5/21/2012 - Wildcats Capture Crown
First, Barb Fasano zigged. Then she zagged, clutching the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Championship Trophy as she left her pursuers who were carrying a bucket of Gatorade flat-footed.
Try as it might, the High Point softball team could not track down its elusive coach who showed the same type of moves her son Kevin made when he ran the Flexbone offense at High Point a couple of years ago.
“I’m the one with the athletic ability in the family,” Fasano said with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes. “No one knew that.”
There is no doubting the athletic ability of the Fasano family and there is no doubting which softball team is the best in West Jersey—High Point.
In a thrilling pitchers’ duel between High Point ace Ally Frei and North Hunterdon stud Mason Spichiger, High Point, the No. 1 seed from Sussex, held off the third-seeded Lions of North Hunterdon 1-0 before a big crowd at Diamond Nation Saturday night in Flemington.
It was the first H/W/S softball title for High Point and the Wildcats became the first school from Sussex to win the crown in the tourney’s three-year history. Newton and Sparta fell in the first two finals.
In a battle of two of the best sophomores in the state Frei prevailed with a gutsy 12-strikeout, four hit, two-walk shutout effort, coming up with a big pitch every time she needed it.
North Hunterdon (22-5), which came into the game winners of 16 straight, was no pushover for the Wildcats (20-1). The Lions had runners reach base in six of the seven innings, including the top of the seventh when they had the tying run at third and go-ahead run at second with two outs.
But Frei showed how mentally tough she was as she fanned South Carolina-bound Jess Parker for the final out setting off a terrific celebration and the hunt for Fasano, who clutched that trophy like it was the Crown Jewel.
Frei was named the tourney’s MVP and rightfully so, after winning the title and tossing a perfect game in the semifinals in a 2-0 win over Delaware Valley.
The Wildcats, however, showed they were not just a one-trick pony, but a well-rounded softball squad now primed to make a deep in run in the North 1, Group 3 state playoffs and beyond.
Frei giving up four hits and walking two is like another pitcher giving up 10 hits and seven walks, that is how good she is.
High Point’s defense answered the call with junior Collette Leduc making the catch of the night in the top of third saving at least one run, maybe more.
Jess Parker got things going for North with a one-out walk. After a strikeout, North’s top player and hitter Steph Zengel stepped to the plate and launched a missile to dead centerfield.
Once the ball was hit, there was an audible gasp and cheer at the same time, but that did not bother Leduc. The junior got a great jump on the ball and tracked it down making a tough catch look easy.
For the old timers out there, it reminded me of the old saying about Willie Mays. His glove is where triples and doubles got to die. It was that big of a catch.
If Leduc doesn’t make the catch it is 1-0 North with cleanup hitter Jen Smith up with Zengel at least at second base.
It was most definitely a game-changer.
Meghan O’Leary also made a couple nice plays at short and Jamie Christensen did a great job of catching Frei. Brittany McKay was also solid at third.
Christensen, along with left fielder Justine Hall, are the squad’s only seniors. They have not only provided great leadership but play on the field, so it was neat to see how happy they were after the final out.
It has been quite a year for Christensen. She lifted the Wildcats to the H/W/S crown in the fall with the game-winning goal against Belvidere in OT in the girls soccer final and was named the tourney’s MVP for the second time in three years.
But what she has done in softball has been just impressive. Christensen was an outstanding centerfielder for the Wildcats the last two seasons but she had to move to catcher this year.
High Point’s outstanding catcher a year ago, Taryn Anderson, opted not to play this year and she went out for golf in an effort to gain a college scholarship. Anderson has had a terrific year on the links, so the move worked well for both teams.
But it just shows what kind of athlete and team player Christensen is that she made the switch and did it with ease and grace. It is not so easy to catch a pitcher with the kind of stuff Frei has and Christensen had no issues.
This High Point was full of heroes including Carly Satter, the lighting-quick leadoff batter who got things going in the bottom of the sixth with a sinking liner for a double to left.
She showed her speed and base-running savvy a couple batters later when she scooted home when Frei’s flyout to center was thrown away allowing her to score from second with the eventual game-winning run.
Then there is Chelsea Eckert, who would the starting pitcher on most teams, but has accepted her role as an outstanding first baseman and the Wildcats’ No. 4 hitter.
The whole starting nine has contributed this year and that is not just coach-speak from Fasano it is true.
Satter at second, O’Leary at short, McKay at third, and outfielders Michaela O’Hern, LeDuc and Hall have played huge roles and have not been just bystanders watching Frei work her magic.
Although Hall told me that sometimes she could just sit in a beach chair out in left because it is rare that anyone can pull the ball on Frei. But when Kayla Parker ripped a double to left in the final, Hall made a great play to keep it double by tracking it down and getting the ball back to the infield.
And Wildcats have benefited from the steady hand of assistant coaches Jim Fasano at third (who claims he is the athlete in the family), Aimee Stormes and Brian Gallagher.
But it starts with Barb Fasano whose upbeat approach and motherly instincts have really helped this young squad grow but stay emotionally grounded.
Last year, Sparta took us on a run for the ages with late-inning, game-winning homers from Mary Kociencki and outstanding hitting, pitching and leadership from Sam Greiner en route to the Group 3 title.
Can this Wildcats bunch do the same? You never know, but if they do, they won’t catch Fasano with the trophy until they hit Pigeon Hill Road in Wantage.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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