[SOFTBALL NEWS] (scroll down for Baseball) DISCIPLINE HELPS PROPEL IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PAST PARK RIDGE By Dan Cappello Immaculate Conception head coach Jeff Horohonich gets a lot of credit for turning around the schools softball program. Rightfully so, you could say, because his young team looked poised and in control last Saturday as they squared off against one of North Jersey’s powerful softball programs at Park Ridge High School. Conception came out swinging aggressively against Park Ridge’s sophomore pitcher, Claudio Bonpicino. Two walks, a single and a double by Natalie Quintanilla, put Conception on the board early. But this wouldn’t stop Park Ridge, who would answer back in the second inning with a two-run triple by Natalie Kalafut. The game appeared to be close, and the team who managed to stay in control and jump on mistakes would have the upper hand in the end. Most of the time, you’d expect an experienced team like Park Ridge, under highly regarded head coach, Frank Baldino, to be the team to do just that. But not on this day. “We didn’t hit great but we took advantages of some of their misfortunes and they took advantage of ours,” said Horohonich. “You got two really good teams playing and that is what is going to come down to. The kids did a great job of battling and it is a quality win. Park Ridge is one of the best Group 1 schools around so it is a great win for our program.” The mistakes that Conception jumped on took place during the top of the 4th inning. Bonpicino had started the inning with a ground out, a walk, and strikeout, bringing her team to within one out of escaping the inning. But then inexperience, and a team built on discipline, took over. Bonpicino walked the next five batters bringing in three runs and handing Conception a 4-2 lead that they would never lose. “We are usually very aggressive but we told them that she has to throw a strike and you have to look for a pitch in your zone,” Horohonich said about the advice he gave his hitters during the crucial fourth inning. With the new lead, Conception’s sophomore pitcher, Kelly Hage, pitched a one-two-three bottom of the fourth. She narrowly escaped a runners-on-the-corners situation in the fifth and then cruised to a victory. “Being a sophomore and taking over the role, you know she battled and showed a lot of grit today,” Horohonich said about Hage. “She doesn’t have her best stuff all the time but she got through it and she is maturing real quick.” Beating a team like Park Ridge says a lot about the program being built at Immaculate Conception. But despite this loss for Park Ridge, coach Baldino considers this a learning experience for his team, as he has had to grow and develop the new line of Park Ridge players to replace a well balanced and talented senior led team from last season. “We had one bad inning and good teams take advantage of that,” said Baldino. “But it was a very positive experience. I had a sophomore pitching which will help us down the line in the county and state tournaments.” “I thought we played pretty good defense but our pitcher had couple of problems, but that’s growing pains” Baldino said. “You know our constant is we play pretty good defense and we’ve been hitting the ball better lately. You know we had a lot of hard outs today, but hey good teams do that.” Immaculate Conception’s softball program is certainly on the rise and they proved it against Park Ridge. “I thought the outfield did a great job,” said Horohonich. “We have three freshman out there and they did a great job. We played good defense when we had to and Kelly pitched great. So this was a good team effort.” --- BROCK GOES DEEP TO IGNITE LADY SPARTANS By Mia Costello Scoring four times in the top of the second, Paramus pulled away to defeat Saddle Brook 10-1 in the Donna Ricker Tournament contested Saturday (April 10) at Wood-Ridge. Shayna Brock accounted for the early outburst when she blasted a grand slam homer after drilling a solo round-tripper in the first inning. Victoria Vergona delivered a three-run homer in the sixth after Taylor Boffalo launched a solo round-tripper in the fifth