CHAMPIONS! |
5/29/09
Tigers rule North 2 Group III
SOUTH PLAINFIELD — It took a little scratching and clawing to goad the South Plainfield High School into showing just what their own claws can do.
After watching sixth-seeded Morristown use some small ball to take a 2-0 lead Friday afternoon, the top-seeded Tigers battered Colonials starter Julia Cox to the tune of eight hits, including five doubles, and six runs in the fourth and fifth innings, propelling them to their third sectional title in nine years, 6-2, in the NJSIAA North 2 Group III championship.
"You don't want to end up 22-2 with nothing," South Plainfield head coach Don Panzarella said. "The sectional's great. In counties, we came up a little short, but we won the division. And we can still win a state championship. That's not a shabby year at all."
The Tigers won a North 2 Group II banner in 2000, then captured this crown in 2005. This year's title didn't come easily, as Cox and South Plainfield's Alyssa Sutherland traded zeros for the first three innings. The Colonials broke through in the fourth, as junior Julie Camelotto lined a double off the wall in center, the only hard-hit ball allowed by Sutherland on the afternoon.
A humpback liner off the glove of second baseman Alexa Kunch put runners on the corners, and senior Karley Murphy followed with a bunt back to Sutherland. The senior looked Camelotto back to third, but Camelotto broke for the plate on the throw to first, and barely snuck under the tag to make it 1-0. Junior Allie Palestri then blooped an RBI single to left to make it 2-0 and put some pressure on the Tigers, who had managed just two baserunners and no hits to that point.
"We weren't striking out, but we were putting the ball in play at them, and I'm thinking, "Here we go,' " Panzarella said. "But this team doesn't quit. They find a way to come back."
And in the home half of the fourth inning, that's exactly what the Tigers did. Junior Katie Muglia laced a one-out double off Murphy's glove in right, and senior catcher Gina Curcio followed with a crisp liner to left. Junior Bianca DiDolce then doubled to the gap in left-center, pulling South Plainfield within a run, and junior Kristie Crilley capped the rally with a sharp bouncer down the third-base line, plating two more runs to take a 3-2 lead.
"We just focused on the ball, and made sure we waited for our pitch," Muglia said. "We weren't too anxious, and we found the right spot."
After Sutherland sat down the Colonials (11-7) in order in the fifth, the Tigers went back to work. Senior Jackie Kukuch doubled with one down, and two batters later Muglia sent a one-hopper off the left-field wall, making it 4-2. She came around on an error before Crilley's RBI double to center pushed the lead to four and chased Cox.
"They deflated a little bit (after that) and then they tried to bounce back and keep their spirits up," Morristown head coach Kim Jackson said. "But we worked hard for those two runs, and they just started to hit the ball hard. It deflates you a little bit."
Releiver Samantha Sandelli retired all four batters she faced, but by then the damage was done.
"We were getting extra-base hits, while they were only getting little bloopers," Crilley said. "It definitely hurts (them). When that girl got a double off us, it hurt us. When we got those hits, it felt good."
Meanwhile, Sutherland (20-2) cruised from the fifth on. She retired the final 11 batters, needing just 23 pitches to get through the last three innings.
"Mentally, that put us back in the driver's seat," Panzarella said of the rally. "When she (Sutherland) got a couple runs lead, the team gets more confidence. And Alyssa's a senior, she doesn't want to lose."
The loss ends a good run for the Colonials, who had won nine of 10 coming into Friday, including upsets of No. 3 Fort Lee and No. 2 Nutley in the tournament.
"They did a hell of a job even getting to this point," Jackson said. "I couldn't be more proud of the girls. They represented the team well, the school well."
South Plainfield moves on to Tuesday's state semifinal against the winner of the North 1 final between Sparta and Ramapo. Tuesday's game will be 4 p.m. at Belleville High School.
"We were really excited," Sutherland said. "It means a lot, because we went out there to try and win the GMCs. But not being able to have that, a sectional title's big for us."
South Plainfield 6, Morristown 2
MORRISTOWN (15-9) 000 200 0 — 2 5 1
SOUTH PLAINFIELD (22-2) 000 330 X — 6 10 1
2B: MOR — Camelotto; SP — Muglia 2, DiDolce, Kukuch, Crilley; WP: Sutherland (21-2); LP: Cox (11-7).
|
