SCT Stunners

I am stunned.

I've been stunned since the phone rang in the Courier News sports dept. at around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday night and I got the news that Hillsborough had rallied past Montgomery in the semifinals of the Somerset County Tournament.

It isn't that the Raiders won -- I definitely knew there was a good possibility of that happening -- but it's the way it went down and everything that led up to it that threw me for a loop.

Let's start from the beginning.

When this tournament was first seeded, I predicted a Bridgewater-Raritan/Hillsborough final. I figured the Panthers were a team of destiny this season, while the Raiders have owned the SCT for the past five years.

But as the weeks passed and Hillsborough's fortunes continued its downturn, I started to doubt the Raiders.

When it came time to make a pick in the quarterfinals, I changed it up and went with Mount St. Mary, figuring the then-undefeated Mount Lions and ace righty Dani Accardi would take care of business against a struggling Hillsborough team that was in serious danger of missing the state tournament for the first time this century.

Hillsborough proved me wrong, topping MSM 2-1 behind the right arm and strong bat of Megan McInaw.

But the Raiders had bigger problem than the county tournament. With a record of 7-7 following the victory over Mount St. Mary, Hillsborough had to win 2-of-3 against Bridgewater on Tuesday, Montrgomery in Wednesday night's semis, and Phillipsburg on Thursday.

I figured the P'Burgh game was a slam dunk, meaning Hillsborough would have to beat Bridgewater or Montgomery to get in. Both longshots. But considering the momentum and the high after the Mount St. Mary victory, I gave Hillsborough a strong fighting chance.

After the Raiders blew a 1-0 seventh-inning lead and fell to B-R 2-1 on Tuesday night, I thought the wind was out of the Hillsborough sails and what I originally thought would be a hard-fought, closely played semifinals game with Montgomery -- in which I picked the Cougars 4-3 -- I now felt like Hillsborough could, actually, get blown out.

Once again, what do I know?

After covering the Immaculata/Bridgewater-Raritan game in the first semifinal of the evening at North Branch Park, I headed back to the office to write my story as my colleague, Jerry Carino, replaced me to cover the nightcap.

In the fourth inning, Jerry called me at the office and reported Montgomery led 4-1. At that point, I figured the Cougars had it in the bag and I started thinking about a Immaculata-Montgomery final.

When the phone rang at 10:15 and I heard the result was a 6-5 Hillsborough win, well, I was, literally, stunned.

If you don't believe me, check out the latest podcast, which we recorded about an hour after the Hillsborough-Montgomery game ended.

Once again, I underestimated Hillsborough, which has now made SIX STRAIGHT county finals.

Very impressive work by coach Cheryl Iaione.

Who will I pick to win Saturday's championship game? The answer to that can be found on the podcast (part 2 of the Week 5 edition, which should be up, I hope, sometime Thursday at www.c-n.com/specialsections/multimedia), or by checking back here Saturday.

Look for a guest blog by Jerry Carino late Thursday on the Inner Circle, as he blogs about the Hillsborough-Montgomery game, which featured not only a fantastic comeback by the Raiders, but plenty of extra-curricular activity, too.

*******

In the other semifinal, which I covered, second-seeded Immaculata turned in a stunner of its own, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat third-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan 5-2 and sending another of yours truly's picks down the toilet.

Yes, I picked Bridgewater-Raritan to go all the way from the start. Yes, I predicted a 2-1 Panthers victory in this game (which looked prophetic for a while, right, Erica?). Yes, once again, I was wrong.

I asked Courier News sports editor Dave Siminoff this evening if he would kindly forbid me from making anymore predictions. He declined. Apparently he finds my prognostication futility hilarious and wants to see me ripped as often as possible.

Nice guy.

Anyway, Bridgewater took a 2-0 lead in the second inning and Lauren Fitzsimmons, who no-hit Immaculata last week in a regular-season game, was cruising, retiring the first 11 batters she faced in the game, nine via strikeout.

But in the fourth, with two outs, Immaculata catcher Jen Lapicki showed why she is the best hitter in the county, blasting a Fitzsimmons offering over the left-field fence for a solo homer.

Fitzsimmons settled down and retired the next four batters she faced, before two singles bought Lapicki up with two on and two outs in the bottom of the sixth after B-R catcher Sammy DeSimone made a great play on a ball bunted foul over her head by Jenna George.

Fitzsimmons' first three offerings to Lapicki were up and away and I, as well as Lapicki, thought Fitzsimmons might be pitching around her. But Fitzsimmons got to within 3-1 with a fastball down the middle, setting up her next pitch, which was away, and Lapicki hit it well in the air to right field. While Bridgewater-Raritan right fielder Kayla Stevens looked like she had it lined up for the third out, the junior suddenly slipped on the grass and the ball went over her head for a two-run double.

Kaitlyn Piazzolla followed with a two-run homer and Immaculata held on for the victory.

What a night!

Immaculata and Hillsborough will play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night at North Branch Park for the title.

****

ON THE BUBBLE UPDATES:


Four local teams were on the bubble for state tournament berths following Tuesday's action. One clinched a spot Wednesday night, two picked up huge wins to put themselves in great spots to qualify, while another won a big game to keep their slim hopes alive.

* Middlesex blanked Cardinal McCarrick 10-0 for the second straight day and have qualified for the Central Jersey Group I Tournament

* Hillsborough beat Montgomery in the SCT semifinals and now only need to beat Phillipsburg (4-12) to get in.

* Timothy Christian picked up a big 9-4 win over Wardlaw-Hartridge on Wednesday and need only to beat Somerset Tech (2-7) on Friday to get in.

Expect Hillsborough and Timothy Christian to get in easily.

* Bound Brook beat North Warren 4-1 on Wednesday, a big win for the Crusaders, but they still need to beat Somerville on Thursday, a tall order. If Bound Brook can find a way to beat the Pioneers, which almost fell to Manville on Wednesday, the Crusaders would face Somerset Tech on Friday, which should be an easy win.


PROGRAMMING NOTES:

Like I said earlier, Jerry Carino, Harry Frezza and I recorded part two of the weekly podcast Wednesday night, completing the one that was cut off in the middle by a dead battery on Monday evening.

Parts 1 and 2 should be up sometime Thursday at www.c-n.com/specialsections/multimedia


COMING LATER THURSDAY: Expect a guest blog here from Jerry Carino on the Hillsborough-Montgomery SCT semifinal game. Jerry, who covered the contest for the Courier News, talked to Hillsborough coach Cheryl Iaione after her team's stunning victory and he will share those thoughts, as well as his own on the game.


COMING FRIDAY: Previews and predictions for the Union County Tournament semifinals and final, which are scheduled for Friday night and Saturday night, respectively Also, I will look at the Hunterdon/Warren Tournament semis, which are slated for Saturday morning and Monday afternoon.


COMING SATURDAY: I will preview the Somerset County Tournament final between Immaculata and Hillsborough.


COMING SUNDAY: A wrap-up of the Somerset and Union county tournaments, as well as a review of Saturday's HWT semifinal between Hunterdon Central and Delaware Valley, which I plan to cover in person. North Hunterdon plays Warren Hills in the other semi on Monday.


COMING NEXT WEEK: The Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament is scheduled to be seeded Monday. Look for a preview of that tournament early next week. Also, the state tournament seeds are slated to be released early next week, we'll take a look at the brackets and see where our local teams stand when they come out.