Daily double for BCC as baseball, softball win
10th straight region title for women
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Above, Brookdale’s Nick Mullins connects for a base hit during the Blues’ win over Del-Tech onFriday in Lincroft. At left, pitcher Bill Lawson fires a pitch to the plate.

Brookdale Community College’s spectacular spring sports season continues.

The Jersey Blues’ baseball and softball teams won their respective Region XIX championships last weekend, and now set out for further glory.

Johnny Johnson’s Blues, ranked No. 3 in the country in Division II, won at home Saturday, defeating Sussex, 9-4.

Bo Scannapieco’s women, ranked No. 1 in the country in Division III, won on the road at Gloucester, pounding Sussex, 13-3, for their 10th consecutive championship.

The baseball team will play this weekend in the Super District playoff, competing in a double-elimination tourney against the winners of regions XV and XXI. The tournament will take place on the home field of the as-yet-to-be determined Region XXI champion. The winner of this weekend’s tournament goes on to the Junior College World Series, May 28-June 3 in Millington, Tenn.

By virtue of its Region championship, the softball team has already qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association nationals in Alfred, N.Y., May 19-21.

Scannapieco’s Blues left no doubt who was the best team in Region XIX was once again, sweeping all three games and scoring in double-figures every game.

“We played really well,” said Scannapieco, who has won 11 region titles at Brookdale. “We hit everything. We had 41 hits. Even our outs were hard-hit.

“Our defense was good and our pitching acceptable,” he added.

Brookdale began the defense of its championship Friday, falling behind host Gloucester, its traditional rival over the years, 6-3. Then, the bats starting booming, resulting in a 10-7 win. Cherise Maltais’ RBI double in the sixth broke a 6-6 tie. Lynn Olender and Allyson Weinkofsky followed with RBI singles as BCC tacked on three more runs in the inning to take a 10-7 lead.

In game No. 2 Friday, Brookdale beat Middlesex, 11-3, as Maltais pitched a six-hitter and ran her record to 16-2. Erin Covell was the offensive star with three hits and three RBI.

Stephanie Brady and Kara Hertzke both added two RBIs and two hits.

Brookdale’s new rival Sussex, emerged from the loser’s bracket to take the Blues on for the Region title Saturday. The teams had split their regular season double-header, leaving unresolved the issue of who was better between them.

“There was no doubt we were the best team,” said Scannapieco. “When you score 10 runs in the first inning of a championship game, it’s over.”

Hertzke sparked the 10-run first inning with a two-RBI double. Olender, Covell, Brady and Leah Minnick added RBI hits before the outburst was over as Brookdale was well on its way its 10th straight championship.

Elyse Papaianni picked up the win for the Blues, improving to 16-4 for the season.

The offensive explosion, led by tournament Most Valuable Player Jessica Williams, who batted .555 over the weekend, was not a surprise to Scannapieco,

“We had been hitting well the last two weeks of the season,” he said. “Your only concern is the four- or five-day layoff between games, and how much time it takes to get the timing back.

“We were down 6-3 early in our first game and came back to win 10-7,” he added. “After that, it was hit, hit, hit.”

Brookdale will take a 45-8 record to the national tournament and the top ranking in the country.

What stood out about this year’s region title compared to the others, according to Scannapieco, was the pressure the Blues faced all year.

“This year was a little more of a relief to win it,” said Scannapieco. “Being No. 1 from the start of the season put a lot of pressure on the girls. That’s never happened before.”

This is fourth time that Brookdale won a region title on the road.

“It’s rewarding winning away from home,” said Scannapieco.

In Alfred, Brookdale will look to reclaim the national title the Blues first won in 2002.

In Lincroft, Johnson enjoyed the ride as his sophomores fulfilled their yearlong quest.

“This was something special,” he said. “I just thought we would win it from the start. It’s the most relaxed region tournament I’ve been in.”

The Jersey Blue gave Johnson very little to worry about, although Sussex did throw a scare into the Blues, who went through the weekend undefeated (3-0).

Brookdale opened Friday with a 7-0 win over Del-Tech, as Bill Lawson spun a four-hitter and improved to 5-0 on the season.

In the second game of the day against Sussex, Brookdale won a pitchers’ duel, 2-1, when Jon Marzella broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with his RBI double. Adam Ortiz held the visitors to just four hits in improving to 6-0 on the season.

The double win on Friday put the Blues in Saturday’s final, knowing that in the double-elimination format, the surviving team would have to beat Brookdale not once, but twice.

There was no need for the “if necessary” game as Brookdale’s vaunted offense bounced back from its sub-par game against Sussex on Friday to beat Sussex again, this time 9-4. John Romano had two hits and three RBIs, and Marzella added two more RBIs to his weekend total.

The final was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when the Blues platted four runners. Romano started the parade off with an RBI single.

Matt Coulson went seven innings and earned his eighth win without a loss.

Marzella was named the tournament MVP on a weekend in which he produced one big hit after another.

“In every game, he had a clutch RBI double that either put us ahead or increased our lead,” said Johnson.

Brookdale last won the region tournament in 2002, and Johnson noted the difference in the way the teams celebrated. The sophomores, so dedicated from the start of the season to erasing the memories of their loss in last year’s region tourney, know there is more to play for.

“When we won in 2002, everyone went crazy and was so excited,” he said. “This team is on a mission. They’re already thinking about the next tournament. Their goal is to get to the World Series.”

The 2002 Blues may have been satisfied getting to the District qualifier, but the ’05 edition isn’t. Talented and deep everywhere, the Blues have a very strong tournament team.

“We have the pitching depth to really compete at that [World Series] level,” said Johnson. “The guys don’t fear anybody. They go out there and expect to win.”

Along with an array of starters led by Coulson, Ortiz and Lawson, Brookdale has a big-time closer in Justin Esposito, who has 11 saves on the season.

The heart of Brookdale remains its offense. Romano led the nation in hitting during the regular season and he is just the tip of the iceberg.

“This team all year long has been getting the two-out hit,” said Johnson. “All of our guys, from one through nine in the lineup, having been doing it and that’s what I like about this team.”