Extra Bases: And then there were eight… BCT Softball Round of 16 Review

May 14, 2013

No. 13-seeded Mahwah, led by pitcher Danielle Iacovo (above)

No. 13-seeded Mahwah, led by pitcher Danielle Iacovo (above), delivered the biggest upset this week, eliminating No. 4-seeded Saddle Brook, 6-2, in the Bergen County tournament Round of 16. Iacovo finished with 14 strikeouts and allowed just four hits.

So, the Bergen County softball tournament Elite Eight is set. No. 1 Immaculate Heart, No. 2 Indian Hills, No. 3 Immaculate Conception, No. 5 Midland Park, No. 6 Fair Lawn, No. 7 Ramapo, No. 9 Ramsey and No. 13 Mahwah. It was the Thunderbirds who delivered the biggest upset of the weekend, taking down No. 4 Saddle Brook, 6-2, behind a six-run rally in the fifth and an outstanding 14-strikeout performance from Danielle Iacovo. … Midland Park proved it belonged on the big stage with an impressive 2-1 win over No. 12 Paramus, and I finally met some of the Dirty Dozen. … Fair Lawn got a heck of a performance from Marissa Spinuzzi, likewise for Indian Hills and Devin Durando. … Immaculate Heart kept rollin’ behind Steph Thomas. … Ramsey survived a late scare from Paramus Catholic and will get a chance to knock off another Non-Public power on Saturday.

The schedule for Saturday is as follows, all games at IHA… No. 1 Immaculate Heart vs. No. 9 Ramsey, 10 a.m.; No. 2 Indian Hills vs. No. 7 Ramapo, noon; No. 3 Immaculate Conception vs. No. 6 Fair Lawn, 2 p.m.; No. 5 Midland Park vs. No. 13 Mahwah, 4 p.m. Four great games coming up.

Here’s a more in-depth look at everything that happened this weekend in the Bergen County Tournament… 

THOMAS PROPELS TOP-SEEDED IHA TO ELITE 8

Immaculate Heart pitcher Steph Thomas fired a complete game one-hitter with 11 strikeouts as the top-seeded Blue Eagles advanced to BCT quarterfinals with their 2-0 win over No. 16 Rutherford. Thomas followed up Sunday’s performance with another shutout win against Pearl River (N.Y.) on Monday to tie the IHA school record for all-time wins with 73. The junior ace and Lafayette-commit tied Brielle Cosentino‘s mark, set in 2000. For her efforts last week, Thomas was named the East Region Player of the Week by MaxPreps/National Fastpitch Coaches Association. In the win over Rutherford, Rachel Pollard and Emily Walter each provided one RBI for the Blue Eagles, who struck for a run in the first and fourth innings.

Ramsey pitcher Jess Juhlin sealed the Rams' 5-3 win over

Ramsey pitcher Jess Juhlin sealed the Rams’ 5-3 win over Paramus Catholic Sunday with a game-ending double play, with the Paladins threatening with the bases loaded.

JUHLIN’S PLAY HELPS LEAD RAMSEY TO BCT QUARTERS

This game was moved to Old Tappan at the last minute Sunday morning, so I was treated to a triple-header, capped by this Ramsey-PC game, which was expected to be one of the best games of the day. And man did it live up to the hype, as the ninth-seeded Rams escaped with a 5-3 victory over Paramus Catholic. First off, Jess Juhlin‘s double play to end the game was sick. With the bases loaded, one out, and the momentum in PC’s favor in the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Paladins’ Julia DeCandia ripped one right back to Juhlin. She caught it, fired to first, double play. Game over. The Rams held off a late PC charge, as the eighth-seeded Paladins scored three times in the sixth (after an RBI single from Steph Triola and a two-run home run from Janelle Marchesani, which went right over my, and some of the Dirty Dozen’s, heads) and were as close as you can get to tying, or even winning, the game in the seventh, if not for Juhlin’s athleticism to end it. “We’ve put in a lot of work to get to this point,” Juhlin said. “It’s been a new team with a lot of new players, but most of this group have been together for years since rec ball and we’re really meshing now. We wanted this and had been preparing for a big game like this for a while. If we played our game and played the way we practiced, we knew we could be here.”

