Here is the second part of the BCT Round of 16 recap, looking back at the four games that took place at Old Tappan and Emerson. If you missed Part I, recapping the four games at Saddle Brook, click here.
Recaps below include: No. 8 Ridgewood over No. 9 Paramus, 3-0; No. 1 Indian Hills over Park Ridge, 10-2; No. 7 Mahwah over No. 4 Fair Lawn, 7-6; No. 5 Ramsey over No. 21 Dumont, 5-0.
Ridgewood 3, Paramus 0
No. 8 Ridgewood advanced to the BCT quarterfinals after its 3-0 win over Paramus, as the Maroons got a four-hit shutout from Nicole Parks, center, with 12 strikeouts.
1. Nicole Parks, Ridgewood – The Albany-bound senior fired a four-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts and no walks to advance to the BCT quarterfinals, where Parks and Ridgewood will get much-anticipated third meeting against top-seeded and undefeated Indian Hills after falling to the Braves, 1-0 and 8-6, this season. On Sunday, Parks got out of a major first-inning jam after Paramus’ speedy leadoff hitter Kelsey Settecasi led off with a bunt single and stole second and third with no outs. Parks struck out the next three, and the next five after that for eight straight Ks. In the fourth inning, after Alexa Salinardi and Tori Petruzzella recorded hits to put runners at the corners, Parks again got an inning-ending strikeout.
2. Kelly Skettini, Ridgewood – Locked in a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third, Skettini’s two-out RBI single brought home Lindsay Gray (who reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second) to give the Maroons a 1-0 lead.
3. Rachel Pizzuti, Ridgewood – In addition to providing an RBI double in the sixth inning for an insurance run, Pizzuti also threw out Settecasi attempting to steal third base in the top half of the sixth.
Indian Hills 10, Park Ridge 2
No. 1 Indian Hills advanced to the BCT quarterfinals after its 10-2 win over No. 17 Park Ridge, as the Braves got a 3-for-4, 4-RBI day from senior catcher Maddie Levine.
1. Madison Levine, Indian Hills – The Braves’ senior catcher went 3-for-4 with four RBI and blasted her first home run of the season to lead the Braves to their 25th straight win and into the BCT quarterfinals. Levine provided an RBI single in the bottom of the third to give Indian Hills a 1-0 lead and blasted a three-run home run over the left-field fence in Indian Hills’ seven-run fourth inning, immediately after Park Ridge had taken a 2-1 lead.
2. Devin Durando, Indian Hills – Durando picked up her 23rd win of the year, allowing four hits and struck out 11 in six innings pitched. She also went 3-for-4 at the plate, including a double and triple, with two RBI.
3. Nicole Mellone, Indian Hills – Another big day for the sophomore second baseman, as Mellone went 2-for-4, including a double, with two runs scored and two steals. She now has an 18-game hitting streak, a streak which dates back to April 14, and is batting .518 (28-for-56) in that span.
Other Notes: Park Ridge took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning after Alexis Criscuolo led off with a bunt single and scored the game-tying run on an RBI triple from KellyAnn Rubino. Martina McGee drove home Rubino for the go-ahead run with an RBI single. … On Monday, Park Ridge advanced to the sectional quarterfinals by defeating Emerson in the first round.
Mahwah 7, Fair Lawn 6
No. 13 Mahwah upset No. 4 Fair Lawn, 7-6, in the BCT Round of 16 on Sunday. It is the second straight year the Thunderbirds upset a 4-seed.
1. Anna Nielsen, Mahwah — Nielsen had a pair of doubles and three RBI for the 13th-seeded Thunderbirds, who upset a No. 4 seed for the second straight year (beat Saddle Brook last year) to advance to the tournament quarterfinals. This year, Mahwah will meet Big North Patriot division rival Ramsey with a trip to the BCT Final Four on the line. Mahwah fell in the most recent to Ramsey, 1-0, on May 2.
2. Olivia Bell, Mahwah – Bell doubled, tripled and drove in three runs for Mahwah, which struck for the game-tying and go-ahead runs in the top of the seventh to prevail, 7-6.
3. Nicole Curley, Mahwah – On opening day, after Mahwah’s Danielle Iacovo got the win against Pascack Hills, coach Craig Nielsen said as good as Iacovo was, there was plenty of pitching depth behind her — and the Thunderbirds have needed it. After Iacovo was sidelined with tendonitis in her knee in early April, Curley stepped right in and saw plenty of action during the regular season. After Iacovo took a liner off her pitching elbow in a state game vs. Old Tappan, Curley got the start in Sunday’s Sweet 16 matchup and picked up a big Bergen County tournament win against a great offensive team in Fair Lawn.
Other Notes: This game had five lead changes. Mahwah led 2-0 after scoring two runs in the first, Fair Lawn led 4-2 after three runs in the third, Mahwah retook the lead, 5-4, with three runs in the top of the fourth, Fair Lawn tied it at 5 with one run in the fifth and retook the lead, 6-5, with one run in the sixth, and Mahwah scored two runs in the top of the seventh. … Danielle Sibilio had a double and three RBI for Fair Lawn.
Ramsey 5, Dumont 0
No. 5 Ramsey defeated No. 21 Dumont, 5-0, in the BCT Round of 16 on Sunday, getting a one-hit shutout from pitcher Jess Juhlin.
1. Jess Juhlin, Ramsey – The senior fired a one-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and one walk to lead the Rams past Dumont for the third time this season and back to the BCT quarterfinals for the fourth straight year.
2. Deven Hadeler, Ramsey – Hadeler went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored for the Rams, which struck for three runs in the first and two in the fourth in the five-run victory. It was Hadeler who started Ramsey’s game-winning rally in the 8th inning of the Rams’ opening round state tournament win over Wallkill Valley last week with a leadoff double.
3. Holly Cook, Ramsey – Cook went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI, and always seems to be getting big RBIs in big games for the Rams. She had an 2 RBI on Sunday, the game-winning RBI in the 2-1 state win vs. Wallkill Valley, two RBIs in a 4-3 loss vs. Immaculate Conception and the lone RBI in Ramsey’s 1-0 win over Mahwah earlier this season.
BCT Quarterfinal Schedule
Saturday at IHA
No. 2 IHA vs. No. 10 Pascack Valley, 10 a.m.
No. 1 Indian Hills vs. No. 8 Ridgewood, 12 p.m.
No. 3 Immaculate Conception vs. No. 6 Northern Highlands, 2 p.m.
No. 5 Ramsey vs. No. 13 Mahwah, 4 p.m.