Friday,
April 30, 2010
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Alicia
Daniele scattered six hits, walked one, and had five strikeouts
to pick up the win for IHA, the defending Bergen County
champion who knocked off Waldwick, 12-1, on Thursday.
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WASHINGTON
TOWNSHIP – With the mound moving back from 40 feet to 43
feet this season, offense (and particularly hitting) has picked
up and it has changed the strategy that most teams use when at
the plate. One of the longtime staples in the game softball, the
bunt, is one aspect of the game that has become less ubiquitous.
But
after watching his team struggle at the plate the first time through
the order, IHA head coach Anthony Larezza made the third inning
all about getting a bunt down and it gave the Blue Eagles’
offense the kickstart it needed in the opening round of the Bergen
County Softball Tournament.
Carly
Piccinich and Ally Vergona both dropped down bunt singles that
scored runs as IHA broke open the game with a four-run third,
and closed it out with a seven-run sixth as it opened defense
of its county title with a 12-1 win over Waldwick that played
much closer than the final score indicates.
“We
stress being able to get bunts down and we got a couple down to
get the ball rolling,” said Piccinich, IHA’s sophomore
second baseman who was an All-State selection last year. “In
the county tournament, you can’t take anyone lightly. As
the defending champs, teams are going to come ready to knock us
off, but we feel we’re kind of coming in as an underdog
as a No. 5 seed and we’re starting to play well again, so
we are building confidence.”
IHA
got on the scoreboard in the second inning when Piccinich doubled
off of Waldwick’s Tracy Fey and came home on an RBI double
from Vergona to make it 1-0.
In
the third, Kaitlyn McGillycuddy walked and Alexis Durando reached
on a bunt single before Taylor Cosentino dropped a sac bunt to
move them into scoring position. Piccinich then popped up a bunt,
but it was just out of the outstretched diving attempt of Waldwick
first baseman Jillian Neugebauer, which scored McGillycuddy. Christina
Miquel followed with an RBI single and then Vergona dropped down
another bunt single that scored Piccinich. Kelsey Trujillo capped
the inning with a run-scoring single to give IHA a 5-0 lead.
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| Waldwick’s
Tracy Fey kept her team in the game for the first five-plus
innings. |
“We
wanted to put the pressure on them and we did a good job today
of getting bunts down,” said Larezza. “Waldwick was
putting the bat on the ball and when a team does that consistently,
anything can happen in a one-run game. We wanted to give ourselves
a cushion to work with, take the pressure off of our pitcher and
our defense, and build off that.”
Waldwick
was not about to lie down and continued to battle at the plate.
After Vergona picked a runner off of first with two runners on
to end the fifth inning, Waldwick came back out swinging the bats
in the sixth. Kara Deppe stroked a double to left-center and Jessica
Pollack brought her in with a two-out single to trim the lead
to 5-1. IHA pitcher Alicia Daniele was able to escape further
danger and the offense picked her up in the bottom half of the
inning.
“Every
team is going to give us everything they have and we’re
well-prepared for that,” said Daniele. “We have had
a few bad games and some losses early in the season. But you don’t
win championships on the field in April, you win them in May and
June. We’re getting better each game and I think losing
those games early actually helped us in a way.”
The
Blue Eagles strung together five consecutive hits, the last of
which ended the game. Miquel launched a fly ball to left-center
that hit the top of the fence and dropped over for a three-run,
walk-off homerun. It was the second consecutive Bergen County
Tournament game she ended it with a three-run, walk-off homer.
The last one was a bit more memorable as her homerun in the bottom
of the ninth capped a 3-2 comeback win over Pascack Valley in
last year’s Bergen County final.
“We
gave it everything we had, it just unraveled for us in the bottom
of the sixth,” said Waldwick head coach Frank Laccitiello.
“Anyone who was at this game knows it was a lot closer than
[12-1]. Our girls did everything they could. We did it against
a team that just came off beat the best team in Passaic County
and probably the top seed in their section in West Milford (11-2).
The fact that we got here and got this under our belt and played
pretty well before their big inning is the best thing for this
program.”
In
years past, Waldwick would not have even qualified for the tournament
with an under .500 record at the cutoff. But under .500 teams
were allowed to enter this season and Waldwick came in for the
experience of playing against one of the best teams Bergen County
has to offer.
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| IHA
will face the winner of the Tenafly vs. Midland Park on Sunday
in the Round of 16. |
“A
lot has been said about teams (under .500) that are allowed in
the tournament, good and bad” added Laccitiello. “Our
goal is to get this experience and use it for years to come. Down
the road, we don’t want to back into the tournament. We
want to be one of the higher seeds and be a team that makes a
run in the tournament.”
Piccinich
led the way offensively for IHA (12-4) going 3-for-4 with three
runs scored and two RBI. Miquel drove in four runs and Vergona
knocked in two for the Blue Eagles. Daniele scattered six hits,
walked one, and had five strikeouts to pick up the win.
Deppe
scored the lone run and also had a nice running catch in left
field for Waldwick (7-9). Haley McClelland, Lauren Bjork, and
Colleen McHugh also had hits for the Warriors.
Fifth-seeded
IHA moves into the second round to face the winner of 12th seeded
Tenafly and Midland Park, the No. 21 seed. While the Blue Eagles
hope to repeat as champions, the most important thing for them
right now is to take it one step at a time.
“We’re
not where we want to be as a team, but we’re not where we
were at the beginning of the season,” added Larezza. “The
good thing is that we’re going in the right direction. We’re
starting to play well and do it at the right time. We’ll
try to do that each and every game until we reach our goals.”
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