Softball roundup for Monday, April 3

Watchung Hills 1, Monroe 0: Junior righty Robin McCabe tossed a four-hit shutout, walking one and striking out 14 as Watchung Hills opened defense of its state Group IV championship by topping the GMC’s fifth-ranked club. Freshman Sofia Cicchetti posted two hits, including a triple, in her varsity debut, while Erin Bean collected an RBI and Tina Zoppi scored a run in the victory. Jenna Theoret doubled for Monroe.
ANALYSIS: The Warriors and McCabe pick up where they left off after shutting out Egg Harbor in last year’s Group IV final. This type of performance by its ace is precisely why top-ranked Watchung Hills is still a force, despite the graduation of several key players.

SOFTBALL PREVIEW: A handy index of links to the entire 2017 CN varsity softball preview

Hunterdon Central 5, Hillsborough 3: Maddie McKevitt launched a two-run homer in the third inning to increase Hunterdon Central’s lead to 4-0, after Kate Chasmar’s two-run single in the second had opened the scoring for the Red Devils. Alex DeStefano, Kylie Gletow and Kaitlin Redling each finished with two hits for Central. Gletow earned the victory, allowing nine hits and fanning six. Karlie Manco drove in two runs for Hillsborough, which also got a single, double and RBI from Alissa Saverino. Julie Kwiatek also posted two hits for the Raiders, who scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
ANALYSIS: A great opening win for Central in the day’s marquee Skyland Conference Delaware Division matchup. These teams, along with Bridgewater-Raritan and Watchung Hills figure to battle for the conference title all year, so a nice job by the Red Devils getting a leg up. It remains to be seen how the pitching situation pans out for Boro, but the offense seems to have found a groove after a slow start.

Montgomery 10, Franklin 0 (5 innings): Sophomore Abby O’Connor spun a five-inning no-hitter, walking one and striking out nine as Montgomery won its opener, giving rookie head coach Bryan Upshaw his first varsity win. Senior Kira Ferraiolo collected two doubles, two runs and two RBIs for the Cougars, while Peyton Schnackenberg singled, homered, drove in three runs and scored two more in the victory. Christine Willard also drove in three for Montgomery. Molly Swayne drew a walk for Franklin.
ANALYSIS: The Cougars open with a bang, dominating a divisional rivalry. Montgomery gets a much tougher test Wednesday when it faces Hillsborough in a game that should tell a lot about where both teams are going to be this season.

RELATED: Montgomery looking to complete return to prominence

Voorhees 21, Delaware Valley 7 (5 innings): Paige Fedak rattled out four hits, including two triples and a double, and drove in seven runs, as Voorhees rolled to an opening-day victory. Melissa Will collected five hits, including two triples, and drove in four, while Sarah Furka added two singles, a double and four RBIs in the victory. Justin Walck posted two hits for Delaware Valley, while Lydia Brown and Riley Ferrara each tripled and drove in a run.
ANALYSIS: I am shocked by the lopsidedness of this score, especially seeing Voorhees able to put up a 21 spot. With Del Val ace Meghan Haff still struggling with injuries, the Vikings took advantage of her backups, but that’s not to take anything away from Voorhees, which is one of about four teams capable of taking the Skyland Valley title.

North Plainfield 6, Bound Brook 5: Lauren Lattimore tripled, homered and drove in two runs, and Jackie Scope singled, double and posted two RBIs as North Plainfield scored three times in the first inning and never looked back. Victoria Kisling struck out 10 for the Canucks, allowing four earned runs. Nicole Roth posted four hits, including a pair of doubles, a homer and four RBIs for Bound Brook, which scored twice in the top of the seventh inning, but came up short. Lacey Meyer added three hits, including a double, for the Crusaders.
ANALYSIS: A statement opening-day victory for the Canucks, who lost by 10 and nine runs, respectively in a pair of meetings with Bound Brook last season. North Plainfield could be a sleeper in the Mountain Division, despite the Canucks still seeking their first winning season since 2002.

South Hunterdon 4, Gill St. Bernard’s 3: Savannah Hettman tripled and drove in three runs, and Taylor Farlee singled twice, scored a run and knocked in another as South Hunterdon scored a conference victory. Farlee earned the win, surrendering just two earned runs on 12 hits, no walks and striking out six. Maddy Bedrock picked up three hits, including a triple for Gill St. Bernard’s, while Danielle Towle notched a single, triple and two RBIs for the Knights.
ANALYSIS: With defending Mountain Division champ Gill St. Bernard’s joining Bound Brook in falling Monday, that means the two clubs expected to be the favorites in the division open with a loss. Just goes to show how wide open the race figures to be and that it really is anyone’s title for the taking. Great job by South Hunterdon.

