Extra Bases: Championship Saturday – A look back at the Bergen County Tournament

What started out as the largest tournament in Bergen County history with 39 teams has been whittled down to two: No. 1 Immaculate Heart and No. 2 Indian Hills. The two county powerhouses will meet tonight at 7 p.m. under the lights at Overpeck Park for a much-anticipated county championship. IHA is attempting to become the second program in BCT history to three-peat, after Ramapo accomplished the feat in 2008, while Indian Hills is making its third trip to the county final in the last four years — but looking for its first win since 2010. Both teams are coming off big state tournament wins on Friday — with IHA prevailing in nine innings against Pope John, 2-1, in the North, Non-Public A semifinals thanks to Steph Thomas’ walk-off single, while Indian Hills just captured the North 1, Group 3 sectional title with a 1-0 win over defending Group 3 champion High Point. Devin Durando fired a three-hit shutout; Nicole Leocata scored the winning run on an error in the second inning. Both teams still have triple crown aspirations, but only tonight’s winner will still have the opportunity to do so. Indian Hills enters the BCT final on a 26-game winning streak; IHA has won its last 17 games, outscoring its opponents, 130-2, in that span.

So on the morning of the Championship Saturday, here’s a look back at yet at some of the most memorable, standout moments from the 40th Annual Bergen County Tournament (not limited to just the finalists) and how this year’s tournament finalists got to this point, and some other storylines along the way…

• We start in the Round 32, when No. 7 Ramapo‘s Lexi Graber‘s RBI base hit off the first base bag deflected into the outfield and allowed Caitlyn Hickey to score in the bottom of the ninth to propel the Raiders into the Round 16 after a 1-0 win over a feisty Holy Angels team — and, by the way, what an underrated season Holy Angels’ pitcher Lauren Saxenian had. She kept the Angels in a ton of games against good teams all year long, including this one in the BCT, and their state tournament loss to Paramus Catholic earlier this week. But back to Ramapo, pitcher Sophie Nochta threw the first of two back-to-back BCT gems, allowing no runs on five hits in nine innings. The Raiders would take that momentum from their first-round win and advance into the Elite 8, before bowing out to Indian Hills a few weeks later. 

• Pitching ruled the day in the Round of 32: No. 9 Ramsey‘s Jess Juhlin fired a no-hitter against Ridgefield Park (Nicole Mazzella had a big day going 4-for-4); No. 3 Immaculate Conception‘s Sarah Piening and Andee Lupica combined on a no-hitter in IC’s win over Ridgefield; No. 2 Indian Hills‘ Devin Durando struck out 12 in a one-hitter vs. Dumont; No. 4 Saddle Brook‘s Alexia Russo fired a one-hit shutout in the Falcons’ 4-0 win over Westwood; No. 5 Midland Park‘s Katie Kontos hurled a two-hitter (and also homered) in the Panthers’ 4-2 win over Wood-Ridge (MP’s Victoria Bell had a big day, too, going 4-for-4 with a pair of RBI); No. 6 Fair Lawn‘s Marissa Spinuzzi struck out 10 in Fair Lawn’s 4-1 win over Bergenfield; No. 8 Paramus Catholic‘s Samantha Buse fired a five-inning one-hitter with eight strikeouts vs. Hasbrouck Heights; IHA‘s Steph Thomas threw a one-hitter with 10 Ks against Emerson in less than an hour; and No. 16 Rutherford‘s Julie Sosnicki struck out 13 in a four-hitter as the Bulldogs prevailed against Ridgewood, 3-2; No. 13 Mahwah‘s Danielle Iacovo allowed one run on five hits in the Thunderbirds’ 9-1 win over Park Ridge — the beginning of a storybook run to the BCT semis; No. 14 Lyndhurst‘s Casey Zdanek shined both offensively and on the mound, blasting a two-run HR and striking out eight in the Bears’ 8-3 win over Pascack Valley; No. 10 Pascack Hills‘ Robyn Abaunza tossed a four-hitter in the Cowgirls’ 6-2 win over Hackensack; No. 12 Paramus‘ Tori Petruzzella allowed two runs on five hits to lead the Spartans past River Dell, 3-2.

• Staying in the Round of 32, let’s not forget No. 18 Northern Highlands‘ mini upset of No. 15 New Milford, 12-7, which looking back on now was a pretty impressive win considering the Knights made a run to the North 1, Group 1 sectional final. It was the only case of a lower seed beating a higher seed in the Round of 32. Freshman Sarah Gunderson was the offensive star of the day and looked like someone with a bright future in Northern Highlands. Super young team, too. They’ll be a team to keep an eye on next year.