Ramsey built up a 5-0 lead thanks to a three-run fourth — getting a key two-run single from Megan Bencivenga to score Kayla Gravalis and Nicole Mazzella and a sacrifice fly from Christina Esposito — and a two-run rally in the sixth, getting an RBI single from Melanie Consiglio to score Esposito and an RBI bases loaded walk from Gravalis to score Brianna Popolo. I asked Caserta about taking on IHA next, and he said with a laugh, “Can you let us enjoy this one for a little bit before thinking about IHA?” Caserta said he was proud of his seniors stepping up with big hits and big RBIs in big spots on Sunday and has continued being impressed with the progression of Jess Juhlin in the circle. “She’s gotten better and better every day and every week this year,” said Caserta, who picked up career win No. 100 on Monday after a 10-2 win over Dumont. “She does everything we ask and she’s made such a great jump from the beginning of the year to where she is now. She just slowed down a very good-hitting team in PC. She’s resilient. And she’s done a great job for us.” So now the Rams will look to knock off their second straight Non-Public power in the BCT on Saturday against IHA… at IHA, nonetheless. Of course, it will be tough, but Ramsey has the potential, and the confidence, to knock off the two-time defending county champs.

KONTOS, LELINHO LEAD DIRTY DOZEN INTO ELITE 8

Sophomore pitcher Katie Kontos has emerged as one of the best pitchers in North Jersey, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning on Saturday, before finally settling on a two-hitter during No. 5 Midland Park’s 2-1 win over No. 12 Paramus. Brianna Lelinho delivered the big hit for the Panthers, ripping a two-out, two-run double to the right-center gap to break a scoreless tie in the sixth. “Oh, my goodness,” Kontos told fellow Ace Andy Vasquez. “Clutch hit. That was amazing, and you saw the enthusiasm of our team.”

Some of the Dirty Dozen crew went to Old Tappan on Sunday, including coach Ali Bryan, Michelle Passero, Brianna and Katie Lelinho and Amanda Parker. Only four players, but that’s almost half of the entire Midland Park program. I watched the games with them and they’re definitely a fun bunch, and Passero called the Ramsey win. Amanda also took my phone and tweeted out one of the Aces’ more popular tweets… #dirtydozenplus1. With the Saddle Brook loss on Saturday, the Panthers are now the favorite to reach the BCT Final Four — extremely unfamiliar territory for the Group 1 school — but they’ll have to get past No. 13 Mahwah to do so. MP also moved up to No. 5 in this week’s Top 25, but Bryan joked on Sunday she wanted to stay at No. 6… Dirty Dozen divided by two was her reasoning. Everyone in MP is embracing the nickname, and rightfully so. What a year it’s been for this group, currently 21-1 overall and on a 17-game winning streak after Monday’s 12-0 win over Hawthorne Christian.

SIX-RUN RALLY LEADS MAHWAH PAST SADDLE BROOK

On Saturday, No. 13 Mahwah had the first, and maybe only, win through the first two rounds that made you say “Wow” when you heard the result — Mahwah 6, Saddle Brook 2. It’s not that the Thunderbirds weren’t capable of beating Saddle Brook, but the Falcons had been on such a roll before Saturday (it had won 15 in a row entering Saturday), it was a shocker when they went down. Also, Mahwah entered Saturday going 3-3 in its previous six games. Saddle Brook coach Darren White said it all happened so fast… they were up 2-0 in the fifth, then all of a sudden they were down, 6-2, after Taylor Alexander tied the game with a two-run single, Katie Clarke gave the T-Birds the lead with an RBI single of her own, then Anna Nielsen blasted a three-run home run to give pitcher Danielle Iacovo, who White was very impressed with, some more cushion. Iacovo finished with 14 strikeouts and allowed just two runs on four hits. Alyssa Baldi also went 4-for-4, and I’m pretty sure that’s not the first time she’s done that this year. ”From where we were two years ago to where we are now, this is big for us,” Mahwah coach Craig Nielsen told Andy Vasquez.

