4/18/2010 - Mustangs Ready For H/W/S
The frustration in Ed Paiva’s voice was evident when he picked up the phone Sunday night.
The affable Sussex Tech softball coach was disappointed that his Mustangs had dropped two games at the Hackettstown Tournament earlier in the day, including a 2-1 heartbreaker to North Warren late in the game.
“It is tough to lose like that,” said Paiva. “We were looking for a split, but we have a big week coming up.”
The Mustangs certainly do with a game versus Morris Tech, but looking down the road to next weekend, Paiva and his ‘Stangs will have another opportunity to show that they are legitimate 6-2 club as the first-ever Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament will get under way with first-round action on Saturday.
Sussex Tech will be one of 10 schools from Sussex that will compete against the combined 10 schools from Hunterdon/Warren. The inaugural H/W/S baseball tourney will also start April 24.
The tourneys will continue May 1 with the quarterfinals for the tournaments set for May 8 and semifinals and final scheduled for May 15 and 16 in both sports.
The softball quarters, semifinals and final will be held at HealthQuest Field in Flemington and the baseball tourney will hold its quarterfinals, semis and final at Skylands Park in Frankford.
Sussex Tech is the only softball school from Sussex to have participated in a tourney before the state tournament. The Mustangs have competed in the vocational school tournament, and have won it a couple times, while the schools from the old Sussex County Interscholastic League never had a chance to compete in a “county-type” tourney before this season.
“I like it,” said Paiva, as do most of the coaches I have talked to about the tourney. “We have some nice wins this season over some pretty good clubs like Belvidere and Hopatcong.
“If Jess (Gilman) keeps throwing like she has been throwing we can make some noise,” added Paiva, who led the Tech boys soccer team in the H/W/S in the fall and the girls hoops team at Wallkill Valley in the winter.
Besides Gilman, who can also swing the bat, Paiva has been pleased with his infield of Sara Anlas, Brittany Garrigan, Carly Finklestein and Ashlee Campbell.
The softball and baseball coaches must submit their online seeds by noon, Monday, April19 and the tourney brackets will be released on Wednesday, April 21.
Here is a quick refresher on how the H/W/S is run. The 10 coaches from Sussex will seed the Sussex teams, and the 10 coaches from H/W will seed their teams. Teams will face schools from the other county in the first-round and it will stay that way throughout the tourney unless there is an upset.
For more details on the process, you can check out my blog from the fall New Tourney Set to Kick Off on Oct. 13. The same process used for field hockey and soccer will be used for softball and baseball.
All right, so let’s break down the softball tourney (I will follow with a separate blog on baseball). Here is how I would seed the Sussex teams and a little bit about each club.
- SPARTA—The Spartans are 9-2 and off to a tremendous start. What makes their start even more impressive is that they have done it without the services of Sam Greiner, their All-State catcher/pitcher, who was away. Mary Kociencki and Sarah Falcon did more than just hold down the fort, they excelled in the circle. Kociencki has also done a nice job with the bat along with Casey Cresbaugh and Sparta’s losses are to state-power Hunterdon Central and Livingston.
- LENAPEVALLEY—The Pats are off to one of their best starts in years under coach Bill Moore at 9-1. Their only loss was a close one to Jefferson. Pitcher Caitlin Zaleski, as well as outstanding catcher Deanna Utter, have paced a well-balanced Lenape attack.
- POPE JOHN---The Lions have had an up-and-down season to say the least at 6-6. They have played some tough competition which should prepare them for the tourney. Look to pitchers Caitlin Whelan and Brooke Powers, and a talented cast including, Kate Miele, Kristen Carter and Aileen Burgos, to be a tough out in the H/W/S and a dark horse to win it all.
- NEWTON—The Braves are 8-3 and can play with anyone as their tough 3-0 loss to Morris Knolls showed. Newton’s battery of pitcher Chelsea Homa and catcher Jolyn Ferrari is one of the best around.
- HIGH POINT—The sophomore-laded Wildcats have been a nice surprise for coach Barb Fasano at 3-4. Pitcher Brittany English, Justine Hall, Taryn Anderson, Gina Onerevole and Lexy Brennan have sparked the Wildcats, who sport several players from the H/W/S girls soccer championship team from the fall.
- KITTATINNY---The Cougars can swing the bats and play defense with the best of them, they just need consistent pitching from Brianne Morlock. Kittatinny is 3-6, but has talented players like Emily Hullings, Sarah Brook and Liz Sandord. Coach Heather Mate will have the Cougars ready to roar.
- VERNON---Going with a little bit of a wild card here with the Vikings as they are only 2-8. But Kerry Ludeking’s bunch can hit and if Jamie Roberts is on, Vernon might surprise some people. Amanda Gannon is a top-notch player and recently hit for the cycle.
- SUSSEX TECH—Due to the wins over Belvidere and Hopatcong, the Mustangs have earned the No. 8 seed and could be even seeded higher when the real bracket comes out.
- WALLKILLVALLEY—The Rangers started the season 2-0 but have struggled of late, but have not been blown out. Pitcher Maria Lattanzio, Ashley Napovier and Rachel Mitchener will lead the way for the Rangers (2-5).
- HOPATCONG---The Chiefs are 2-6, but have played tough behind pitcher Stephanie Coe and outstanding senior Amanda Baker. Hopatcong is capable of knocking off anyone as the Chiefs almost bumped off Lenape Valley before losing 4-3 late in the game. They just have to learn how to find ways to win which will be tough in this tournament.
All right, that is how I would seed the Sussex teams. So what about the H/W squads? Well, I don’t know enough to seed them, but I can tell you which teams will be tough.
The top team, for anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock who follows softball knows, is Hunterdon Central. The Red Devils are ranked No. 1 in the state by The Star-Ledger andare 11-0.
HC coach Pete Fick is the winningest coach in state history with over 650 wins and pitcher Courtney Yard is one of the best players in the state. Alyssa Bauer, Ange Malgieri and Kristen Lake also excel for Fick.
The Red Devils owned the old H/W tourney with 13 championships, including every title since 2000 except when North Hunterdon crashed the party in 2006.
They are the prohibitive favorite to win it all and already own an impressive 7-2 win over Sparta.
Other teams to watch for in H/W are Delaware Valley (10-0), Hackettstown (4-3), which all the teams from Sussex in the Freedom Division know about, Voorhees (4-2) and North Hunterdon (3-4).
Del Val will look to Danielle Novotny, pitcher Kasey Kieswick, and Tiffany Reasoner. Hackettstown has one of the top players in North Jersey in pitcher Liz Tillou, while North Hunterdon has great athletes including Jess Pellechio.
But Phillipsburg (3-6), Warren Hills (4-5), South Hunterdon (5-2), Belvidere (2-5) and North Warren (5-5) are all capable of pulling an upset in this very deep tournament.
My prediction is that HC will win it all in a rematch against Sparta, unless Pope John finds a way to make a run, which it is very capable of doing.
Either way, it is terrific that the softball teams from Sussex finally have a tourney and it should be great preparation for the state tournament.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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