• One week later in the Round of 16, it was No. 13 Mahwah that stole the show, upsetting eventual North 1, Group 1 sectional champion Saddle Brook, 6-2, behind Danielle Iacovo‘s 14-strikeout performance and a key three-run home run from Anna Nielsen. This was the Thunderbirds’ coming out party of sorts — the first of what would become many big postseason wins for Mahwah — a team still in the hunt for a Group 2 championship after capturing the North 1, Group 2 sectional title on Friday. What a season in Mahwah — and very reminiscent of the baseball team’s magical run last year — which, of course, ended with a Group 2 championship. There’s a Baldi on this year’s team, too, making significant contributions as only a sophomore — SS Alyssa Baldi.

• The best game of the day in that Round of 16 came out of Old Tappan — between No. 8 Paramus Catholic and No. 9 Ramsey. I’m gonna remember that play Ramsey pitcher Jess Juhlin made to end the game with the bases loaded — clinging to a 5-3 lead – to send the Rams into the BCT Elite 8 for a long time. It was that good. And the game was even better. Ramsey withstood a late charge from the Lady Paladins, getting a crushed two-run home run from Janelle Marchesani (right over my, and some of the Dirty Dozen’s, heads) to make it a two-run game in the 6th. But Ramsey built up a big enough lead thanks in large part to their three seniors – Melanie Consiglio, Kayla Gravalis and Megan Bencivenga — and were movin’ on to the quarterfinals.

• Staying in Old Tappan, what a performance Fair Lawn‘s Marissa Spinuzzi delivered against the Knights in the Round of 16 to send the Cutters into the Elite 8. Fair Lawn’s senior ace fired a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts against the Big North National champs — proving Fair Lawn was certainly worthy of the No. 6 seed it received from the BCT committee. Jen Calabrase delivered another big-game performance, scoring Fair Lawn’s first run and driving in the Cutters second run. She really had a great year, and had one of the clutchest hits I saw all year in Lakeland early in the season.

• Speaking of teams that proved themselves in the Round 16, No. 5 Midland Park showed it belonged on the big stage after its 2-1 win over perennial power Paramus — the BCT runner-up last year — fueled by an outstanding two-hit performance from sophomore Katie Kontos. It was Brianna Lelinho‘s go-ahead RBI double in the 6th which propelled the Dirty Dozen into the Elite 8. A day later, I got to meet Lelinho and her sister Katie, Michelle Passero and Amanda Parker… #dirtydozenplus1

• Going back to Ramapo, the Raiders won their second straight intense, one-run game over Pascack Hills, 2-1, in the Round of 16, getting a key defensive play from RF Ciana Moschetto. Ramapo pitcher Sophie Nochta picked up her second straight BCT win in this one.

• The top three seeds in the Round of 16 — No. 1 IHA, No. 2 Indian Hills and No. 3 Immaculate Conception — all won this round, but don’t forget about Rutherford pitcher Julie Sosnicki‘s strong outing against IHA in a 2-0 loss. The record-breaking Bulldogs senior and all-time winningest pitcher in Rutherford history allowed just two runs and gave the Blue Eagles’ their closest, most competitive game all tournament. IHA’s Steph Thomas was just a little bit better on this day, allowing no runs, one hit and struck out 11. … Indian Hills’ Devin Durando was just as good in the Braves’ 4-0 win over Northern Highlands — firing a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts. Braves SS Nicole Leocata had the first of what would become several big postseason performances, driving in three of Indian Hills’ four runs. … And Immaculate Conception started hot vs. Lyndhurst with four quick runs — getting contributions up and down the lineup — in the first inning en route to a 6-2 win. It was on to the BCT quarters for the Blue Eagles — a round that hadn’t been kind to them in the past.

• In the Elite 8, IHA’s Steph Thomas was as good as it gets against Ramsey, limiting a dangerous Rams lineup to two hits in the 8-0 win. It was the Blue Eagles’ 12th straight shutout. IHA got contributions from all over the lineup, breaking out for seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Cassidy Trause had an RBI squeeze; Natalie Keller had an RBI single; Rachel Pollard had an RBI fielder’s choice after Thomas and Ibarra set the table; Trause added another RBI with an RBI double; and Keller added another RBI single. Ally Vergona had two hits on the day as well, but she had an even bigger game in store one week later…

• In Game 2, the Indian Hills–Ramapo rivalry was renewed (and was taken to another level a few weeks later in the state tournament) with the Braves prevailing, 3-1. Indian Hills did all of its damage in its three-run third. Freshman Nicole Mellone had an RBI single to score KJ Greulich (didn’t I just write something like that two days ago???), Maddie Levine drove home Mellone, and then later scored on a 1st and 3rd play after a Shelby Allen walk. And Indian Hills pitcher Devin Durando did what she’s been doing all year — limiting Ramapo to one run on four hits and finished with 13 strikeouts. Ramapo’s JK McAvoy finished with two of the Braves four hits.

