Governor Livingston won its first, North Hunterdon went back-to-back, South Plainfield couldn't make it three against J.F. Kennedy, and Immaculata and Mount St. Mary fell a game short of their sectional final.
It was sectional final day for the public schools, while the non-public squads played in their sectional semifinals. Here's a look at what went down.
HERE'S TO THE WINNERS:
GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON
The Highlanders took advantage of a first-inning error, and senior right-hander Capri Catalano threw a four-hit shutout, as GL won the first sectional title in program history, 1-0 over Delaware Valley in the Central Jersey Group II final.
Check out Jerry Carino's story in Friday's Courier News, or read it online.
While heartfelt congratulations go out to coach Rick Iacono and the Highlanders, let's face it, they were lucky to come away with a victory.
Governor Livingston might have gotten one monkey off its back by finally winning a sectional crown, but, once again, the Highlanders failed to hit in a big game against a quality pitcher -- they managed just two singles -- and this one could have easily gone the other way if not for the work of Capri Catalano, as well as -- from what I'm told -- some generous umpiring.
Governor Livingston has some quality hitters in its lineup -- Mitchell Robertson, Heather Bergman, Nicole Ruggiero, Nicole Koszowski -- and the Highlanders cannot expect the softball Gods to smile upon them every game. If they don't figure out how to string some hits together in big spots, their tournament is going to end in Tuesday's state semis.
At the same time, kudos to Delaware Valley right-hander Michelle Jensen for a fantastic pitching performance, and you can't fault the Terriers for not being able to get much done against the state's all-time strikeout queen.
NORTH HUNTERDON
It's deja vu all over again for the Lions.
Despite struggling down the stretch in the regular season, including getting upset in the semifinals of the Hunterdon/Warren Tournament, North Hunterdon is back playing the kind of softball that resulted in the state Group IV championship last season.
The Lions pounded out eight runs on 10 hits and junior righty Ali Freedman tossed a one-hit shutout with the defense behind her coming up with several great plays, as North Hunterdon won its second straight North Jersey, Section 2, Group IV crown with an 8-0 victory over JP Stevens.
Check out Jason Sherman's game story in Friday's Courier News, or read it online.
A nice win by North against a team in JP Stevens that caught some breaks in making the final. Things are not going to be so easy in the Tuesday's state semifinal against North 1 Group IV champ Clifton, which beat North 6-0 on April 23.
The Lions are going to need not only another stellar effort by Freedman in the circle, but the big bats like Sam Pellechio, Becca Schaefer and Hilary Murray, among others, are really going to have to be on top of their game against Clifton.
THE END OF THE LINE
Four local teams saw their seasons end Tuesday.
While Delaware Valley put forth a valiant effort in losing 1-0 to Governor Livingston in CJ II, SOUTH PLAINFIELD fell 2-1 to J.F. Kennedy in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group III final.
Check out the game story by Gannett New Jersey's Mark Spivey in Friday's Courier News, or read it online.
Considering South Plainfield had beaten JFK in 2-of-3 meetings this year entering Tuesday's game, including a 1-0 win in last week's GMC Tournament semifinals, this has to be a hard one for the Tigers to stomach.
Still, you gotta give coach Don Panzarella and his team a ton of credit for shaking up their mid-season doldrums to rebound and advance to the finals of the GMCT, as well as their section.
I, for one, definitely wouldn't have expected South Plainfield to be playing in a sectional final after a 7-5 start.
Meanwhile, things did not go well for out local squads in the North Jersey Non-Public A Tournament semifinals, as top-seeded Mount St. Mary fell to Immaculate Heart 3-2, while third-seeded Immaculata was edged by No. 2 Mount St. Dominic 4-3 in eight innings.
IMMACULATA
The Spartans scored three runs in third inning and led 3-0 heading into the fourth. MSD got a run in that frame and two more in the bottom of the sixth to tie it, before scoring the winner in the bottom of the eighth inning.
A tough loss for Immaculata, for sure. It would have made a fantastic story for coach Erica Bell to have led the Spartans back to the sectional final for the first time since she was a senior at Immaculata, especially after she returned them to SCT glory for the first time since 2000.
Still, a great season for Immaculata and a fine job by Bell in her rookie year at the helm.
MOUNT ST. MARY has got nothing to be ashamed of, either.
Not only did the Mount Lions go a perfect 20-0 in their conference, but when you consider that their two losses came to Group IV Hillsborough -- by one run in the counties -- and the other to perennial state powerhouse Immaculate Heart by one run in the sectional semis, coach Denise Materia and friends should stand up and take a bow on a stellar campaign.
Mount St. Mary's season ended Tuesday with a 3-2 loss to the Eagles, as IHA scored three times in the fourth inning. The Mount Lions scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't enough.
Another fine performance by senior righty Dani Accardi, who allowed just four hits.
PROGRAMMING NOTES:
Look for previews of the state semifinals in Tuesday's print and online editions of the Courier News, as well as, hopefully, a more in-depth look at those games here on The Inner Circle.
The state finals edition of the Bats and Bals podcast is scheduled to be recorded either Tuesday or Wednesday night. Look for that at www.c-n.com/specialsectionas/multimedia by Thursday afternoon.
ATTENTION COACHES:
I will be contacting most of you by phone or email in the coming week or two as I begin working on the 2007 All-Area softball teams. Get those stats and nominations ready!
ATTENTION FANS:
Please, feel free to chime in with your comments on who you think should be considered for a spot on the teams, as well as your picks for Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.
You can leave your thoughts by commenting on this blog, or I can be reached via email at couriersoftball@aol.com
All-Area will hit the newsstands on June 24.
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2 comments:
Coach of the Year and Player of the Year are pretty much locked up, but several of the first-team positions are up for grabs so folks should chime with suggestions on this blog.
I opened my hoops blog to reader suggestions for All-Area basketball this winter and I took them very seriously. Softball is even trickier so let's get some feedback! You'd be amazed at how influential it can be, especially with a simple mind like Pincus!
I wouldn't say Player of the Year and Coach of the Year arfe "locked up." Sure, there are the front-runners, but i have yet to make a final decision.
But yes, like Jerry said, feedback on the All-Area spots will definitely weigh in to my decision and I welcome as much of it was possible. Us simple-minded folks need all the help we can get.
Oh, and Jerry... Have you seen mah baseball?
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