Friday,
April 16, 2010
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Carla
Arismendi, who pitched for the Peurto Rican Junior National
Team this past summer, pitched North Bergen to a 2-0 win
over High Tech on Thursday in a matchup between Hudson County's
two best teams.
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NORTH
BERGEN – Most softball teams that come into the season with
lofty expectations do not find much solace in losing. There are
lessons to be learned though in those losses, especially when
it comes against quality competition. That is what North Bergen
was faced with coming off of a 23-4 season last year with eight
returning starters. While three losses down in Florida could have
easily discouraged the team, the Lady Bruins knew the potential
was there to do something special this year back in North Jersey.
That
was even more evident in another loss this past Tuesday. They
gave one of the state’s best pitchers and best teams, Katie
Enright and Indian Hills, everything they could handle before
falling 4-2. With their fiercest rival to winning a Hudson County
title on tap on Thursday in High Tech, the Bruins wanted to come
out and make a statement.
Behind
senior right-hander Carla Arismendi, they did exactly that.
Arismendi
allowed just three hits and added an insurance run on a long double
as North Bergen showed they are currently the team to beat when
the first ever true Hudson County Tournament rolls around with
a 2-0 triumph over the Lasercats at Hudson County Park.
“It
is all about confidence and this win really has our confidence
back where it should be,” said Arismendi, who pitched this
past summer for the Puerto Rican Junior National team. “I
think we have started to step our game up, but we can’t
just play close games and not win them. We had to go out, make
things happen and do whatever it takes to win.”
Despite
the move of the pitcher’s circle back from 40 to 43 feet
this season, this was an old-school pitcher’s duel between
Arismendi and Central Connecticut State-bound senior Erica Colon
with few scoring opportunities to be had on either side.
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| Senior
Erica Colon pitched well in defeat for High Tech (4-1), striking
out 7 and walking 2. |
Arismendi
got herself out of a jam with a runner on third and one out by
getting consecutive strikeouts to end the second inning. Her teammates
rewarded her by giving her a one-run cushion in their next at-bat.
Sabrina Reyes stroked a leadoff double and moved to third on a
sacrifice by Tiffany Garzon. No. 9 batter Crystal Torres drove
her in with an RBI single to put the Bruins ahead, 1-0.
“I
just wanted to hit the ball hard and put it in play somewhere,”
said Torres. “My only focus was to be aggressive and get
that runner home any way I could. In a game like this, every run
counts and we really needed that run.”
Starting
with the two strikeouts to end the second inning, Arismendi got
ahead of the count on every batter but one in retiring nine in
a row before running into another one-out jam in the fifth.
High
Tech’s Jessie Northgrave reached on an error and went to
third on a looping double off the bat of Angie Nieves that was
just beyond the diving attempt of North Bergen right-fielder Ashley
Vazzona. Arismendi once again settled down by getting a strikeout
and a lazy fly to center to end the threat.
“I
knew my defense had my back, so I just worked hard on making good
pitches,” said Arismendi. “It was definitely a tough
spot, but I knew we would find a way to get out of it. I had to
really focus because a hit there would have changed the game and
we really wanted this win.”
Arismendi
helped her own cause with the bat in the top of the sixth. Jazmin
Palma drew a two-out walk and went to second on a wild pitch before
Arismendi slugged a double to deep left field to easily score
Palma for a 2-0 lead. However, she did not need the insurance
run as she got through the final two innings to give North Bergen
the quality win it was desperately seeking.
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| Crystal
Torres and North Bergen, after playing a tough competition
in Florida, evened their record at 4-4 on the season. |
“North
Bergen deserved to win, they were more aggressive at the plate
than we were,” said High Tech head coach Jose Gonzalez.
“We have hit the ball well all year and we didn’t
swing the bats well at all today. When you fall behind a pitcher
like (Arismendi) all game, you’re putting yourself in a
big hole and sometimes you can’t get out of it. We couldn’t
get out of it today. We get North Bergen again in the regular
season and we could see them again possibly in the county final
if both teams make it that far. So we’ll learn something
from this and try to be better the next time out.”
Arismendi
controlled the strike zone by falling behind just five batters
all game and finishing with seven strikeouts without walking a
batter for North Bergen (4-4). Arismendi, Reyes, Torres, and Shendae
Rey had the hits for the Bruins. Colon also pitched well in defeat
for High Tech (4-1). The senior also had seven Ks and walked two,
along with slugging a triple.
Now
with a big win out of the way, the confidence is building and
the Bruins feel the sky if the limit on their success this season.
“This
was a great win for us, no question about it,” said North
Bergen head coach Tom Eagleson, who is now 14 wins away from 500
for his career. “I think we are just starting to scratch
the surface of what we can be. This is the kind of team where
a big win makes them want to work even harder to get the next
one. We still have a long way to go, but the competitive losses
we had down in Florida and to Indian Hills will help prepare us
to be a better team down the road when it counts. We’re
starting to turn the corner. Now our job is to keep improving
every day towards bigger goals that we set at the beginning of
the season.”
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