The season's first podcast is up and running at http://www.c-n.com/specialsections/multimedia, it includes a sneak peak at the Preseason Top 10 and some other nuggets as we get ready for opening day Tuesday.
PREVIEW RUNS SATURDAY IN THE COURIER NEWS!!
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HC definitely the monster of Del Div Wast. Ville will take the Mountain Div.
Monty, Lata and BWRar will fight it out for Del East. This is too close to call. Monty has the best hitters, BW the best pitching. Lata is the dark horse with the sophmore SS and Piazzolla. There's a couple of underclassmen that could step up.
Piazzolla alone wont be enough for Immaculata. Someone else needs to emerge,offensively, and shortstop Shauna Mulkerin is a prime candidate.
But don't forget Hillsborough and Watchung Hills.
Doering, Cannell and Mulkerin are likely to step up for Lata. Still an uphill climb against Monty and BWRar. Monty has 6 to 8 very strong bats and BW has of course Fitzsimmons. Monty needs to score early and often and can. BW just needs to score 1 or 2 runs and rely on Fitz. Boro and Hills have no offense. I can't remember the last time every team in the conference had seniors pitching, even Franklin. Lata, Monty and Boro have good senior backups! Gotta score runs and that will be the key.
Also, coaches better gear up for small ball. Too much ego in the coaching staff to throw down a bunt at the right time. Erica Bell schooled Cheryl Iaone in the county final by using a opportune bunt.
I wouldnt say Erica Bell SCHOOLED Cheryl Iaione that night. Everyone in the park knew that there was a good chance that bunt was coming. You have to give Jenna George credit for executing it to perfection.
Hillsborough pitcher Megan McInaw was right on that put, but it was hit so perfectly, there simply wasn't enough time to field it and get Lapicki at the plate.
Still, Erica Bell gets a ton of credit for making such a risky call in that spot and trusting in her players to execute.
Simeon, 5th inning of the last years county final - BORO had a runner at third, one out. The bleachers were expecting Iaione to bunt, but alas 2 K's later Piazzolla's out of trouble. Secondly, why on earth did she pitch to Lapicki in the bottom of the 7th only to give up a double?
And that's a credit to Piazzolla for having the ability to reach back and make the pitches she needed in a big spot to get out of that jam -- and that's with an injured finger she had jammed a couple of days earlier while catching in a regular season game.
As for Iaione choosing to pitch to Lapicki, well, I don't quite know how to take that:
There was nobody on and nobody out, if I remember correctly. You're telling me you think Iaione should have walked the winning run and put her on base intentionally?? THAT would have been bad managing.
Furthermore, McInaw had handled Lapicki all game. I was sitting right behind home plate and paid close attention to how they were pitching to Lapicki. McInaw was being very successful busting her inside with hard stuff and throwing her soft stuff away. The pitch Lapicki hit for a double was a great pitch that a great hitter was finally able to turn on for a hit. And you know what, it should have been a single. It was misplayed into a double in left field.
I am not saying Erica Bell and Bob Gillspie deserve no credit for the way they managed that game. They absolutely do. But to say any of the fault is with Cheryl Iaione for that loss, well, I strongly disagree.
Bottom line, Immaculata executed in big spots. That's why they won.
Simeon nice article on Elora Danielle. Do you think that you could do a segment on all of the senior pitchers? They have all accomplished so much and it will be nice to see a story on all of them. Thanks!
Funny you should say that; the original plan, actually, was to do a huge story on all five pitchers. Unfortunately, because of space constraints, it had to be trimmed to a regular size story.
I'm sure the other four will all get plenty of ink this season -- they did last year -- especially as the Somerset County Tournament gets going.
It would be nice to see a story on the Senior pitchers in the area as they have played travel ball against each other since 10u. Somerset and Hunterdon Counties pitchers. Some evan play on the same travel teams now
This brings up a great idea for a summer article. We have our local travel teams like the Bridgewater Blue Diamonds, Branchburg Blaze, Flemington Flames, Montgomery Mavericks, Hillsborough Hustle and Skylands Pride. These are our young future high school stars. These programs are the "minor leagues" for our next generations of players.
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