Locals play to different results in sectional finals

MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Freehold Township’s Tom Porricelli dives for a ground ball during the Patriots’ loss to Steinert on Friday in the CJ Group IV championship game at Moody Park in Ewing.

The Allentown softball team’s bid for another CJ Group II championship got off to a good start last Thursday.

The Redbirds scored two runs in the first two innings, the first coming on a Caitlin Ryan RBI triple, and the second on a Kate Sansouci RBI single, to stake themselves to an early lead over Carteret in the sectional final, played in Roselle Park.

And with Margaret Ryan cruising through the first three innings, not allowing any hits to the Ramblers, everything seemed to be coming together for Allentown.

But then, the wheels came off, as Carteret’s potent offense woke up, while pitcher Odalys Torres simultaneously settled down.

Carteret scored five runs in the fourth inning to build a 5-2 lead, and the Redbirds were held to just one run on three hits the rest of the way, as Carteret won its fourth sectional title, 6-3, and ended what had been another tremendous season for the Redbirds (25-5).

New Egypt girls win

first sectional title

The New Egypt Lady Warriors won their first sectional title last Thursday as they rode the hot hand of pitcher Brianna Foote.

Foote, who pitched a no-hitter in a 5-0 semifinal win over Shalick on May 25, continued her mastery from the pitcher’s mound as she tossed a perfect game in the South Jersey Group I final against Florence in Medford, leading her team to the 6-0 win.

The Warriors managed just three hits themselves off losing pitcher Melissa Mehere, but made them all count, as Taryn Pulvermuller singled home a pair of runs in the fourth, Brittany Kennedy singled home two more in the fifth, and Shannon Houston tripled and scored on an error in the seventh.

The win marked the first sectional title for New Egypt (14-4), who advanced to play Middlesex, the Central Jersey Group I champ, yesterday at Northern Burlington High School.

Freehold Twp. boys fall

in CJ Group IV final

Freehold Township’s bid for its first NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV title since 1986 was thwarted by Steinert, 4-1, Friday in Moody Park, Ewing Township.

Mercer County power Steinert (24-4) picked up its seventh state sectional title in the last nine years by playing small ball early and then holding the Patriots (18-6) in the sixth and seventh innings.

The Spartans struck for two runs in the top of the first without hitting a ball hard, then made it 3-0 in the top of the second on a double by Tom Larkin, a sacrifice bunt moving him to third and a sac fly by Keith Field.

Township coach Frank Gualtieri said he was not surprised that the Spartans went to small ball early. With the Patriots throwing their ace, Brad Brach (7-3), and the Spartans sending their No. 2 pitcher, lefty Michael Petrowski (6-2), the Patriot coach pointed out that the Spartans figured the game would be low scoring and that it would be important to give Petrowski an early cushion.

Gualtieri could not find fault with the way his Patriots played in the school’s first state sectional final since 1986.

"They gave everything they had, it was not for lack of effort," he said. "Steinert is so fundamentally sound. We made a couple of mistakes in the first inning and got behind and we didn’t hit enough to make up for it.

"Give him [Petrowski] credit; he made the pitches when he had to," he added. "I thought we hit the ball hard, but it was right at people."

If there was any solace for the Patriots, it was the memory of last year’s sectional playoffs when the Spartans hammered them in the first round.

"They 10-runned us last year," noted Gualtieri. "This game I really felt was there for the taking. It shows our guys have improved tremendously over last year."

In that time, the Patriots became champions (Shore Conference A North Division public schools) and played like that Friday.