide on a play at the plate, as Immaculate Heart's Alyssa Sceppaguercio tried to beat the throw of RBC third baseman Marie Flego on a ground ballwith the bases loaded. After being thrown out, Sceppaguercio took out Long's leg, sending her flying, as the catcher hit the ground hard, with her head taking the brunt of the fall.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Long, however, held onto the ball to record the putout, and eventually stayed in the game to deliver the big sac fly, after Liz Black, the only senior starter on this RBC team, led off the inning with a double down the left field line, and advanced to third on a wild pitch.

"When I saw that (slide against Long), I just got really angry, and I tried to slap it as hard as possible," Black said.

Once Long got ahold of the 1-0 pitch and laced it to center field, Black knew she was going to score.

"I tagged up and just ran my hardest all the way home," she said.

Long also knew she had delivered the big hit as soon as it left the bat.

"I just knewthat I just had to get the ball in play, and even if I didn't, I knew that my teammates would," she said. "I started getting pumped as I was going down to first base, even as the ball was caught, because I knew Liz was going to score."

That run was all the remarkable O'Donnell would need, as the junior worked out of a couple of trouble spots to stymie the Blue Eagles. For five innings, O'Donnell was her unhittable self, allowing only a fifth-inning single. Immaculate Heart's best chance to score came in the sixth, after the play at the plate. The Blue Eagles proceeded to load the bases with two hit batsmen and a walk, but O'Donnell was able to get out of the inning by inducing a ground ball to Flego and a popup to shortstop Alana DiMaso, who made a tough over-the-shoulder catch to end the threat.

"The defense was again unbelievable, that's what carried us all the way," O'Donnell said.

In the seventh, O'Donnell pitched around a lead-off bunt single by Kaitly McGillicuddy by getting two ground outs and a line drive out that ended the game.

With the win, RBC finished the year 26-2, with their second state title in four years, and their third overall. They won the Non-Public B title in 1997.

Head coach Tracy Yarosz-Lombardi's squad played as many close games as any team in the Shore this spring, but with O'Donnell in the circle, they always seemed to hold the trump card, as the Notre Damebound junior was at her best in tight situations, compiling a remarkable 25-2 record for the spring with 23 shutouts. While O'Donnellwas arguably the top pitcher in the state this season, she continued to praise her teammates following thewin, displaying the camaraderie that helped the Caseys emerge as champions.

"We deserved to win this," O'Donnell said. "We showed all the heart in the world today. … It's just an unbelievable feeling. The team chemistry has been just unbelievable all year."

Long echoed those sentiments, pointing to the team's belief in itself as its biggest asset.

"We are so full of confidence, we know we just had to keep working hard," she said. "We buckled down defensively, and then Brittany just shut them down with her pitching."

As for Black, scoring the final run in the final game of her scholastic career is the perfect ending to what has been a great career at RBC.

"I'm so excited, and with this being my senior year, this is a great way to end it," she said.

The title caps a brilliant season for the Caseys, one in which they won the ClassA Central title, a Monmouth County Tournament title (where they beat the eventual Non-Public B champions from Mater Dei in a classic 1-0, 11-inning affair) and the Non-Public A South title. They have now staked their claim as the top team in the state, and here's the scary part - Black is the only graduating starter.

This much is clear, for those of us who can't wait to start talking about next season's teams to beat, the conversation absolutely has to start with Red Bank Catholic.