Friday, April 17, 2009

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Tori Feorenzo fired a three-hit shutout, reached base three times and knocked in a run for Paramus, which improved to 3-0 with a 7-0 home win over Pascack Valley on Thursday.

PARAMUS -- Because it was hit hard by graduation, Paramus has been anxious to prove itself as a softball team that still has plenty of talent and one that should still be considered as one of the best in Bergen County. What it has not had since the season began just over two weeks ago is a chance to prove it.

Rainout after rainout left the Spartans with just two games played, two wins over lesser competition, heading into Thursday's independent matchup against Pascack Valley, a team with plenty of returning starters that was coming off an extra inning win over three-time defending Bergen County champion Ramapo.

“The biggest thing that we have been worrying about is just not playing much over the last two weeks. Mentally it’s been hard on the kids to be ready to play, but not to get the chance to do it,” said Paramus head coach Brian Hay. “Honestly, I was worried if we would be sharp for this game because we had to be. Pascack Valley is obviously a quality opponent.”

Pascack Valley's Melissa Messina taking a throw at third base.

But not only was Paramus sharp, it was almost on the razor’s edge. The Spartans took the lead with some heads up baserunning in the top of the first inning and then put together a complete performance up and down the lineup and in the field as they posted a comfortable 7-0 win.

Tori Feorenzo, Paramus’ No.2 hitter and also its starting pitcher, hit a one-out worm burner in the opening inning that skidded through the right side of the infield and all the way to the wall for a triple. When a pitch from Pascack Valley’s Nicole Schneider found the backstop, courtesy runner Noelle Mattesich raced home with the game’s first run, the only one that the Spartans would need.

Feorenzo, who takes over inside the circle this year for the graduated Alison Schraer, made her run stand up by firing a three-hit shutout in which she struck out eight and walked three.

“We’ve been cooped up inside it seems like for ever and we just couldn’t wait to get out on the field today,” said Feorenzo. “It was a relief when we scored the first run because it gave us confidence because we knew we were playing a good team. To get the first run made it easier to pitch because I believe in my defense and I wasn’t afraid to let them put the ball in play.”

Paramus' Krista Salinardi leaving the batter's box just after smacking a fourth inning home run.

Getting runners on base was not the problem for Pascack Valley; it was getting them in to score that was. The Indians drew two two-out walks in the first inning, but stranded both runners and got a one-out single from Jaimee Perlmutter in the second, but left her standing at first base when Feorenzo got pop-out and then a strike out to end the frame.

Pascack Valley had at least one baserunner in all but two of the seven innings, but left eight runners on base, while Paramus took advantage of just about every opportunity that it earned and that was given to it. In the bottom of the third inning, Schneider got the first two outs before Feorenzo reached on an error. The Spartans turned that gift into a run when Kristina Meier smoked a line drive to the opposite field and just inside the foul line in right. The ball reached the wall, Mattesich, again running for Feorenzo, scored all the way from first base as Meier coasted into second with an RBI double.

“When I went up there I was thinking about how I have been waiting for a chance like that for the last week and a half. I felt like that was my first big at bat of the season and I wanted to get the job done,” said Meier, the Spartans’ starting shortstop and also a standout in soccer and basketball. “We feel like we haven’t gotten a lot of respect like a lot of the other teams around and we want to prove that we have a good team here. So today was a good win for us.”

Nicole Schneider threw the first four innings for Pascack Valley.

Paramus’ next run came on one swing of the bat with one out in the fourth. That was when senior Krista Salinardi stayed back on a changeup and then crushed it over the centerfield fence. That gave the Spartans a 3-0 lead and some breathing room.

“I had a rough couple of swings and I heard my coach yell ‘Swing level and drive the ball.’ I did and once I hit the ball I thought it was a home run, but I didn’t want to get too excited until I saw the ball land,” said Salinardi, Paramus’ starting third baseman. “It was great rounding the bases, Coach [Hay] had his hand up and jumping on home plate with my team around me was just awesome.:

Paramus added two runs in the fifth on a two-run double by Victoria Vergona that scored Stephanie Huang (1-for-3, R) and Taylor Boffalo (1-for-3, 2B, R) and two more in the sixth on a bases loaded walk by Shayna Brock and a sacrifice fly by Feorenzo, who reached base in her first three plate appearances and drove in a run in her last.

Dana Amato and Jenna DiScepolo had the two other hits for Pascack Valley, which fell to 4-2 on the season. The Indians will look to bounce back on Friday against Wayne Hills, a team that is much improved this season.

Paramus' Victoria Vergona drove in a run with a double on this swing in the third inning.

“Paramus is a good team and I didn’t do my job today. My job is to get my team ready to play and we were not today,” said Pascack Valley head coach Craig Neilsen. “If we can rebound from this game mentally we will be OK. It was a non-league game on the road against a good team and it was still important to win, but it is not the end of the world. The real test is how we play tomorrow.”

From the Paramus perspective, the win paid off on Thursday and could again down the road. With the weather wiping out much of its early schedule, there will be less of a body of work to go on in a couple of weeks when the Bergen County Tournament seeding meeting takes place.

“Any time you beat a team from the NBIL it is a good win and we are down to 10 games [before the tournament is seeded],” said Hay. “We are looking for games, but we don’t want to take losses while we try to find them.”

FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.