North Hunterdon 7, Ridge 3: Meghan Graham doubled and drove in two runs, notching the 100th hit of her career, as North Hunterdon opened with a victory. Megan Hanily led the Lions attack, finishing 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Winning pitcher Maggie Swan collected three singles, allowing two earned runs on three hits, walking none and striking out nine. Kristin Miscia doubled, homered, scored twice and drove in a pair for Ridge. Maddy West singled for the Red Devils’ only other hit.
ANALYSIS: Congrats to Meghan Graham on her 100th hit, a brilliant achievement for one of the area’s most underrated players. The George Mason-bound outfielder has played in the shadow of now-graduated Bell Many the past couple of years, but should take the lead as North’s chief threat and a first-team All-Area contender this season.

Bridgewater-Raritan 13, Immaculata 12: A three-run homer by Sam Ward highlighted an inspired rally over the last two innings as Bridgewater-Raritan came back from an eight-run sixth inning deficit to score a Delaware Division victory at Diamond Nation. Katie Winchock finished 3-for-4 with a triple, three runs and three RBIs for the Panthers, while Ward finished with three hits, including a double and the homer, scoring three runs and driving in four. Sammy Mazzagotti pitched the final three innings, allowing one earned run on four hits, no walks and striking out two for B-R. Emily Colline tripled twice and drove in five runs, while Trish Nee, Rebecca Zayle and Chelsea DeMartini each posted three hits and two RBIs for Immaculata.
ANALYSIS: On one hand, a stellar comeback for B-R, which had a couple of wild rallies to come from way back and win games last season, including one against Immaculata in the county semifinals. On the other hand, if the Panthers are going to allow 12 runs to a rebuilding club like the Spartans, one must wonder how that bodes for Bridgewater-Raritan once it starts facing the real power opponents on its schedule. The good news is Mazzagotti, who is projected as the ace of a three-pitcher staff, fared well. So that should make future pitching decision even easier for coach Sandy Baranowski in the bigger games. Stay tuned.

Mount St. Mary 15, Manville 3 (5 innings): Winning pitcher Sydney Cooney got Mount St. Mary going with a three-run homer in the second inning to erase a 3-0 deficit. Jackie McNuilla, Alana Rocco, Suzy Hall and Mia Sidlowski all posted multiple hits for the Mount Lions. Sam Zuza finished 2-for-3 with a double, triple, run and two RBIs, and Victoria Schuyler and Melany Colis each pitcked up two hits and a run for Manville.

ANALYSIS: Congrats to Mount St. Mary first-year coach Lauren Davis on earning her first varsity softball victory.

Greater Middlesex Conference

South Plainfield 4, North Brunswick 0: Katherine Vill fired a two-hit shutout, walking two and striking out nine as South Plainfield opened in style. Caity Hughes singled, tripled, scored twice and drove in two for the Tigers, while Jill Holoboski added two RBIs. Katrina Lauri and Mia Santiago each singled for North Brunswick.

Watchung Hills 1, Monroe 0: Junior righty Robin McCabe tossed a four-hit shutout, walking one and striking out 14 as Watchung Hills opened defense of its state Group IV championship by topping the GMC’s fifth-ranked club. Freshman Sofia Cicchetti posted two hits, including a triple, in her varsity debut, while Erin Bean collected an RBI and Tina Zoppi scored a run in the victory. Jenna Theoret doubled for Monroe.

Carteret 10, Metuchen 9 (11 innings): Nicole Casale smacked a three-run homer and winning pitcher Caitlyn Murray finished with two hits, a run and two RBIs as Carteret rallied to improve to 2-0. The Ramblers trailed 7-3 headed to the sixth inning before putting up a four-spot to tie it. They took a lead in the top of the ninth inning, before Metuchen knotted it in the bottom of the frame, but Carteret’s two-run top of the 11th inning was enough to sustain the Bulldogs scoring a run in the bottom of the frame. Brooke Bandola finished 3-for-6 with a double, triple, two runs and three RBIs, while Bridget O’Connor added a single, triple and two RBIs for Metuchen.

Sayreville 7, Woodbridge 1: Kelly Duffy allowed one unearned run on six hits, walked two and struck out seven, adding a 4-for-4 day at the plate that included a homer, two runs and an RBI as Sayreville rolled. Kayla Stvan also went deep for the Bombers, knocking in two runs, while Emma Herrick contributed a single and two RBIs to the cause. Miranda Carroll picked up two hits and a run for Woodbridge, which also got two hits from Ashley Dugasz.

