Monday, May 5, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

PARK RIDGE – Even though it happened nearly a month ago, just the memory a seven-error performance in a loss to Bergenfield makes the players of Pascack Valley cringe. Instead of dwelling on that loss (which dropped PV’s record to 2-3) and having doubts creep into their heads, those players used that game as a clear reminder of what can happen when you give a hungry team extra outs to work with. That game still drives Pascack Valley to work hard every day in practice to make sure that a game like that does not happen again.

It has worked to this point with the Indians reeling off nine wins in their last 11 games. But all of that recent success would have been for naught if they were unable to get out of the second round of the Bergen County Tournament. They needed no motivation to achieve that goal as they once again faced NBIL rival Bergenfield, which was riding high off of Saturday’s upset over Rutherford. The Indians took a three-run lead just as they did in the first meeting with Bergenfield and this time, they refused to give it back.

Brittany DeMaio tossed a two-hit shutout to lift eighth-seeded Pascack Valley to a 5-0 win over Bergenfield, the No. 24 seed, in the first game of a Round of 16 doubleheader at Park Ridge High School.

Bergenfield’s Sam Cain tripled off of DeMaio with two outs in the first, but DeMaio did not allow her to score, inducing a fly ball to end the threat. She then got all the offensive support she needed in the bottom half the inning.

Nikki Bischoff and Dani Klemt started off the three-run outburst with back-to-back singles. Dana Amato drove home Bischoff with a double to left-center to put PV in front. After an RBI groundout by Jenny Arcela, Corinne Finamore dropped in an RBI single to make it 3-0.

“I was a little nervous before the game, but getting a three-run lead in the first inning calmed me down,” said DeMaio. “We wanted revenge on Bergenfield so bad. We learned the hard way last time that they weren’t going to quit. We have had some games that we let slip away this season, but we couldn’t let this be one of them.”

Bergenfield has thrived all year on being patient at the plate. But yesterday they did not show the same patience and DeMaio made them pay for it. After a single by Nicole Bufis with two outs in the second inning, DeMaio did not allow another hit for the rest of the game.

“Our entire lineup did not work the count and we didn’t get any offense going because of it,” said Bergenfield head coach Maria Carluccio. “(DeMaio) noticed that we were swinging at bad pitches early on. She kept throwing them off the plate and we kept swinging. I thought we played tentatively, just not with the same fire we did in the win over Rutherford.”

DeMaio walked one and had six Ks for Pascack Valley (12-5). Amato and Arcella paced the Indians offensively with two RBIs each. Kate Lehr took the loss for Bergenfield (9-8), allowing eight hits and striking out three.

Next Saturday the roles will be reversed with Pascack Valley looking to pull the upset when it faces top-seeded Ridgewood in the Bergen County quarterfinals at Emerson High School.

“We know a team like Ridgewood is always going to be tough, but we’re confident in our chances,” said Pascack Valley head coach Craig Nielsen. “The loss to Bergenfield early in the season honestly turned our whole season around. We were taught a valuable lesson that day and we learned from it. When you score early, the confidence starts to rise and you become more focused both at the plate and defensively. That was the case for us today and I’m very pleased with our performance.”

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