FOUR-RUN FIRST LIFTS IMMACULATE CONCEPTION INTO BCT QUARTERS

The Blue Wolves wasted no time on Sunday, striking for four runs in the first en route to a 6-2 win over No. 14 Lyndhurst. Erin Stacevicz and Lea Georgatos both walked, Samantha Krakower drove in Stacevicz with an RBI sacrifice fly, Shannon Truppi singled home Georgatos, Gabby Slade doubled, then Andee Lupica singled home Truppi, and Caitlyn Hults doubled home Lupica. That was more than enough run support for pitcher Sarah Piening, who allowed two runs on seven hits. Georgatos, who continues showing the county why she’s one of the best catchers around, made a heck of a defensive play in the fourth with Lyndhurst threatening with the bases loaded. Georgatos, a sophomore transfer, threw out a Bears runner at first on a back pick to end the threat. She’s done that a few times this year, and been close to a few more. Speaking of defense, IC has some of the best around with Georgatos behind the plate, Stacevicz and Melanie Quintanilla in the middle infield, Lupica at third and Hults in center. I’ve seen a few IC games this year, and there’s always someone making great plays. Georgatos, by the way, is batting .552, unofficially.

FAIR LAWN’S SPINUZZI SPINS A ONE-HIT GEM, STRIKES OUT 11 

Fair Lawn’s Marissa Spinuzzi said she was “shocked” when hearing Fair Lawn received the No. 6 seed in this year’s county tournament. Now, she and the Cutters are making the seeding committee look good with two straight wins to open their county tournament. “I didn’t know that many teams and coaches had so much respect for us,” Spinuzzi said after firing a complete game, one-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts to lead Fair Lawn past No. 11 Old Tappan, 2-0, on Sunday. “We all thought we’d get a good seed, but didn’t expect No. 6. I always knew we had a good team, though, and could do great things, but I didn’t know if other coaches saw that. Now it’s nice to go out and show everyone just how good we really are.” Spinuzzi limited the Golden Knights to just one hit, and issued just two walks (both to Mary Wiley) to the Big North National Division champions. The Cutters got on the board in the first when Jen Calabrase reached on a bloop single, moved to second on a passed ball, then scored on an RBI double from Sam Colca. Fair Lawn tacked on another run in the fifth, when Nicole Hegybeli reached, was sac bunted over by Ashley Sudol and moved to third on a Spinuzzi single. Calabrase then doubled in Hegybeli to give the Cutters a 2-0 lead. “We haven’t been this far in a long time,” Spinuzzi said. “It’s nice because we started the season off so well, then hit a rough stretch in the middle of the season, so to come back and get back on track now is nice. We stayed focused and everyone wants to do well.”

MOSCHETTO, NOCHTA GUIDE RAMAPO PAST PASCACK HILLS

For the second week in a row, No.7-seeded Ramapo won an exciting, one-run game in the BCT after taking down No. 10 Pascack Hills, 2-1. Sophomore Ciana Moschetto made the play of the day on Sunday (and you can read about it from Andy Vasquez here) and also provided an RBI and pitcher Sophie Nochta picked up another win in the BCT to set up a much-anticipated showdown with No. 2 Indian Hills — which will be the third meeting between the two rival schools after splitting the regular season series. Ramapo, which struck for one run in the second and third innings, got out of two bases loaded jams on Sunday, including one in the seventh to end the game and advance to the county quarterfinals. The Raiders are the only team from New Jersey to beat Indian Hills this year.

DURANDO LIGHTS OUT AGAIN, AS INDIAN HILLS MOVES ON

Indian Hills pitcher Devin Durando, who has been throwing as well as anyone in Bergen County lately, fired a complete game, two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, as the No. 2-seeded Braves beat No. 18 Northern Highlands on Sunday. Nicole Leocata added three RBI and a double to lead the Indian Hills offense, while Shelby Allen provided a solo home run in the second. It was the Braves’ 17th win in a row, which they’ve since extended with a 10-0 win over Tenafly on Monday. Indian Hills has also pitched 14 shutouts this year, and four in a row.