Sunday, April 17, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

River Dell's Chloe DeSanctis overcame a slow start to pitch well in the Hawks' 10-3 win over Northern Highlands in the EDSAF Softball Tournament in Emerson on Saturday.

EMERSON – In softball, a team’s run production generally comes from the top of the batting order. Using the speed at the top to set the table for the big bats through the heart of the order is what most teams rely on offensively. However, to be a championship team, production from the top of the lineup, along with good pitching and solid defense, is not always enough. It is something River Dell head coach Mike Garibell knows quite well. The key to success towards the end of the season comes in how consistent a team is and how balanced the the lineup is.

After a big 8-2 win Friday over previously undefeated Ramsey, the Hawks were in danger of being upset by Northern Highlands; down three runs heading into the fourth inning. Desperately needing an offensive spark, the Hawks got it, and then some, from their No. 8 and 9 batters.

Ashley Sansevere, the No. 9 hitter, tied the game in the fourth on a two-run single and the No. 8 batter, Gabby Smith, broke the game open in the fifth with a two-run double. Sansevere and Smith combined to go 4-for-5 at the plate with 6 RBIs as River Dell scored 10 runs over the final three innings for a 10-3 win over Northern Highlands on Saturday in the EDSAF Tournament at Emerson High School.

“We were hitting the ball well all game and I just told the girls that if we kept doing that, they would start finding some holes eventually,” Garibell said. “Northern Highlands came out swinging the bats well and they were making great plays on us in the field. But we weren’t doing anything wrong up there, so we had to keep our heads in it.

:"I thought we got outstanding production from Gabby (Smith) and Ashley (Sansevere) at the bottom of our lineup. They got up in big spots and really came through for us.”

Highlands' pitcher Kasey Dunbar managed to hold down the River Dell offense for the first three innnings.

Coming off of its first win of the season on Friday, Northern Highlands carried that momentum over into yesterday’s tilt with River Dell. In the top of the first inning, Sasha Brown hit a long triple and scored on a fielder’s choice to quickly give the Highlanders a 1-0 lead. They tacked on two more runs in the third when Taylor Summers alertly scored on a fielder’s choice and Julianna Leshinsky doubled to left-center to bring home Kristina Markel for a 3-0 lead.

The Hawks bounced back to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. The bases were loaded with one out when Smith lifted a sac fly to score Jo Marie Massaro. On the throw home, Jordan Bastable and Lindsay Clark both moved into scoring position, which proved to be big. Sansevere then stepped up and lined a single to center to plate both runners and knot the score at 3-3.

“I think the biggest thing for me was to keep my weight back and drive through the ball instead of just lunging at it,” said Sansevere. “Their pitcher was throwing a lot of strikes, so I knew I would get a good pitch to hit. We try to stay focused every at-bat and make every play count. With the way we were hitting, we figured eventually that they would start to drop in for hits.”

River Dell broke it open in the fifth when Massaro snapped the tie with an RBI double and pitcher Chloe DeSanctis brought her in three pitches later with a run-scoring single for 5-3 lead. With two outs, Smith and Sansevere again came up clutch. Smith hit a long drive to the base of the fence in left for a two-run double and Sansevere followed with a single to all but put the game away.

Each of the nine River Dell (4-2) starters had a hit, led by a 3-for-3 effort from Sansevere. DeSanctis struggled to find a rhythm in the frigid cold, but got stronger as the game went on. The senior right-hander scattered eight hits, walked three, and had 10 strikeouts. Smith and Sansevere each drove in three runs, Massaro knocked in two, while Stephanie Caracozza and DeSanctis drove in a run apiece.

Kasey Dunbar took the loss for Northern Highlands (1-8). Taylor Summers and Sasha Brown each had extra-base hits, a run scored, and both made spectacular leaping catches in the field.

River Dell has seemed to hit its stride, but the true test of that will come this week. In a 24-hour span, the Hawks will try to avenge one of their losses when they face defending Group 2 state champ Indian Hills and then go against arguably North Jersey’s top pitcher in DePaul senior Chelsea Batelli.

“We have some tough games coming up, but we like the challenges that are ahead of us,” said Garibell. “There are some things we can certainly work on, but we’re getting better every day and we’re being positive.

" We know we have a good defense and an experienced pitcher in Chloe. Not every game are your 3-4-5 hitters going to carry you and today it was the bottom of our lineup that gives us a shot in the arm. If we can hit up and down the lineup like we did today, we’ll be a much better team and a pretty dangerous one moving forward.”

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