Softball: Voorhees continues its roll, tops Governor Livingston in CJII semifinals

BERKELEY HEIGHTS – Hannah Schiavo has shown her ability to dominate a game in the circle for the Voorhees High School softball team, especially since the NJSIAA Tournament began. But after firing shutouts in each of the Vikings first two games of the Central Group II Tournament – and for the first six innings of Tuesday’s semifinals – the pulse of the seventh inning was no longer a question of Schiavo’s talent, it was a question of heart.

As it turns out, the junior left-hander has plenty of both.

After scattering just five hits over the first six innings, and after her team extended a one-run advantage to a four-run lead headed to the bottom of the seventh, Governor Livingston mounted an inspired rally, scoring three times with no outs and putting runners on first and second. But Schiavo stepped up in a major way, getting a grounder and a pair of strikeouts to slam the door, as the eighth-seeded Vikings continued their inspired run through the state tournament, topping the fifth-seeded Highlanders 4-3 at Governor Livingston High School.

“One of Hannah’s biggest strengths is that she’s able to lock in,” said Voorhees coach Sarah Hamm, whose team will battle third-seeded A.L. Johnson in Thursday’s sectional final. “She’s got that laser focus and she does not want to come out of that game. She knows she can do it. And that’s one of things we love about her, that no matter what’s happening – like they got a hit or she doesn’t get a strike call – that next batter, that one’s going to be hers. When things are going wrong, that’s her time right there.”

READ: Tuesday's softball roundup, including all local state tournament results

After Voorhees got a run in the sixth inning to snap a scoreless tie and three in the top of the seventh -- all with two outs -- Schiavo went to the circle in the bottom of the seventh looking to secure her third consecutive five-hit shutout.

But Governor Livingston was not going down without a fight, scoring three runs with none out, with Christine Pacheco and Nicole Trezza providing RBIs. The Highlanders had the potential tying and winning runs on first and second with none out and it’s 3-4-5 hitters due up, but that’s when Schiavo went to work.

The lefty induced a grounder to shortstop that Tori Furka had the presence of mind to throw to third baseman Paige Fedak for the force out, before the junior ace turned it up, getting back-to-back strikeouts to end it and deliver the Vikings to their second sectional final in three seasons.

“Once Tori got the out at third, the adrenaline kind of started to flow,” Schiavo said. “After I threw some strikes and I felt like, ‘yeah!’ I had it. Some days things go your way and sometimes they don’t, and it (the seventh-inning rally) was just one of those things. It just happened. But we battled through it and that’s all that matters.”

With Schiavo and Governor Livingston ace Alanna Namit locked in a fierce pitcher’s duel, it looked as if the game was destined for extra innings on a steamy day in the Watchung Mountains, before Voorhees finally broke through in the sixth innings.

Schiavo led off with a walk, before Megan Shaw blasted a long RBI triple to left field, her second of three hits she’d collect Tuesday.

“It’s 0-0 and it’s hot out, so we’re not trying to go into 11 innings, or whatever,” Shaw said. “I just had to get used to her motion, and once I saw it I just made good contact and put everything I had into it.”

“Megan is so hard on herself, but she also knows what she’s capable of,” Hamm said. “That’s a kid that when she gets up there, she knows that she can get a hit and that she wants to get a hit. We’ve talked multiple times this season about her staying in and staying confident. So when she got to third base, I said ‘Hey, way to be confident.’ She knows what she’s capable of, and all she has to do is stay patient, be disciplined and wait for her pitch to come in. And that’s exactly what she did in that at-bat.”

It looked like Schiavo might need to make the one-run lead work, and she escaped a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth to hold the advantage. But her team wasn’t done, and the Vikings exploded for three runs in the top of the seventh inning.

After two quick outs, Furka singled, prompting Governor Livingston coach Mike Roof to make a pitching change, and the moved backfired immediately, as the next two batter crushed first-pitch offerings, with Tara Morash ripping an RBI double and Morgan Clemens following with a two-run homer, before the Highlanders’ rally came up short in the bottom of the seventh.

“I’m really, really proud of my girls,” said Roof, whose ace went 6 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits, four walks and struck out two. “It took a lot to try and come back in that inning. This group, with some returning varsity players, but at new positions, and some new kids, too. We talked about it being a two-year process with this group, and really trying to learn and build off some of the things that happened this year. Hopefully we handle these situations better next year.”

Staff writer Simeon Pincus can be reached atCourierSoftball@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus and atwww.Facebook.com/SimeonPincusCN. For more softball coverage, check out the Inner Circle softball blog at http://MyCentralJersey.com/blog/TheInnerCircle