Softball: South Brunswick handles Perth Amboy in Central Group 4
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SOUTH AMBOY — The South Brunswick High School softball team entered Thursday’s NJSIAA Central Group 4 opening-round clash with Perth Amboy as an underdog by seeding only.
After all, the Vikings had pinned a five-inning,11-run setback on Perth Amboy just last week and any sense of home-field advantage was abandoned when the fixture was moved to the artificial turf of South Amboy.
The seventh-seeded Panthers (13-10) scratched out runs in the first and second innings but 10th-seeded South Brunswick (9-14) took the lead with a three-run third inning, expanded its cushion in the fourth and sixth, before capitalizing on three errors to break the game open with a six-run seventh that handed it a 12-4 triumph.
South Brunswick will travel to second-seeded East Brunswick in the sectional quarterfinals at noon Friday. The Bears have won two of three meetings between the two, although it was the Vikings that halted East Brunswick’s 12-0 start with a 5-4, 10-inning decision on May 1.
South Brunswick squandered a golden opportunity in the first inning as its first two batters walked and Perth Amboy intentionally walked slugger Amanda Buttitta to load the bases, but came away empty.
“Kudos to them, they came out ready to play, and we knew it,” South Brunswick coach Heather Wells said of her opponent. “We had to try and match their energy. These kids understand that when we get behind, we have to chip away. When we’re feeling like we’re down we just have to make one move at a time and not think too far in advance.”
The Panthers scratched out a run in the first as Edith Luciano walked with two out and scored on a single up the middle by Nicole Cepeda. Perth Amboy added another in the second as Jaslyn Collado walked and scored on Edith Luciano’s single up the middle, but not before to Kaitlyn Trela relieved Buttitta in the circle.
“Katie came in and had a nice, cool head and Amanda had a tough day today,” said Wells. “She came in nice, cool and picked her up. Amanda was nothing but gracious giving her the ball. Katie’s been ready to go every time I’ve used her the past few weeks so she stepped up ready to go, no hesitation. She did a great job today.”
Trela, South Brunswick’s No. 2 hurler, pitched all six innings of last week’s victory and was familiar with Perth Amboy’s formidable lineup. The junior took control of the contest, yielding four hits and two walks, one intentional, while striking out nine over the final 5 2/3 frames.
“I kind of knew what to expect in terms of the batters, I knew who to throw to and where based on what I saw last time,” Trela explained. “I really just got a lot of calls from the ump. I was hitting my spots consistently and he was calling the strikes and I got the outs.”
The Vikings took the lead for good by striking for three runs in the third on a run-scoring double by Gianna Lagomarsino and a two-run triple by Emma Galella.
Trela retired seven in a row before Izabella Pardo led off the fifth with home run to right on a misplayed fly ball. Perth Amboy’s only other run off of her came in the seventh when Kiarelys Santiago bunted for a single and came all three way around to score on a throwing error.
South Brunswick meanwhile sprinkled in runs, scoring on a wild pitch in the fourth. Trela singled and scored from second on a botched fielder’s choice in the sixth, while Trela, Gracie Jairdullo and Galella each singled in a run as the Vikings took advantage of three Perth Amboy errors in the seventh to increase the margin to 12-3.
The loss ends a terrific season for Perth Amboy, which captured the GMC Blue Division title and had an eight-game winning during one stretch.
“It’s an honor, it shows what hard work and dedication is for these girls,” Perth Amboy coach Patricia Bennett stated. “We wouldn’t be champs if these girls didn’t practice all year long. They’re doing the extra work because they want a future in softball. Having that is a blessing.”
South Brunswick faces a quick turn-around with Friday’s noon start at East Brunswick. Wells assures there’ll be ready.
“It’s fun, we’ll leave school tomorrow early, the kids are excited,” Wells offered. “You have to leave everything on the field, there’s nothing left. If we do that tomorrow, regardless of what the score is, we’re going to be happy. You have to leave everything out there.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: South Brunswick handles Perth Amboy in Central Group 4
