Friday, May 30, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Natasha Nieves hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning to give High Tech the winning runs in a 3-1 win over Hoboken that gave the Lasercats their first-ever state sectional title.

HOBOKEN – High Tech’s Natasha Nieves knew exactly what her job was when she came to the plate in a tie game in the eighth inning with a runner on second base. Known more for her speed and defense than her ability to swing the bat, Nieves’ only job was to get a bunt down and move the runner over to third and give the top of the lineup a chance to drive her in.

After two failed bunt attempts on pitches right down the middle of the plate, she knew that an opportunity to help her team win the game was about to slip through her fingers. With the count 1-2, Nieves was forced to swing away and are her teammates are glad that she did.

Nieves ripped a fastball just inside the left-field line for a two-run homerun to lift second-seeded High Tech to the North 2, Group 1 state sectional title, its first-ever section championship in any sport, with a 3-1, eight-inning win over No. 1 seed and defending champion Hoboken.

Raquel Roder allowed seven hits, walked one, and had 10 strike outs for Hoboken, whose season ended with a 22-3 record.

“We wanted to be the first team ever from High Tech to win the section and now we can that we did it,” said High Tech pitcher Erica Colon.

It was expected to be a pitcher’s duel between Hoboken’s Raquel Roder and Colon and it was just that as neither gave up an extra-base hit through the first seven innings.

The Red Wings took in the lead in the bottom of the third inning without the benefit of a base hit. Ashley Barron was hit by a Colon fastball and came around to score on three walks, the last of which was drawn by Stephanie Ponzoni to plate Barron and make the score 1-0.

With a two-out rally, the Lasercats answered right back in the top of the fourth. Jen Martinez singled and went to second on a passed ball. Monique Colon followed with a single to right-center, tying the game at 1. Both teams had quality chances to score over the final three-and-a-half innings of regulation, but neither could get across the plate to take the lead.

An infield single by Amanda Sparro, an error on the throw, and a passed ball put her at third base with nobody out. The ensuing batter, Melba Medina, got down a bunt and Sparro broke for the plate on the throw to first. Second baseman Vicky Ramos covered the first-base bag for the out, and then fired home. High Tech catcher Bianca Arroyo took a shot to the head from Sparro, but held onto the ball to complete the double play.

Erica Colon allowed three hits (none after the fourth inning), walked seven, and had 9 Ks for High Tech (23-5).

“This is a terrible feeling and I blame myself for this loss,” said Hoboken head coach Carmine Ronga. “(Medina) got a good bunt down and I decided to take a shot and send the runner. I figured that they had to make two good throws to get her at the plate and they got them both. I thought we had a good chance to win coming into this game, High Tech just executed a little better than we did. I think if we took the lead, it would have put a lot of pressure on them to come back.”

Each team got a runner into scoring position in the seventh, but the game ended up going to extra innings.

Leadoff walks to Nieves and Justine Mateo brought up the heart of the Lasercats’ order with nobody out. Erica Colon hit a hard line-drive off of Hoboken starter Raquel Roder, but it was right the Hoboken shortstop, Barron. The sophomore made the catch then slapped the tag on Nieves to put an end to the threat.

Paige Peguero, who had the game-winning single in last year’s North 2, Group 1 title game, walked with one out in the seventh to give the Red Wings a chance to win it. After a stolen base and a wild pitch, the winning run was 60 feet away with Hoboken’s best hitter coming to the plate in Roder. After two risers way out of the strike zone, High Tech head coach Ravon Anderson came out to talk to his sophomore right-hander, Colon.

Hoboken shortstop Ashley Barron trying to catch High Tech's Jen Martinez stealing.

“I asked if she wanted to pitch to her and she said, ‘absolutely’,” said Anderson. “I told her that if she wanted to go after, fine. But she had to throw screwballs on every pitch and she couldn’t miss her spots or this game could be over.”

After running the count to 3-0, Colon threw two screwballs over the middle of the plate. With a full count, she threw another that caught the inside corner for a called strike three to get herself out of the jam.

“I just had to throw perfect pitches and find a way to get (Roder) out,” said Colon. “I knew my team was going to get the lead for me somehow and then it would be up to me to finish the game.”

Erica Cruz led off the top of the eighth inning with a single. After the ball was bobbled out in left, Cruz took off for second and slid in safely before being replaced by pinch-runner Jessie Northgrave. That brought Nieves to the plate. The sophomore left-fielder was simply trying to move the runner over and turn over the lineup.

After a ball, Nieves’ two bunt attempts were fouled back to put her behind 1-2 in the count. She more than made up for it by ripping a fastball from Roder just past the outstretched glove of Hoboken left-fielder Stephanie Tuzzo and about a foot inside the left-field line. With a deep outfield, the ball rolled all the way to the wall and the speedy Nieves plated Northgrave and came around to score standing up, giving High Tech a 3-1 lead.

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“All I was thinking about was not striking out,” said Nieves. “I was just hoping I could hit the ball hard and maybe help out my team somehow. When I saw the ball get past her, I just ran as fast as I possibly could. I didn’t even know what to think when I crossed the plate and my teammates were all hugging me. Out of everyone on this team, I have to be the most random person to hit the homerun.”

Colon was in a groove and did not need much help, but got some more anyway from Nieves in Hoboken’s last at-bat. Nieves lost a fly ball off the bat of Tuzzo in the sun in the seventh, before making a one-handed stab for the out. Colon then polished off a dominating performance with a strikeout to close out the game and give High Tech its first-ever state title.

“This is the most amazing feeling I’ve ever had,” added Nieves. “Everyone in the county knows we’re a really good team. We thought we would have a very good team this year, but to win a state title? This is all just too crazy, it’s like a dream come true.”

Erica Colon allowed three hits (none after the fourth inning), walked seven, and had 9 Ks for High Tech (23-5). Nieves had two hits, while Justine Mateo and Sandy Gomez also had hits for the Lasercats.

Roder allowed seven hits, walked one, and had 10 Ks for Hoboken, whose season ended with a 22-3 record. The Red Wings’ lone senior also walked three times and stole two bases. Sparro, Barron, and Ponzoni had the three Hoboken base hits.

High Tech will look to take its best season ever a step further when they face North 1, Group 1 champion Pompton Lakes, an 8-3 winner over Park Ridge, in the Group 1 semifinals on Tuesday. The game will be played at Ramsey High School at 4:00.

“We’re excited to keep playing, but now it’s just about savoring the moment,” added Anderson. “We have had some great High Tech teams before under Vince (Nardiello) and in the past two years I’ve been here. But to say now that we won a section title, this means everything to these kids and this program. The pressure is off of us now, we just want to take this as far as we can go."

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