while Tori Feorenzo scattered four hits in earning the victory on the mound. Immaculate Heart Academy relied on the long ball to toppled St. Mary/Rutherford 9-1 in the Ricker competition. The Blue Eagles opened the game with a trio of home runs that produced five runs in the first inning. Kaitlyn McGillycuddy and Alexis Durando led off the contest with back-to-back homers with Christina Miquel, who was the winning pitcher, chipping in with a two-run round tripper. Nikki Osofsky doubled in a pair of teammates in the second inning. In the opening round of the Darlene Dondero Classic contested on the campus of Lakeland Regional in Wanaque on Saturday (April 10), Chelsea Batelli tossed a one-hit shutout to spur DePaul to a 2-0 triumph over Wayne Valley. Brianna Stemmler matched that mound performance, allowing only one-hit as Clifton upended Passaic Valley 3-0 with Victoria Korti driving in all three runs. Ridgewood toppled West Milford 10-8 in an NJTCC thriller on Monday (April 12) as the Lady Maroons junior backstop Claire Dennis went 3 for 4 as she legged out a pair of two-baggers and knocked in three runs. Alex Scibetta also drilled a pair of two-base blows, driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice while Christine Reynolds plated a pair of teammates with a double. Nicole Hroncich upped her mound mark to 4-0. Jenna Longo launched a two-run homer and finished with four RBIs to propel Garfield to a 6-2 triumph over Elmwood Park in a B-PSL encounter on Monday (April 12). Melissa Ward chipped in with two RBIs while Kayla Dziewa doubled and Nicolette Ewlina picked up the “W” to up her record to 3-1. Utilizing a seven-run outburst in the sixth inning, unbeaten Park Ridge rolled to a 9-3 triumph over Emerson as the Lady Owls recorded their fourth straight success of the season on Friday (April 9). Freshman outfielder Samantha Vradenburg doubled twice in three plate appearances, driving in two runs while Nikki Kalafut also legged out a pair of two-baggers while knocking in a run. Sophomore southpaw Claudia Bonvincino scattered four hits and whiffed nine in recording the shutout victory. Northern Valley/Old Tappan had to play 10 innings to defeat Bergenfield 7-5 and remain unbeaten at 5-0 on Friday (April 9). Kayla Farrell singled in two runs in the top of the 10th for the game-winning tallies and finished with three RBIs while Jen Capazzi went the distance on the mound, fanning 10 to earn credit for the win. Julie Sosnicki tossed a one-hit shutout as Rutherford routed Cliffside Park 14-0 in a BCSL-American Division encounter played Friday (April 9) as Helen Antzoulides recorded her 100th career coaching victory. Paige Goldsack powered the Lady Bulldogs’ attack, knocking in four runs while her sister Jenna doubled home a pair of teammates. In a game curtailed after five innings by the 10-run mercy rule, Wood-Ridge routed Lyndhurst 10-0 utilizing a power ball attack that included round-trippers off the bats of Alyssa McHahn, Danielle Natoli and Johnna Trotter. McKhan scattered a single and double in hurling a two-hit shutout. Nikki Neri blasted a two-run homer and finished with five RBIs to propel Hawthorne to a 5-3 triumph over Garfield in a B-PSL confrontation on Friday (April 9). Cailtin Smith picked up the “W” to improve to 3-0 as the unbeaten Lady Bears upped their record to 4-0. --- [BASEBALL NEWS] SPARTAN’S LENNON CAPTURES 400TH CAREER WIN By Samson Malijani Starting his 32nd season as head coach of the DePaul baseball program, Joe Lennon collected his 400th career coaching victory on Saturday (April 10) when the Spartans snapped a 2-2 deadlock in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull out of 3-2 triumph over Queen of Peace. Lennon, the Spartans’ athletic director; reached the challenging plateau as junior right-hander Dillon Chorbo worked the first six innings, scattering five hits and fanning 10. Outstanding individual performances have been popping up all over since opening day. Mahwah’s Anthony D’Alessandro, a senior fly chaser, is looking to break the state record for career hits and has been batting in the .700 range to start the campaign has collected 12 hits