• In Game 3, considering the circumstances — BCT quarterfinals; Immaculate Conception never advancing past this round; against a quality team in Fair Lawn — I think this was the best game I saw IC freshman pitcher Sarah Piening throw all year, and I’ve seen a bunch of IC games. She was perfect until two outs in the fourth (when Fair Lawn’s Sam Colca broke it up with a single) and finished with a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts. Erin Stacevicz got the Blue Wolves on the board with an RBI single in the third; senior Shannon Truppi had a clutch two-out, two-run single to score Stacevicz (who had a big game) and Andee Lupica (also had a good game) to make it 3-0 in the fifth. IC would tack on two more in the sixth on an RBI sac fly from Lupica and an RBI fielder’s choice from Amanda Zielinski. Immaculate Conception finally got over the hump and reached the BCT Final Four for the first time in program history. IC coach Jeff Horohonich nominated Piening for Athlete of the Week after this one, after she capped her perfect 6-0 week and improved to 14-1 on the year with an ERA hovering around 1.00.

• And in Game 4, the improbable run to the BCT Final Four continued for Mahwah in its 5-1 win over Midland Park. I wrote it at the time — it was a strange, sloppy game — but the Thunderbirds prevailed in less-than-ideal conditions. Anna Nielsen had a big run-scoring single the cap Mahwah’s two-run first and later added an RBI fielder’s choice two innings later to give the T-Birds a 3-0 lead. Alyssa Baldi and Julieanne Vesce would both provide RBI singles to cap the Mahwah scoring in the fourth. The five runs were more than enough for Danielle Iacovo, who got the outs when needed in a game played in a steady rain.

• And last Monday, after what seemed like never-ending rain pushed the BCT semifinals back two days, Indian Hills and Immaculate Conception finally took the field. Leadoff hitter Kristen Waters got things started with a hit by pitch and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch (what is it with Indian Hills scoring huge runs on wild pitches?). It looked like that’d hold up to be enough, though the Braves had ample opportunities to push more runs across — leaving 12 runners on base. They finally did add an insurance run — a much-needed one at that — when Nicole Leocata singled home Maddie Levine with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Clutch. Devin Durando made the play of the game on a key cut-off in the top of the sixth, which helped limit an Immaculate Conception rally to just one run. With the tying run on third and just one out, Durando got a strikeout and pop up to third to end the threat. Durando finished allowing one run on five hits and struck out six and will now get to face IHA — the school she transferred out of — in tonight’s BCT championship game. She just shut out defending Group 3 champion High Point in yesterday’s North 1, Group 3 sectional final.

• Finally, IHA. The Blue Eagles’ deep and relentless lineup was on display in their 11-1 six-inning win over Mahwah — ending the Thunderbirds’ incredible tournament run. Senior catcher Ally Vergona was on fire all game and led the 14-hit attack, doubling in her first three at-bats, including a key go-ahead RBI double in the 3rd after the Thunderbirds tied the game at 1 in the top half of the inning. Steph Thomas was her usual dominant self, despite giving up a run for the first time in 88 innings.

So there it is. A look back at this year’s Bergen County tournament. For all the links throughout the tournament, check out the links below. As for tonight, it should be a good one.

Bergen County Tournament Links
May 28: Extra Bases: No. 1 IHA, No. 2 Indian Hills Advance to BCT Championship Game
May 20: Extra Bases: My Day at IHA — BCT Quarterfinals Review, Part II
May 20: Extra Bases: My Day at IHA — BCT Quarterfinals Review, Part I
May 17: Chatting with Mr. Conrad — Previewing the BCT Elite 8
May 14: Extra Bases: And then there were 8 — Recapping the Round of 16
May 10: Extra Bases: Previewing the Round of 16
May 5: Extra Bases: Recapping the Round of 32
May 1: Bracketology 3.0 — Breaking Down the Bracket
April 30: Chattin’ with Mr. Cooper — BCT Seedings Preview
April 30: Extra Bases: Bracketology 2.0
April 29: Extra Bases: Bracketology 1.0