For most programs, opportunities to play in a county final are cherished and few and far between. For the Weehawken and Bayonne softball teams it has become customary, as they met in their fourth straight Hudson County Tournament final on Saturday in North Bergen. Bayonne last lifted the trophy in 2022 and looked to get back to the top of the county, while Weehawken had taken down the Bees in consecutive years and aimed to make it three in a row. Second-seeded Weehawken rode the efforts of sisters Brooke and Brianna McHale to a 4-3 win in eight innings over top-seeded Bayonne to lift the Hudson County title trophy. Brooke McHale, a senior, pitched a complete game, scattering eight hits, and Brianna, a junior delivered the winning run with a bases-loaded walk in the eighth. Weehawken got on the board quickly with a pair of RBI doubles from Brooke and Brianna McHale in the top of the first inning. Saturday’s matchup was yet another iteration of a four-year rivalry, and once again Weehawken players with the last name McHale were making winning plays. The oldest McHale sister, Savanna, was an All-State pitcher a year ago for the Indians and is now a member of the softball team at Binghamton University. Brooke McHale took the reins from her older sister and has been Weehawken’s ace in the circle all season. She recorded six strikeouts in the title game. “It was definitely a lot of pressure at first trying to fill in her shoes, as sisters we are always getting compared to each other,” Brooke McHale said. “But I’m trying to get the hang of it.” Bayonne senior Caitlin Gaetani put the Bees on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a home run off the scoreboard in center field. Gaetani, a Manhattan commit, pitched a complete game and struck out 11 on the day. “She’s a competitor,” Weehawken coach Raquel Roder said about Gaetani. “She’s someone that, if you mistakenly throw one pitch or leave one hanging, she’s going to make do of it.” The Indians loaded the bases in the top of the second inning after a couple of walks, followed by a single from Sanaya Rodriguez. Brooke McHale tallied her second RBI when she drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-1 in the third. Bayonne got back on track in the bottom of the fourth singles from Lilah Gomez and Anastasia Jones. A Weehawken throwing error brought Gomez home and cut the Indians’ lead in half. The bottom of the fifth began with senior Gabrielle Perez reaching on an error. Junior Sophia Diaz followed that up with an RBI double that knotted the game at 3-3. Weehawken had to settle back in after giving up their lead. “Just try to keep the girls controlled, we really stress ‘don’t lose the game before it’s over’,” Roder said. Both teams went scoreless in the sixth, and after Gaetani got out of a jam in the top of the seventh inning, Bayonne was up to bat with a chance to win the title. After a Diaz single and a walk from Gaetani, things were looking grim for Weehawken. A line drive from Ocean Dux-O’Sullivan found the glove of Brianna McHale, who quickly turned the double play, sending the game to extra innings. Bayonne head coach Samantha Maggio felt that Brianna McHale did not get her glove under the ball before it hit the ground. “They might be holding the trophy, but my girls are the winners, for sure,” Maggio said. “I think that’s a risky call to make just because you don’t really want to take any game out of the girls’ hands. You want the girls to actually earn it and play together.” “We can’t leave the game up to the umpire, I think they did a great job,” Roder said. Once again, a McHale made a play when Weehawken needed it as Brianna McHale’s bases-loaded walk drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning. Bayonne was unable to get anything going in the bottom of the eighth and Brooke struck out the final batter to seal the victory and Weehawken’s third straight Hudson County title. The McHale sisters have, and will continue to leave their mark on the program and have done so by each other’s side nearly the whole way. “I know that no matter what, I’m going to be there for them and they are going to be there for me,” Brianna McHale said. Aidan Mastandrea can be reach at hssports@njadvancemedia.com. The N.J. High School Sports newsletter is now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now! Follow us on social: Facebook | Instagram | X (formerly Twitter)