Immaculata squeezes past Hillsborough for SCT crown

The 2007 Somerset County Tournament final was as advertised: Another classic.

The Immaculata and Hillsborough High School softball teams both played an excellent game, and not only did I finally pick a game right, but it came down to what I expected, a big play late in the game.

Due to the Courier News’ ridiculously early Saturday-night deadline, all we were able to get in the paper was a box score. So here’s what you need to know, for those of you who might have missed it.



It was another in a long line of what has become this tournament’s staple: A great pitching duel by two outstanding hurlers, and it’s a pity one of them had to lose.

Immaculata junior right-hander Kaitlyn Piazzolla and Hillsborough junior righty Megan McInaw battled their hearts out, as they both turned in masterful performances at North Branch Park.

The game was decided in the bottom of the seventh inning as Immaculata senior catcher Jen Lapicki scored the winning run in a 1-0 game on a suicide squeeze by senior second baseman Jenna George with one out.

Not only was it a great job by George, as well as Piazzolla who bunted Lapicki to third base after a lead-off double, to get those bunts down, but you gotta give Immaculata rookie coach Erica Bell a ton of credit for making a gutsy call in the biggest of spots.

“I did not have any doubt,” Bell said. “We practiced bunting for so long, and I kept telling them, ‘it’s going to come down to a game where you’re going to need a bunt,’ and this was the game and it was perfectly placed. I said, ‘whatever you do, just put it on the ground.’ She (Lapicki) was going the whole way and it was perfect. I couldn’t have planned it any better.”

Lapicki, who had been held in check by McInaw through the first six innings, led off with a double to left field, as the ball, which was a sinking liner, couldn’t be caught or played on one hop by Hillsborough’s Lauren Singer and went past her and to the fence

McInaw, who had held Lapicki to two weak pop ups in her first two at bats, tried the same approach in her seventh-inning at bat, but this time Lapicki was ready.

“I knew she was coming inside the first ones because of my first couple of bats, and the last one was a little bit over and I just went with it,” said Lapicki, who also admitted she was looking to jack one out of the park if she got the right pitch. “I just wanted a line-drive base hit and let everyone else do their job. I was rounding first and I saw it go by so I just took off.”

“She knew and I knew where they were going to pitch her,” Bell said. “It wasn’t going to be a surprise. I thought they were either going to pitch around her, or they were going to jam her inside. She knew that going up (in the seventh inning) and I think she was smarter this time by getting her hands around. The first two at bats she was just over anxious and Megan (McInaw) did any awesome job by jamming her.”

With Lapicki on second, Piazzolla did a fantastic job sacrificing Lapicki to third as McInaw tried to stay away from the junior. That bought up George, who dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt toward first base on the first pitch she saw. By the time McInaw fielded it and got it to catcher Margaret Gilroy, Lapicki slid across the plate with the game-winning run.

“I was looking for the first pitch, squeeze it or foul it off so I don’t get Jen caught in a run-down and get her out,” George said. “(The pitch) was outside, it was actually a perfect pitch to bunt to first base. The crowd went crazy. It was an adrenaline rush. It was awesome. I waited four years for this.”

McInaw allowed the one run on three hits, she walked none and struck out 12, while Piazzolla earned her seventh victory with a two-hit shutout, two walks and nine strikeouts.

Hillsborough’s golden chance came in the fourth inning as second baseman Courtney Fedor reached on a swinging-bunt single with one out. McInaw followed, and after falling behind in the count 1-2, took advantage of a pitch that stayed over the plate and hit a bullet off the left-field fence for double, putting runners on second and third.

Piazzolla, who jammed her middle finger on her pitching hand while catching in Thursday’s game against Voorhees, admitted that she was having trouble with her breaking pitches. She acknowledged she was being carefull with McInaw, who hit what proved to be a game-winning homer against Mount St. Mary in last week’s quarterfinals, and the junior crushed it.

They were the only two hits Piazzolla would allow, as she stepped up and truly showed her grit. She fanned shortstop Tara Van Doren on a 1-2 fastball away, and struck out third baseman Katie Yard swinging at three pitches to escape the jam, with the deciding offering hitting the exact spot off the outside corner she was aiming for against McInaw.

“It didn’t bother me. I’ve been in situations like that before. I’m used to it,” Piazzolla said. “I know have a great infield and outfield behind me. I have a great catcher, and I knew we could get them out.

