JERRY WOLKOWITZ Brookdale’s Marissa Busch gets set to toss a strike during the Jersey Blues’ game against Catonsville, Md., Friday in Lincroft.
Smith sparking offense; pitchers DeVincenzo, Busch are sharp
By tim morris
Staff Writer
The beauty of softball to Brookdale Community College softball coach Bo Scannapieco is that it is played every day.
"The redeeming part of the game is that you can come back the next day," he said. "You don’t dwell on a bad game because you have a game the next day."
Last week, the Jersey Blues demonstrated just what Scannapieco meant.
On Friday afternoon, playing in conditions more suited for the Green Bay Packers, the Jersey Blues dropped a doubleheader to Catonsville, Md., in Lincroft, 5-2, 9-6. The blustery, numbing weather, which included some snow showers, was hard enough to put up with, but the way the Jersey Blues played was even more forgettable for Scannapieco.
However, in the redeeming nature of the sport that the head coach referred to, Brookdale bounced back on Saturday and Sunday to win a pair of doubleheaders that put the double losses behind it and end the week with a fine 19-8 record.
"The girls showed me a lot," Scannapieco said. "Overall we had a good week.
"I think we’re fine," he added. "With our injuries we haven’t been at 100 percent, but we’re 19-8 and undefeated in the region."
Brookdale’s comeback was sparked by pitchers Marissa Busch and Dara DeVincenzo, who tossed back-to-back shutouts of Del-Tech Station, 6-0, 7-0, on Saturday.
Busch fired a one-hitter and Allison Cenci helped the Blues jump on top early with a two-RBI double in the very first inning in Lincroft.
DeVincenzo held Del-Tech to five hits and Amanda Smith continued her red-hot hitting at the top of the lineup with a pair of hits and an RBI in the second game. Kim Roessner added an RBI double.
The Blues took to the road on Sunday and the bats woke up as they crushed Luzerne (Pa.), 16-0 and 15-2.
DeVincenzo improved to 8-4 on the season in the first game where Brookdale slammed 22 hits. Smith had a pair of doubles and, more importantly, Cenci and Busch both left the park with home runs.
In the nightcap, Roessner improved to 4-0 as Jen Thompson provided the home run power in this one.
"As the weather gets warmer, I think our hitting will get better," said Scannapieco. "I think we’ll become more consistent."
Brookdale, which had been relying on a lot of hit-and-run and bunting for its offense, welcomed the power surge against Luzerne.
Smith, an all-American last year, has been the perfect lead-off hitter. She was 6-8 in Sunday’s doubleheader. With 39 hits and 20 base-on-balls, she has reached base safely 59 times in 27 games. She is batting .450 and has an on-base percentage well over .500.
Tiffany Kenney has been BCC’s RBI leader with 23. She hit a pair of home runs and is batting .442.
Cenci has 20 RBIs and two home runs along with a .318 average, while Sarah Otto is at .374 with 16 RBIs. Roessner has 18 RBIs to go along with a .350 batting average.
Katy Pusz is batting .406, Ilana Machado and Allison Krilla are at .320.
Even with the offense picking up, Scannapieco knows the team’s bread-and-butter is its pitching.
"I think we are going to have to pitch to win it (Region XIX) this year," he said.
DeVincenzo and Busch have been outstanding all season and ranked in the top five in the country in earned run averages. DeVincenzo, last year’s Region XIX Most Valuable Player, is 8-4 with an ERA of 1.70 after posting her fifth shutout of the season against Luzerne.
Busch, a freshman, is 7-4 with a 1.24 ERA, four shutouts and two no-hitters.
Roessner is at 4-0 with a 3.06 ERA.
With the exception of the Catonsville game, Brookdale has played very good defense behind its pitchers. Otto at third and Smith at shortstop are solid on the left side of the infield. Catching has been upgraded with Machado. Scannapieco has depth behind the plate with Stefanie Bird and Roessner both capable backstops. Krilla and Pusz head the right side of the infield at second, and Roessner is at first when not pitching or catching.
Center fielder Cenci anchors the outfield defense.
Brookdale will host Gloucester Saturday in a big Garden State Athletic Conference and Region XIX game. Gloucester figures to be one of the teams that Brookdale will have to beat if it is to win a seventh straight region title.
The region tournament will again be at Brookdale May 10-11.