Rutgers Prep pulled off the most significant upset of the county tournament season so far when the 10th-seeded Argonauts toppled seventh-seeded Somerville 7-3 in the second round of the Somerset County Tournament.
Sure, a No. 10 seed knocking off a No. 7 seed usually isn't anything to get too excited about -- Phillipsburg did it to Voorhees in Saturday's preliminary round of the Hunterdon/Warren Tournament. But when you consider that many -- including myself -- are of the opinion that Rutgers Prep probably should have been seeded lower than 10th and Somerville might have gotten squeezed in not getting the No. 6 seed, well, this is quite the accomplishment for Rutgers Prep.
And yes, I will be a man about it and stand up and acknowledge that I picked Somerville as a possible sleeper in this tournament. Oh well.
Enjoy it, Argos. You face Immaculata on Saturday.
Elsewhere in county tournament action Monday, as expected, ninth-seeded Ridge handled eighth-seeded Bernards, as the Red Devils grabbed an 8-2 victory. Senior center fielder Diana Ark had three hits for Ridge, including a triple, and drove in three runs.
Despite a 3-0 loss, nice job by Bound Brook hanging with Watchung Hills. While Courtney Wood did a nice job holding the sixth-seeded Warriors to just three runs, the 11th-seeded Crusaders managed just three hits against Lydia deMartino in Warren.
Finally, fifth-seeded Mount St. Mary disposed of No.12 Pingry 9-0 in Watchung, as Danielle Accardi spun a two-hitter.
Here are the matchups with updated predictions for Saturday's Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals. All games at 3 p.m.
No. 9 Ridge at No. 1 Montgomery -- my pick: Montgomery 7-1
No. 10 Rutgers Prep at No. 2 Immaculata -- my pick: Immaculata 6-0
No. 6 Watchung Hills at No. 3 Bridgewater-Raritan -- my pick: Bridgewater-Raritan 3-2
No. 5 Mount St. Mary at No. 4 Hillsborough -- my pick: Mount St. Mary 2-0
I know I originally picked a Bridgewater-Raritan/Hillsborough final, but I cannot ignore the way the Raiders have struggled and the Mount Lions and Montgomery have surged. A MSM/Montgomery semifinal will be very interesting, and I'm sure Cougars coach Johnny Rooney will remind his players what happens when teams are taken lightly.
Also, look for an Immaculata/Bridgewater semifinal -- a rematch of Monday's regular-season game, which I had the pleasure of covering at North Bridge Street Park. A HUGE victory for Bridgewater-Raritan as it rebounds from an awful 10-0 loss to Montgomery last week to jump ahead of the Cougars for the Skyland Conference Dealware East Division lead.
Check out the story at http://c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070501/SPORTS03/705010360/1013
I was very impressed by the poise Bridgewater-Raritan junior Lauren Fitzsimmons showed as she no-hit the Spartans on what had to be a difficult day for her after she lost her grandfather, Walter Fitzsimmons, early Monday morning. Granted, Mr. Fitzsimmons had been ill for some time, but it's never easy losing a loved one regardless of whether or not it's expected.
My sincere condolences go out to the Fitzsimmons family.
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Over in Union County, things went as expected Monday, as top-seeded Governor Livingston handled No. 16 Oak Knoll 3-0; second-seeded Westfield blanked No. 18 Plainfield 10-0; third-seeded Scotch Plains-Fanwood snuck past No. 19 Rahway 3-2 and No. 5 New Providence stayed undefeated with a 3-0 victory over No. 12 Roselle Catholic.
Ninth-seeded Union Catholic, meanwhile, dropped a 6-3 decision to No. 8 Cranford, the defending champ.
There are still some games to be played, so I will offer predictions for the UCT quarterfinals as soon as all the matchups are set.
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The five-team Prep B Tournament seeds were announced Monday. Fifth-seeded Solomon Schechter will be at No. 4 Gill St. Bernard's on Tuesday, May 8, with the winner facing top seed Pennington in the semifinals on May 10. Second-seeded Rutgers Prep will play host to No. 3 Wardlaw-Hartridge the same day.
The final is slated for Tuesday, May 15.
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COMING IN WEDNESDAY'S NOTEBOOK
Check out the latest softball notebook in the print and online edition of the Courier News on Wednesday.
In addition to standings, Stars of the Week, the latest Varsity Spotlight and a new Top 10, I will take a look at New Providence's 9-0 start, as well as introduce a brand new feature as one of our local players makes a run at a state record.
Also, myself, Courier News baseball writer Harry Frezza Jr., and our colleague and host Jerry Carino are scheduled to record the latest podcast Wednesday evening, look for that at http://www.c-n.com/specialsections/multimedia/index.htm late Thursday morning or early afternoon.
I am taking song request here.
If you missed it, the first three podcasts are available for your listening pleasure using the link above.
About Me
- Simeon Pincus
- Simeon Pincus began covering softball at the Courier News in 1999, and, after a two-year absence starting in 2004, is back on the beat. He is also the Courier News' girls soccer and ice hockey beat writer for the Courier News and the Home News Tribune. I can be reached via email at CourierSoftball@aol.com
3 comments:
Simeon, nice job with the update. Rutgers Prep in game against Somerville had two runners thrown out at home plate and their hottest hitter, Candice Smith, injured her hand after triple and HBP and could not swing bat last two times up, this could have been 10 run win for RP. Obviously Immaculata is much better team but they were just no hit, do not score a lot of runs and will take Argos lightly. If Smith is healthy, she scored twice and drove in run against Montgomery in 6-3 loss, RP as a team can score runs and this game could be close.
Freefallin,
I was very surprised, as well as impressed, that Rutgers Prep was able to beat Somerville. And yes, you are right, the Argos do score a lot of runs and have played very good ball this season.
But you have to remember, there's a big difference between beating up on Gill St. Bernard's and Franklin and trying to topple one of the top teams in Central Jersey.
Sure, Somerville is a quality team, but it's hardly the caliber of Immaculata, which not only has a tremendous pitcher in Katelyn Piazzolla, but she also brings a lethal bat to the Spartans order. Oh, and don't forget about Immaculata's other big gun, catcher Jen Lipicki, who is arguably the best hitter in the county.
As for the Montgomery game, let's not forget that coach Johnny Rooney benched most of his regulars -- 13 in all -- for that game because of off-the-field infractions. The Argos weren't exactly facing Montgomery's A-team.
Still, I am not ruling out a Rutgers Prep victory Saturday. the Argonauts definitely have talent and I don't expect a blowout by any means. Anything can happen. That's why we play the games.
Simeon,
Candice Smith did not play for Rutgers Prep yesterday and is doubtful for Saturday, she is their catcher and captain and the only one with experience against pitchers of the caliber of Piazzola. She is 10 for 18 in the six games RP did not 10 run other team. I hate to say it but without Smith at 100% I also see Immaculata winning easily.
Interesting side note is Jen Lapicki transferred from RP half way through her Freshman year, she's truly a great all around player.
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