Monday, May 5, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Senior Jess Iuliano gave up one hit, two walks and nothing else in the 8 innings that it took Demarest to push a run across in its 1-0 win over Paramus Catholic in the Bergen County Round of 16.

EMERSON -- As the game wore on without a run either way,Demarest's senior starting pitcher Jess Iuliano could have let frustration set in. She has seen to of her team's base runners cut down at home plate, she saw the Norsewomen bang out seven hits in the first three innings with nothing to show for it and, despite allowing just one hit and three base runners over seven innings, Iuliano found her self still in the pressure cooker when extra innings rolled around.

But instead of tightening up as the game wore on, Iuliano was more than happy to keep taking the ball inning after inning.

“I didn’t get frustrated because I love pitching in games like this where every pitch counts. The more I get to go out there and play in big game, the more fun it is. Keep me out there as long as you want,” said Iuliano. “I knew my team was going to come through, we hit the ball all game, so it was just a matter of time and I just had to do my job.”

PC catcher Erin Trippi takes the throw to the plate as Demarest's Kim Runge slides in with the game's lone run in the top of the eighth inning.

The run that was a long time coming over actually popped up rather quickly in the top of the eighth inning. Kim Runge hit a one-out single up the middle, Skylar Watkins bunted her into scoring position and Jamie Lefebrve’s single to right field sent Runge chugging around third base and in into home where her unorthodox but effective head-first slide provided only run and the winning run in Demarest’s 1-0 win over No. 6 Paramus Catholic in the Bergen County Tournament’s Round of 16.

Runge, a key member of Demarest’s dominant volleyball team for the past three seasons, was carrying that winning attitude with her around third base.

“That was a big part of it, that is why I slid like that,” said Runge. “I was thinking about volleyball the whole time and how we find ways to win. I wanted to bring that to softball. This was a fun game and we really wanted to win it.”

That the game found its way into extra innings was a testament to Paramus Catholic’s defense and Rachel Connato’s ability to get the outs she needed in key situations. Demarest had at least one base runner in every inning and stranded 10 runners through the regulation seven innings.

Demarest's Jamie Lefebrve putting the swing on the game-winning hit in the top of the eighth inning.

Alyssa Migliore and Michelle Brody each had first inning singles and Jen Tell walked to load the bases, but Connato got a strikeout to escape early trouble. Demarest had runners on first and third with two outs in the second only to see Jess Harnes’ diving grab of Migliore’s sinking line drive end the frame.

Demarest had two players thrown out at the plate in the third inning, hit into an inning-ending double play in the fifth inning and had the first two runners reach base in the top of the seventh only to see a base running mistake and two ground balls force extra innings.

“They had [10] hits, we had one. They had opportunities all over the place and we had one in the first inning,” said Paramus Catholic head coach Brielle Cosentino. “If we had [10] hits I would have expected to have scored three runs, five runs, but it says a lot about our defense that we were able to keep them for scoring for so long.”

But that was just fine with Iuliano, who, after escaping first inning trouble, pretty much put it on cruise control. She walked PC lead off hitter Candace Beards to start the bottom of the first inning and Beards reached third base with a steal and a passed ball, but Iuliano struck out the final two hitters of the inning and PC barely touched her the rest of the way.

Rachel Connato worked in and out of trouble for Paramus Catholic.

She gave up her lone hit, a bloop single to Ashley Greenfield with one out in the bottom of the third inning, and walked Beards, but Iuliano then started a 1-4 double play when she caught a bunt that was popped up.

PC, the No. 6 seed that won in dramatic fashion in the tournament’s opening round on Saturday when Brittany Bucko hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning against Emerson, did not have a base runner over the final five innings.

Eight of the nine hitters in Demarest’s lineup had at least one hit. Stephanie Marella and Michelle Brody each had two, while Cody Kugler, Migliore, Tell, Runge, Skylar Watkins and Lefebrve each had one. There were no extra base hits for either team and Iuliano finished with 13 strikeouts against just one hit and two walks as Demarest improved to 13-4 on the season.

The win was the second in the county tournament for Demarest in as many days, a rare feat for a program that had long struggled to keep its head above water in the NBIL. Under head coach Keith Johnson, the Norsewomen have gone from doormat, to competitive to now being one of just eight teams left with a chance to be the Bergen County champion. The No. 11 seed, Demarest will play No. 3 IHA in the quarterfinals next weekend.

“First of all, Jess pitched a great game for us and gave us the time we needed to finally push a run across the plate. She did a great job and defensively behind her we were flawless. That is the way to win close games,” said Johnson, whose team played error free. “Our kids really wanted this win and you could see that by the way Kim [Runge] went after that run. We don’t teach the head first slide into home as you can probably tell, but that right there shows how important it was for these kids.

"They are going to sacrifice, they are going to go in there head first against a catcher with full gear. That shows you something about the character of this team.”

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