Sayreville handles Monroe in GMCT softball semis
EDISON – It wasn’t clean and it wasn’t perfect, but the Sayreville softball team capitalized on several Monroe miscues, hit a couple long balls, and for six innings senior pitcher Erin Fitzsimmons had a dangerous Monroe lineup held in check, hitting into outs.
Kelly Duffy and Brianna Parisio hit second inning solo home runs, two out errors in both the first and fourth innings led to Sayreville literally stealing a pair of runs, and Fitzsimmons tossed a five-hitter as the sixth-seeded Bombers topped the second-seeded Falcons 7-2 in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinals at the Edison Angles Complex. Each team committed four errors in the contest.
Sayreville, in the finals for the second time in three seasons, will face fifth-seeded East Brunswick for the title on Monday at 11 a.m. back at the Edison Angels Complex.
“The whole bus ride here we were talking about motivation and it was just ‘get ahead, stay ahead,’ ” said Sayreville junior third baseman Christina Misiur, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, and run scored. “That’s our whole thing we’ve been doing so far and it’s been working for us. We didn’t understimate them, we were ready for anything. I think we hit really well today and I’m very proud of my team.”
Sayreville (16-5) jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the first when Emily Cabrera, who reached base three times and scored three runs, led off with a single, stole second, took third on a grounder to the left side and then raced home on an overthrow by the first baseman to third base trying to nab her there with two outs.
The homers by Duffy and Parisio in the second made it 3-0, the Bombers added another run in the fourth when Parisio reached on a one-out infield single and wound up scoring on a fly ball in the infield that was dropped with two outs.
Cabrera walked to lead off the Sayreville fifth and scored on Misiur’s RBI double to make it 5-0 at that point.
Fitzsimmons meanwhile was holding a potent Monroe (20-2) lineup to just three hits through six innings, when the Falcons, who had won 16 straight games coming in, got on the board with the help of a wild pitch and an error on a stolen base attempt, as that run made it 5-1.
“Before the game, I had never played Monroe in my career, so I didn’t really know what to expect from their hitters,” said Fitzsimmons who gave up an earned run on five hits for the win, striking out two and walking two. “I heard they were good so I came in positive hoping to do well against them.”
Sayreville tacked on another pair of runs in the top of the seventh before Monroe threatened in the bottom of the seventh, getting Sarah McGrath to lead the inning off with a walk, and then following two quick outs, pieced together a single, walk, and single from the bottom of its order before Fitzsimmons got leadoff hitter Casey Schieda to fly out to first with the tying run on deck.
Sayreville pounded Monroe starter Glorianna Perrotte for 11 hits, as she gave up five earned runs, struck out five, and walked one.
“We’re definitely hitting 1-through-9,” Misiur said. “That’s what’s making us so strong.”
Staff writer Mike Becker@GannettNJ.com