CN-area softball roundup for Thursday, April 27

Bridgewater-Raritan 2, Hunterdon Central 1 (10 innings):
BRIDGEWATER -- Junior Sammy Mazzagatti delivered a two-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning Thursday, plating Sarah Karmazyn with the winning run, as the Bridgewater-Raritan High School softball team took over first place in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division with a 2-1 victory over Hunterdon Central at North Bridge Street Field.
Tied 1-1 after seven innings, and with neither team able to cash in during the eighth and ninth inning, the international tiebreaking rule took effect in the 10th, giving each team a runner on second base to begin their half of the frame.
Mazzagatti, who allowed just a run on eight hits, walking two and striking out six, fanned the leadoff hitter in the top of the 10th inning, before getting a grounder and a pop out to end that threat.
In the bottom of the frame, after an out, Karmazyn blooped a single into shallow right field, just inside the foul line to give the Panthers first and third with one out. But Sam Ward hit a smash to shortstop Gianna Colalillo, who threw home to nail the runner at the plate for the second out, bringing up Mazzagatti, who rolled a single to center field. Hunterdon Central’s Alex DeStefano came up throwing, firing a strike to the plate, but Karmazyn executed a brilliant slide, eluding the tag to the outside of the plate to score the winning run.
“I just wanted to make contact with the ball and drive Sarah in because I knew she was a fast runner and she’ll make it on any base hit,” Mazzagatti said. “So I’m just really trying to make contact and put it in play. As soon as I saw it (go through) I was just, like, she better be scoring. And then I saw her (score) and just got so excited.”
“I knew before Coach B (Sandy Baranowski) sent me that I was going on that hit,” Karmazyn said. “Right up the middle was the perfect opportunity. The throw was really good, but she just missed me by inches.”
Bridgewater-Raritan (12-2), which also got a 4-for-5 day from Sam Ward, got on the board first, as Jordan Pearlman scored on a second-inning error. Central (10-3) tied it in the fourth, getting a leadoff double from Marissa DeVincenzo and an RBI single by Kayla Coleman with two outs.
Red Devils ace Kylie Gletow was the hard-luck loser, despite not allowing an earned run, surrendering just 10 hits and two walks over 9 2/3 innings and striking out six.
ANALYSIS: There might not be a large quantity of games I’ve gotten a chance to see so far this season, but they’ve all certainly been of the high-quality variety, and this one was the best yet.
Personally, with two great offenses squaring off, I expected a high-scoring game. Boy was I wrong. Sure, the heavy air kept the ball in the yard and the rain-soaked dirt was relatively slow, but make no mistake, each of these pitchers were right on top of their games. Both teams wanted this one bad and the play reflected it. B-R, especially, was very fired up, diving for balls, sacrificing their bodies, giving it their all, as did Central. Just a great game to watch.
I’ll have more on Bridgewater-Raritan’s eye-opening season with a feature story due out online Friday and in Saturday’s print edition of the Courier News.

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Hillsborough 11, Watchung Hills 9: Karlie Manco singled, homered and drove in four runs, and Julia Kwiatek singled, tripled, homered and knocked in three runs as Hillsborough scored eight runs in the first inning and held on for a key Skyland Conference Delaware Division victory. Courtney Wengryn chipped in a single and two RBIs and Kelsey Galevich singled, doubled, scored a run and drove in another for the Raiders (4-6), who have won four straight. Julia Skrobacz finished 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs and Izzy DeFinis posted three hits and two runs scored for Watchung Hills (9-4).
ANALYSIS: Just in case anyone was penning Hillsborough’s obituary after its 0-6 start, this victory today sends a clear signal that the Raiders have no intention of letting this be a throw-away season. Sure, blasting struggling teams like Hillsborough has its previous three outings might not be too eye opening, but to do this to the reigning Group IV champs, especially against one of the area’s true aces in Robin McCabe, is very impressive. If Boro can begin to limit runs allowed, with its offense, there’s no reason the Raiders cannot continue the turnaround and return to their place as a contender in the county and the state. Hillsborough might only be the No. 6 seed in the SCT, but the Raiders are the team that nobody should want to play right now. Well done, ladies.
Watchung Hills, meanwhile, has dropped 3-of-5, and while its offense has continued to produce, it has not gotten the front line pitching it has grown accustomed to, which is obviously a concern. The Warriors will look to get the ship righted Friday against Morristown.

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Bernards 15, Somerville 2 (5 innings): Emma Bowerbank posted two hits, two runs and three RBIs and Amanda Paris added a single, double, run and three RBIs as Bernards used a five-run second inning and a 10-run third inning to end Somerville’s five-game winning streak. Sammi Re added three hits, two runs and an RBI and Missy Connolly added two hits, a run and two RBIs for the Mountaineers (4-7). Libby Bielewa surrendered two runs on seven hits and one walk to earn the victory. Natalie Bobalis and Gillian Belkin each posted two hits for Somerville (6-4), while Amanda Kim drove in a run.
ANALYSIS: A very impressive victory for Bernards, not only beating a surging Somerville club, but doing so in dominating fashion. The fact the Mountaineers can hit – and run – is not a shocker, but nice job holding the Pioneers to just two runs. That’s three victories in four outings for Bernards after a five-game losing streak, with the only loss coming by just two runs to Delaware Valley. Hopefully the Mountaineers can continue to ride this wave. They have Pingry on Friday before playing host to Mount St. Mary in Saturday’s Somerset County Tournament second-round game.
For the Pioneers, the loss certainly stings, but the important thing is not to let it snowball and undo all the positives Somerville has built the past couple weeks. The Ville gets Pingry on Saturday in a second round county game with coach Kathy Dailey still a win away from 100.

