As the school year has been winding down, the sports teams at both WW-P high schools apparently have not been bitten by the warm-weather bug. In fact, the teams have added four more titles to WW-P’s trophy shelf over the last two weeks.
South Softball: First-Time Champs. The girls in South’s softball program achieved a first in school history when they defeated Allentown for the Mercer County Tournament championship — the team’s first county championship ever in its 35 years of existence.##M:[more]##
The softball title is only the school’s second — it earned a Colonial Division crown in 1983 — and this year’s team has been exceptional, especially coming off last season’s 14-7 finish and a loss to South Brunswick in the opening round of the state tournament.
This year, however, in addition to their county title, the Pirates ended with a record of 20-3, and took out South Brunswick, 7-2, on their way through the state tournament. For the county title, Liz Chudzik, who earned the Most Valuable Player designation, struck out 13 batters and only gave up three hits as the Pirates topped Allentown, 7-1, in the title game. Aside from the well-rounded pitching effort coming from the Pirates this year, the title game also showcased South’s impressive batting lineup.
Liz Huttner had two hits and two walks, scoring twice in her times at bat. Alyssa Kelman and Jo Schutzer each had two hits, while Schutzer had three RBIs. Kat Philbin also knocked in a runner on her double, and Chudzik had a double and two RBIs.
Against South Brunswick, Chudzik allowed five hits and got the usual help from the offense in solidifying the win. Liz Mendez singled in a run, and Kat Philbin followed with a two-run single. Liz Huttner and Alyssa Kelman each had RBIs.
The team made it to the Central Jersey Group IV semifinal on May 27, where it fell to Hunterdon Central.
The boost in the team’s performance this year, says South coach Nicole Arias, is that the team focused a lot in practice on overcoming the pressure situation with runners in scoring position, and Liz Chudzik has been the prime example of how far the team has come in that regard.
There was not an inning in the MCT championship game where Chudzik was not facing pressure from batters on base, but those runners have not affected her concentration, says Arias. “The biggest adjustment we made this year to her pitching was her mental toughness,” Arias says. “A lot of pitchers will crack,” knowing there are runners on base, she added. “They put a lot of pressure on themselves and at times, it ends up hurting them.”
However, “she’s been doing absolutely great with getting that third out or a strikeout with runners in scoring position,” she says. In addition, Chudzik has been fielding her position really well, going after bunts as quickly as possible.
The entire team, however, had also improved in this regard, practicing much, since “a routine ground ball turns into an error that can ruin games.” The hitting, especially over the last few games, had been phenomenal, says Arias, who adds that being the team to score first makes it easier for them to hold onto leads.
The Pirates also did their homework on teams they faced all season long, but were sure to take it one day at a time, she says.
The championship week, however, really brought out the Pirates’ confidence, as they first defeated Steinert, Ewing, and Notre Dame on the way to the MCT title. Then, after defeating South Brunswick, it “showed us we’re going into the states as a strong team.”
The team had more than a handful of players batting over .450, including Liz Huttner who batted an outstanding .631. The overall team batting average was in the .340s, Arias said.
Meanwhile, at North, with a record of 18-4, the girls’s softball team defeated Northern Burlington, 9-6, to advance to the semifinal game against Wall on May 27 in the sectional semifinals — the furthest the Knights have ever gone in the state tournament — where they ultimately fell. The crosstown rivals, however, still have a makeup regular season game against each other to play.
North Baseball Makes it to State Finals. North, however, is still going strong, and has advanced to its first NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III title game, which is scheduled for Friday, May 29 against Red Bank Regional at 2 p.m. at home.
Led by pitcher Kyle Reed and key players Mike Tartaro, Scott Kelly, Eric Rosenbaum, Chris Hase, and Mike Voltmer, the team was able to defeat Hopewell Valley, 4-3, on May 26 in the semifinals.
Among the players who were heavy hitters for the Knights against Red Bank were Hase, who doubled to bring home Ryan Phelan. Phelan had been walked, but then went on to steal second and reach third on a throwing error from the other team. Chet Otis hit a sacrifice fly to bring in John Sullivan, and Voltmer also hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Scott Kelly. Kelly had also doubled.
They overcame crosstown rivals South on May 16, and bounced back from a loss to Steinert in the MCT championship game, 3-0 at Waterfront Park.
North Lacrosse Wins MCT. The boys’ lacrosse teams were doing so well this year that both ended up in the Mercer County Tournament championship game. It was second-seed North, however, who stunned favorite South, the first-seed, in the upset, 10-7, on May 18 in the first Mercer County boys lacrosse tournament.
The difference was in the defense, with Brandon Worrall, Lenny Bellezza, Brad States, and Michael Leahy helping to hold the usually-eruptive Pirates to just seven goals, while the offense, led by Marc Raziano, Todd Petrone, and A.J. Reichert, each of whom added goals to lead the Knights into half-time with a 6-3 advantage. Petrone would finish with five goals.
The boys went on to finish their season off with a 17-3 record overall. They made it all the way to the state quarterfinals before falling to Montgomery on May 22.
South lacrosse, however, fell to Shawnee in the state tournament, 9-7, on May 26 after overcoming Ridge, 12-6, in a state playoff game on May 23. In the game against Ridge, led by players including Eric Valero, who hit his 100th career goal during the MCT championship game against North, and University of Pennsylvania-bound David Twamley, as well as Connor Farrell, goalkeeper Evan Burke — who had 10 saves against Ridge — Matt Bright, and Alex Rohrbach.
North Tennis: State Sectional Champs. The North tennis team has been insatiable this year, refusing to end with just the defeat of repeat-champions South and other teams like Princeton for the Mercer County Tournament title.
Following that win, the Knights surpassed both Princeton and South, both of whom were defeated early in the postseason this year, to make it to the NJSIAA sectional final against Hopewell Valley, where it again claimed victory — this time for their first sectional title — with a score of 4-1. It was their inaugural appearance in the sectional final, the furthest the team has ever previously made it.
Tim Wu and Brandon Frank won their matches in first and second singles, respectively, and Sean Lee and Zach Kurfirst at first doubles, as well as Jun Yoshitake and Abishy Pandita at second doubles also showed up for the Knights.
Advancing to the Public Group Championships, North was then matched up against Ramapo, the North 1, Group III winner, on May 21, where they ultimately fell, 5-0.
North Boys’ Track: Champions Again. As expected, the North boys’ track team have yet again captured another title — this time it is the Central Jersey Group III title after earlier this month claiming the MCT title as well.
Behind the usual leaders in the Rosa twins, Tyler Corkedale, and others, the Knights also got a boost in the area of shot put and discus. All together, the team finished first in five events to outscore second-place finisher Jackson, 99-71.
Corey Abernathy won the discus, with a 160-9 and the shot put with a 57-7. In the 1,”600, Corkedale placed first with a time of 4:18.10, and also placed first in the 800 with a time of 1:57. Joe Rosa was second and Stephen Ellwood was fourth in the 1,”600. Jim Rosa placed first in the 3,”200, while Jon Squeri and Anthony Lee placed third and fourth, respectively. In the triple jump, Sean Reed was second. He also placed fourth in the 400 and sixth in the 200.