Perth Amboy Tech 2, South Amboy 1: Jaylen Alvarez allowed a run on four hits, walked four and struck out six to power Perth Amboy Tech. Diana Bueno singled twice and drove in a run in the victory, while Rebecca Haggerty turned in a pair of singles. Julie Oliveri notched two hits and a run and Samantha Rios singled twice for South Amboy, which got seven strong innings from Kaleigh Keegan, who allowed two runs on seven hits, walked six and struck out six.

J.F. Kennedy 19, Perth Amboy 0 (4 innings): Jillian Sims turned in a four-inning no-hitter, walking none and fanning eight to fuel J.F. Kennedy. Sims also did most of the damage at the plate, doubling, tripling, scoring four times and knocking in four more. Madison Buttitta chipped in a single and three runs in the victory.

Bishop Ahr 3, Colonia 0: Katie Eicher fired a three-hit shutout, walking two and striking out 15 to send Bishop Ahr in its opener. Megan Herka singled, homered, scored twice and drove in two runs for the Trojans. Sabrina Tiseo allowed just two earned runs on five hits and one walk for Colonia (0-2).

J.P. Stevens 12, East Brunswick 0 (5 innings): Ashley Lombardi tossed a two-hit shutout, allowing three walks and striking out eight in five innings as J.P. Stevens opened with a win. Emily Tavares finished with 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs, smacking a three-run homer during a 12-run second inning for the Hawks. Lombardi doubled twice and drove in three runs to aid her own cause. Beth Anania and Kaleigh O’Kane picked up hits for East Brunswick.

South River 12, Highland Park 2: Mackenzie Garrick, Haley Joynes and Jenna Dogherty picked up RBIs for South River. Shantal Azcona and Jomyra Duran drove in runs for Highland Park.

Old Bridge 5, Piscataway 4: Jessica Ahearn doubled and drove in two runs for Old Bridge, which scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning after Piscataway had tied it with a run in the top of the frame.

East Brunswick Tech 12, Timothy Christian 2 (5 innings): Nicole Loughran fueled East Brunswick Tech, doubling and driving in three runs. Kayla Febinger and Gabriella Carnevale each drove in a pair in the victory.

Spotswood 13, Dunellen 3 (5 innings): Cassandra Archer finished 3-for-4 with two runs and six RBIs as Spotswood used a nine-run fourth inning to break it open and notch the mercy-rule shortened triumph. Julie Raba singled, tripled, scored three times and drove in a run for the Chargers, while Joey Bartusak allowed no earned runs on seven hits and one walk to earn the victory. Alex Steele picked up two hits, and Alex Reidy and Brianna McAuley each drove in a run for Dunellen.

Mother Seton 16, New Brunswick 6 (5 innings): Catie Koenig finished 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs to lead Mother Seton. Emily Hayes doubled twice, scored a run and knocked in two, and Dominique Liantonio singled, scored two and drove in two for the Setters. Altagarcia Estevez posted two RBIs and Nichole Rivas singled, doubled, scored twice and drove in a run for the Zebras.

South Brunswick 20, Edison 1 (4 innings): Jaime Klemas led the way, finishing 4-for-4 with a double, homer, four runs scored and seven RBIs to fuel South Brunswick. Lindsey Warick added two hits, two runs and three RBIs for the Vikings. Erin Cahill singled and drove in a run for Edison.

Union County Conference

Union Catholic 16, Linden 4: Lindsey Rotoly singled, doubled, scored twice and drove in three runs, and Lauren Sasala went 5-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs to send Union Catholic. Isabel Santiago posted two hits, three runs and two RBIs for the Vikings, who were led in the circle by Justina Benvenuto. She allowed one earned run on five hits, two walks and fanned 11.

Governor Livingston 10, Elizabeth 0 (5 innings): Alanna Namit opened her season by throwing a five-inning no-hitter, walking one and striking out 13 to lead Governor Livingston. Namit also collected three hits in the victory, with offensive support from Katie Debbie, who posted a single, triple and two RVIs, and Nicole Trezza who singled and knocked in two runs.

Brearley 11, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 10: Emily Lockatelli singled and drove in three runs, and Angie DiGiacomo posted a single, triples, two runs and two RBIs, but Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s opening-day rally fell short. Casey Furgeson doubled and knocked in two for the Raiders, who scored two runs in each of the final three innings but fell short by a run.

Cranford 8, Westfield 2: Genevive Howell singled, doubled and drove in a run, and Julie Romano singled, scored and notched an RBI for Westfield.