in five games, leaving him 39 short of the existing standard of 181 established by former Northern Valley/Old Tappan standout Rob Segedin. In a 12-8 success over Pascack Hills on Friday (April 9), D’Alessandro legged out a pair of doubles to stretch his hitting streak to 38 games. The Thunderbirds trounced River Dell 16-1 on Saturday (April 10) as Brandon Block homered and knocked in six runs while Zak Palmer went deep with a round-tripper and drove in four runs. Dumont’s Michael Donellan, a sophomore hurler, opened his season with a perfect game that was curtailed after five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule, and followed with a no-hitter into the seventh inning of the following game before winning 5-4 on a two-hitter against Queen of Peace at Breslin Field in Lyndhurst on Friday (April 9) as he whiffed seven and walked only two batters. Another Dumont rookie, senior Anthony Vetere made his first career start a memorable one when went deep three times, launching a trio of solo round-trippers as the Huskies routed Fort Lee 8-1 in a BCSL-American Division encounter on Wednesday (April 7). Mickey Becovic went the distance, fanning 17 batters, as Cliffside Park defeated Wood-Ridge 6-3 in a game that was decided in 11 innings. Jeff Vasquez ignited the Red Raiders’ 11th inning uprising when he led off with a single, stole second and crossed the plate with the winning run on an error. Jason Oguil smashed an empty-bases round-tripper to highlight Indian Hills’ 8-0 victory over Elmwood Park in a non-league encounter on Saturday (April 10). Rob Safir and Andrew Sarlyan knocked in two runs apiece for the Braves with Jason Haddy tossing a one-hit shutout to claim the “W” on the mound. Domenic Pizzanelli unloaded a three-run homer and Chris Alonso circled the bases with a solo clout to highlight Saddle Brook’s 12-2 triumph over Eastern Christian on Saturday (April 9). Mike Esposito and Rob Lisciandrello both doubled in a pair of runs for the Falcons who upped their record to 3-1 as Dan O’Neill recorded the “W” to improve to 2-0. Tom Corra, Nick Gazzillo and Lou Pimpinella went deep to propel Pascack Valley to a 13-5 triumph over Northern Valley/Demarest in an NBIAL matchup on Friday (April 9). Corra finished with four RBIs, Gazzillo drove in three runs and Pimpinella picked up a pair of RBIs as did Matt Lurie. Ridgewood pushed five runs across the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning in defeating West Milford 7-3 in a NJTCC diamond encounter on Monday (April 12) in Bergen County as the Maroons upped their record to 6-1. Mark Lowey was credited the “W” on the mound while Tyler Welence tripled in a run. Matt Bennett, Cooper Byrne and Frank Paleno drove in runs and Doug Licitra drilled a two-base blow for the victors. Utilizing a six-run outburst in the top of the this, Glen Rock pulled out to a 11-0 triumph over New Milford in a non-league diamond encounter on Saturday (April 10) as the Panthers improved to 5-1. Lou Karcanes led the attack, plating three teammates while Jim Lawless and the Millers, Brandan and Sean, drove in two runs apiece. Karcanes and the Millers all legged out two-baggers with Matt Lawsky gaining the “W” on the mound. For the week, Sean Miller went 6 for 10 including a homer and drove in eight runs while stealing three bases. Paramus Catholic’s junior backstop Danny Wynne enjoyed the Southern hospitality when he homered and drove in seven runs as the Paladins posted victories in Florida and South Carolina. Jeff Quintanillia went the distance tossing a four-hit shutout as Ridgefield Park blanked Tenafly 5-0 Wednesday (April 7) as part of a 3-0 week for the Royals. Eric Hyland and Mike Monforte both drove in two runs in the win over the Tigers while Ryan Melley, the senior DH, went 6 for 10 for the week, picking up three RBIs and stealing three bases. Tenafly’s Nick Hroncich, a junior southpaw, went the route as the Tigers blanked Rutherford 4-0 in a BCSL – American Division encounter on Monday (August 12). He allowed only one hit and whiffed 14 as he upped his strike out total to 39 in 19 innings.
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