“She’s not going to give up,” said Bell of her ace. “She (McInaw) hit a rope, and I had confidence that she’s going to get the next batter out, and she has confidence. I think that’s the difference between some pitchers. She doesn’t get rattled easily, at all. And I think it shows with the other players, too. The players react to her. They know that she’s ready to play and I think they stepped up their game because of it.”

As for her injured finger, though it did affect her at times, for the most part she was able to ignore it and she turned in the crowning pitching performance of her varsity career.

“Once I started going in the game, I didn’t feel it anymore. I was too pumped to really recognize it. A couple of times it did sting, but I just shook it off. I knew I had to do what I had to do.”


The victory marked Immaculata’s first championship crown since 2000 – which, ironically featured the same final score. The game, actually, was very reminiscent of the 2000 championship over Watchung Hills, and not just because Erica Bell was on the field.

In the 2000 final, which was also played in damp weather, featured a classic pitcher’s duel between Bell, who was a senior for Immaculata, and Watchung Hills senior righty Kacey Stewart.

In that game, which was decided by a couple of first-inning errors, Bell turned in one of the most memorable performances of her brilliant varsity career She allowed one hit, no walks and struck out eight against a fierce Watchung Hills lineup, while Stewart was equal to the task, allowing three hits, no walks, and fanning nine.

Anyway, let’s get back to the present, shall we? The important thing is I finally picked one right in the tournament!


HILLSBOROUGH (9-9) 000-000-0—0-2-1
IMMACULATA (10-3) 000-000-1—1-3-1
2B: H—McInaw; I—Lapicki; WP: Piazzolla (7-3); LP—McInaw (6-9).


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NOTE: Unfortunately, the Hillsborough contingent had departed the field before I had a chance to interview coach Cheryl Iaione or any of the Raiders players. Look for a more in-depth review of Hillsborough’s sterling performance in Wednesday’s softball notebook in the online and print editions of the Courier News, as well as the Week 6 edition of the Bats and Balls podcast, which is scheduled to be recorded Monday night and should be posted at www.c-n.com/specialsections/multimedia some time Tuesday.

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ON THE ‘HELMET GATE’ FRONT: Immaculata coach Erica Bell confirmed Saturday that her Montgomery counterpart, Johnny Rooney, did, indeed, delay Tuesday’s game between the Spartans and Cougars in the middle of an Immaculata rally to fix catcher Tara Bucci’s helmet.

Is it possible the two incidents were purely coincidental in that the helmet needed repair during the opposition’s rally? Absolutely. Is it possible it was just gamesmanship? Sure.

I will ask Rooney about it as soon as I get the chance, but it doesn’t excuse adults from behaving like children at a high school softball game.

I’m still trying to get a definitive answer as to which team’s fans were began the jeering in the stands Wednesday night.

Hillsborough coach Cheryl Iaione told me Hillsborough fans were not involved, that it was actually Immaculata supporters that began chiding Rooney during the delay Wednesday. I have talked to several people who were in attendance and are unaffiliated with Montgomery, Immaculata or Hillsborough, and I have gotten conflicting accounts.

It is possible it was a joint-effort by the Immaculata and Hillsborough faithful, in which case it really doesn’t matter who started it (I agree with Jerry Carino – adults should know better). I will continue to investigate.

More on ‘Helmet Gate’ to come.

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ELSEWHERE: My personal prognosticating hell continued Friday night as I swung and missed on my predictions of the semifinals of the Union County Tournament, which did not end well for our local teams.

Both second-seeded Westfield and fifth-seeded New Providence were upset Friday night at Memorial Field, with New Prov falling to Cranford 5-0 – the Pioneers’ first loss of the season – while Westfield was edged by Linden 4-3. I had predicted victories for both local squads.

Luckily, for me and my ego, Hunterdon Central bailed me out of my funk by, as predicted, taking care of business against Delaware Valley on Saturday morning in the Hunterdon/Warren semifinals.

The Red Devils scored an impressive 9-1 victory to advance to next Saturday’s championship game against the winner of Monday’s game between North Hunterdon and Warren Hills.

I made it a perfect 2-for-2 Saturday night with Immaculata’s win over Hillsborough.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and a very happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there.