Montgomery 3, Ridge 0: Peyton Schnackenberg spun a one-hit shutout, walking one and striking out 11 to lift Montgomery to a Skyland Raritan victory at Torpey Field. Kylie Karsay finished 2-for-2 with a walk and a run and Kira Ferraiolo singled in a run for the Cougars (13-0). Maddy West notched the lone hit for Ridge (5-7), which got a strong outing from freshman lefty Sophia Berger, who surrendered just two earned runs on five hits, walked one and struck out one.
ANALYSIS: Little surprised this game was as close as it was, but that’s a tribute to Ridge, which has been playing very competitively even in its losses. Another big outing for Schnackenberg, who, at this point, considering Watchung Hills ace Robin McCabe’s recent struggles, should be considered the conference’s top pitcher, especially when you factor in her bat.

North Hunterdon 2, Phillipsburg 1 (9 innings): Meghan Graham singled in Jensen Macaulay with one out in the top of the ninth inning to snap a 1-1 tie and North Hunterdon held on to improve to 10-2. Graham got the Lions on the board in the top of the third inning smacking a solo home run, before Phillipsburg tied it in the bottom of the frame. Maggie Swan went the distance, allowing a run on just four hits, walking one and striking out 14 for the victory.
ANALYSIS: Second game in a row P’burg has given a local power a game after a 4-1 outing against Bridgewater-Raritan on Wednesday. Still, great win for North, and nice to see Swan back to dealing after a couple of rough outings last week.

Gill St. Bernard’s 3, South Hunterdon 0: Maddy Bedrock fired a one-hit shutout, walking none and striking out 11, adding two hits, including a home run as Gill St. Bernard’s improved to 6-4, Kerry Colford and Genny Fischer drove in runs for the Knights. Taylor Farlee posted the lone hit for South Hunterdon (5-6).
ANALYSIS: Another stellar outing by Bedrock, who has done a great job since taking over as the ace after the graduation of Emma Corbett.

North Plainfield 8, Bound Brook 1: Jessica Cerdena finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and Victoria Kisling allowed just a run on two hits, walked four and struck out 11 to power North Plainfield (6-1). Hailey Aguilar singled and drove in a run for Bound Brook (2-7).
ANALYSIS: Another day another victory for North Plainfield, which has been the surprise of the Mountain Division. The Canucks are currently tied with Gill St. Bernard’s for the division lead, with a pair of head-to-head matchups with the Knights coming up.

Governor Livingston 5, Livingston 2: Madison Phillips doubled and drove in two runs and Katie Debbie doubled, scored a run and knocked in another as Governor Livingston used a five-run fourth inning to improve to 11-2. Alanna Namit notched her seventh victory, allowing two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out 12.
ANALYSIS: Another impressive victory for the Union County power, this time against a team that went to the Group IV semifinals last season. It’s not surprise the Highlanders are at the top of the Union County rankings, but the fact they’re getting it done against so many out-of-county powers is what’s really been fantastic.

Westfield 6, A.L. Johnson 3: Erica Lawrence finished 3-for-3 with a double, run and RBI, and Lauren Fernandez posted two hits, a run and an RBI to send Westfield. Genevive Howell also notched two hits and a run for the Blue Devils, who got seven strong innings from Lauren Sullivan, who allowed three runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out one as her team improved to 9-2.
ANALYSIS: Second Blue Devils victory over ALJ in a week, as the Westfield continues its bounce-back season.

Voorhees 5, Belvidere 1: Melissa Will posted two hits, a run and an RBI, and Sidney Steiner allowed just an unearned run on nine hits, walked one and struck out five to send Voorhees (5-6). Sarah Furka doubled and scored a run and Kaylee Colantano and Paige Fedak each collected two hits in the victory.
ANALYSIS:Woah! Voorhees dodged a huge bullet in this one, scoring two runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to pull it out. This is a team the Vikings beat 9-0 when they faced off in the tri-county tournament’s first round last week, so a loss here would have been a disaster. Still, nice job by Voorhees getting it done when the chips were down.

Somerset Tech 20, Newark Tech 1 (5 innings): Sarah Yagual went 4-for-4 with a double, two runs and six RBIs, and Rebeka Quagliato posted a single, two runs and two RBIs to lead Somerset Tech. Brianna LaFace allowed a run on just three hits, walked three and struck out five over five innings for the Jags (4-3).
ANALYSIS: Yagual has been on fire lately, having now posted 11 RBIs in three games this week.

Staff writer Simeon Pincus can be reached atCourierSoftball@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus and atwww.Facebook.com/SimeonPincusCN.