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SCT SOFTBALL - RAIDERS REBOUND, MOVE TO SCT FINAL
Toms River East avoided the upset bid by red-hot St. John Vianney and advanced to the final of the Shore Conference Tournament with a 3-0 victory.
Published: 06/03/2008
By Kristen Dalton - DigitalSports Correspondent
WALL -- Toms
River East took its shot at redemption Monday afternoon when it defeated
St. John Vianney, 3-0, in the semifinal round of the Shore Conference
Tournament.
Last
year in the SCT final, the Raiders lost their chance at a title at
the hands of the Lancers, who entered this season's tournament as the four-time defending champions. This season, Toms River East cashed in on its dues
and sought out another opportunity to reign supreme in the Shore Conference.
And what better way to reach the final than by defeating the team
that prevented its shot at glory the previous year?
“We
knew we were going face a tough team in St. John Vianney. We’ve scouted
them and saw that they got really hot at the end of the season,” said
Toms River East head coach Debbie Schwartz. “Fortunately, we scored in the beginning of the game and that gave us a comfortable feeling.”
After
a 1-2-3 top of the first inning thanks to solid defense, the Raiders
were able to capitalize during their at-bats in the bottom of the inning.
With one out and no one on, centerfielder Kaila Conboy made her way
to first base after her bunt was overthrown. Conboy was then
able to steal second to put herself in scoring position with Lyndsey PeQueen, who has been one of the top hitters in the Shore this season, coming to the plate. PeQueen took
advantage of the situation and lined the ball up the middle and into
centerfield for a single, bringing home Conboy for a 1-0 Raiders lead.
The
next few innings remained scoreless and the only thing of interest to
note was the number of strikeouts St. John Vianney freshman pitcher
Jen Retzer was racking up. She finished with 12 on the game. As long
as Toms River was kept off the bases, the Lancers still had a chance
to bring home some runs and get back into the game.
That
opportunity presented itself in the top of the sixth inning when left
fielder Kasey Bulman started the rally with a single to right field.
The next batter, third baseman Karissa Battaglia, bunted in an attempt to
advance the runner, but ended up getting more than what she hoped for. Her sacrifice attempt popped in the air but fell just
short of the infielder's glove to put runners on first and second with one out.
Lancers second baseman Maggie Tabacchi also received the signal to bunt, and she too reached first base safely after lack of communication
left a confused Raiders infield watching the ball dribble past the
pitcher’s circle and first base.
This
was where Retzer’s hard work of keeping the Raiders scoreless all
this time was supposed to pay off. This was where the bats were supposed
to do the talking. Instead, PeQueen and her reliable defense had silenced
them. Lancers first baseman Nicole Saggiomo grounded to second
baseman Mary Johnson, who threw home to force out the runner and prevent the Lancers from tying the game.
With two outs and the bases still loaded Renee
DeBlasio had a chance to cash in with a base hit. But the Raiders strong defense did the job once again as DeBlasio grounded out to
slick-fielding shortstop Holly Luciano for the final out of the inning. The Raiders
had survived and still led, 1-0.
Toms
River East secured its victory when Retzer walked two batters to put
runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the sixth.
A pop-up bunt to first base gave the Lancers two outs, but
freshman right fielder Chelsea Guttridge followed with a two-run double to right-center field that landed just past the glove of a charging Kelsi Ehault.
The Raiders were able to hold on to their 3-0 lead in the seventh inning to move back to the Shore Conference Tournament's championship game.
“I
just wanted to win and so did everyone else, so we just came out here
and had fun,” said PeQueen, who said she didn’t know anything about
the Lancers going into the game. “I like to keep it that way so I
don’t get so nervous.”
“We’re
going to go against RBC, we’ve played them already and know what to
expect. We’re excited,” Schwartz said. “We’re excited to be
in the finals, that’s for sure.”
Earlier
this season, Toms River East lost to the Caseys, 5-0, which stood as its only loss until falling to Williamstown in the South Jersey Group IV final last Thursday. Is a second
shot at redemption too cliché for the Raiders? First: St. John Vianney, next: Red Bank Catholic?
When
you get this far in the tournament, opportunity will only knock so often.
And in this game of chance, isn’t it all about who is willing to take the
risks? The Raiders will have their second chance when they play Red
Bank Catholic in the final at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Wall High School, where both teams will go toe-to-toe and
put everything on the line.
“I’m
excited to go back and win it this time,” said PeQueen.
Box Score
(2) Toms River East 3, (14) St. John Vianney 0
St. John Vianney (15-8) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 0
Toms River East (29-2) 1 0 0 0 0 2 X - 3 4 1
Doubles: (T) Chelsea Guttridge
WP: Lyndsey PeQueen (28-2)
LP: Jen Retzer.