Sunday,
May 23, 2010
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
 |
 |
After
erasing a 5-run deficit, High Tech got to celebrate the
first ever true Hudson County championhip after a 20-8 win
over Secaucus on Saturday in Jersey City. |
JERSEY
CITY – For the past four years, the High Tech softball team
has been able to ride its stars to previously unreached heights.
In the middle of that has been the success of pitcher Erica Colon.
Whether with her powerful right arm in the circle or her lethal
bat the plate, she has often carried her team to victory.
But
after pitching two straight days, including Friday’s 4-2
win Hudson County semifinal win over North Bergen, adrenaline
could only carry her so far. The Lasercats’ opponent in
the final, Secaucus, was able to jump on Colon and take a commanding
five-run lead.
Colon’s
teammates knew it was time to pick her up just as she had for
them so many times before. They did with a huge two-out rally
in the fifth inning that turned a five-run deficit into a five-run
lead paced by the bottom of the lineup.
Jessie
Northgrave stroked a two-out, two-strike double and Briana Guzman
followed with a two-run homer to tie the game. Eight-seeded High
Tech scored 10 runs in the fifth, all of them with two outs, and
captured the first-ever Hudson County Tournament trophy with a
20-8 victory over seventh-seeded Secaucus at New Jersey City University
in Jersey City.
“We
worked for this all year and it’s crazy to win this game
the way we did,” said Guzman. “This is what we wanted
all year and to comeback like this makes it that much more memorable.”
 |
| Shannon
Waters and Secaucus finished the season with a 19-8 record.
|
Secaucus
had a crushing loss in the state tournament after giving up two
runs in the bottom of the seventh in a loss to Whippany Park,
but bounced back nicely with a win on Friday over St. Dominic
Academy, 8-2, in the HCT semis. The Patriots continued to swing
the bats well and used a few miscues in the field by High Tech
to get going. The Patriots only got one hit in the first inning,
an RBI double by Andrea Innis, but put up three runs to grab the
lead and the momentum.
High
Tech got two runs back in the top of the second on a Guzman double
and an error, but the Patriots responded with three more runs
in the bottom half of the inning. Shannon Waters drilled an RBI
single and Innis singled home two more runs. Waters then drew
a bases-loaded walk in the third as Secaucus took a surprising
7-2 lead and the Lasercats knew they were in trouble.
“We’re
a good team, but we can’t turn it on and off like a switch,”
said High Tech’s Jovi Meneses. “The bottom line is
we had to get our focus back and we’ve come back from being
down before. We never give up in any situation and we just had
to start hitting. Everybody picks everyone else up and that’s
how our team is successful. We were just running out of time and
we had to get things going.”
Waters
was just one out away from getting out of a jam after Bianca Arroyo
lifted a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 7-3. But then the Lasercats
got their hitting shoes on and the entire complexion of the game
changed in a hurry. The next nine batters all reached base, eight
of them coming on base hits and four of them went for extra bases.
After Natasha Nieves singled, Northgrave took an outside fastball
off the fence in right-center to score both Meneses and Nieves
to trim the lead to 7-5 and get High Tech back on track.
“The
two-run double by Jessie (Northgrave) was the biggest hit of the
game,” said High Tech head coach Jose Gonzalez. “Then
we knew were back in it and we weren’t going to be denied.
That really picked us up and when Briana (Guzman) hit the homerun,
we knew the game was ours to lose.”
 |
| Briana
Guzman hit a two-run homer to help get the High Tech offense
in gear. |
Northgrave
cut into the lead with the long double, one swing later and the
game was suddenly tied. Guzman drilled a pitch well over the fence
in dead center to even the score at 7.
“We
knew we could do this and I was feeling really positive when I
got to the plate,” said Guzman. “Jessie came up with
a big hit and now it was my turn. I was waiting for that pitch
right down the middle and I got it. It was exactly where I like
it and I hit just the way I wanted to. It was amazing to run around
the bases and see my teammates waiting for me at home plate. I
knew then that we were going to win this game.”
The
Lasercats did not stop hitting the ball after Guzman’s homer.
In fact, they were just warming up. Sybil Lynch followed with
a triple and came home on a wild pitch to give High Tech the lead
for good. Angie Nieves brought in two runs with a single. Meneses
and Arroyo followed with an RBI single and a RBI double, respectively,
to cap the inning and give High Tech a 12-7 lead.
Danielle
Roesing came on in relief of Waters, but there was little anyone
could do to stop the suddenly red-hot Lasercats. The finishing
blow with a long two-run homer off the bat of Colon, who earned
MVP honors. Innis earned team MVP honors for Secaucus (19-8) going
2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Waters took the loss,
but did drive in two runs. While the Patriots fell short of their
first opportunity at a county title (they were not allowed in
the play in the HCIAA tournaments in years past), their future
is awfully bright.
“We
have eight of our nine starters returning, so this is a real good
learning experience for those girls,” said Secaucus head
coach Cheryl Bott. “I’m proud of how hard we played.
Give High Tech all the credit, they got hot and really hit the
ball well over the final three innings. It was real nice for us
to get here and score eight runs against one of the better pitchers
in the state is awesome for our girls. Our effort was there, we
just ran into an excellent team.”
The
bottom three batters in the batting order stepped up in a big
way for High Tech (21-5). Northgrave, Guzman, and Lynch combined
to go 7-for-12 with a HR, seven RBIs, and six runs scored. Natalie
Classen finished with three RBIs. Classen, Lynch, and Angie Nieves
each had three hits. Colon hit a homerun, picked up the win, and
finished with 10 K’s.
Now
with a county title in its back pocket, High Tech looks for a
return trip to the Group 1 state final. The next step in that
journey to Toms River goes through Whippany Park in the North
2, Group 1 semifinals on Tuesday. But for now, it is all about
the Lasercats enjoying the moment and realizing just what they
have achieved.
“This
county championship win was a total team effort and that is just
what I was looking for,” added Gonzalez. “Secaucus
is a good team and they came out with the intensity that we were
supposed to come out with. We woke up just in time and got great
production from the bottom of our lineup. Erica Colon is a great
pitcher and one of the best players ever to come out of Hudson
County. But she could not carry us every game and today she didn’t
have to. Everyone stepped up when their number was called on and
we won this title as a true team; not just a team following the
lead of one player. Today, we had nine leaders on the field and
everyone did their part to bring this trophy home.”
FOR
MORE
PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
|
