Viking softballers conquer new worlds

By: Rich Fisher
   The Cranbury School softball team had never beaten Allentown in its first two years of existence, nor had it ever won three games in a season.
   The Vikings accomplished both on Monday, taking a 4-1 victory over the Redbirds to raise their record to 3-2.
   "They were so excited," coach Leigh Zink said. "Allentown is young this year, but they’re still a good program. The girls were so happy. It’s our third win of the season, and that’s all we won in our first two seasons combined."
   But this is not like those first two seasons, when the Vikings were routinely 10-run ruled by the likes of Allentown, New Egypt and Millstone.
   "They were thrilled to be able to beat Allentown, that was big for them," Zink said. "I think they realize they’re as good as these teams. They’re starting to have an attitude of ‘Hey you know what, we’re better than we realized.’ A win like this gives them more confidence."
   Pitcher Dylan Zink continues to pitch so good it’s almost scary. Zink fired a two-hitter with two walks while striking out 17, and got strong defense when she needed it. Lisa Faraci was moved to first base and played it flawlessly.
   "She’s a good player," Leigh Zink said of the 6th-grader. "She’s a real solid addition to the infield as well as at the plate. I had her playing shortstop but moved her to first, and I might keep her there. She’s just a good, all-around player."
   Faraci’s bat got the Vikings going against Allentown, as she hit a first-inning double, stole third and rode home on Amy Jacobi’s single. The Vikes added a run in the third when Amanda Santa Maria singled, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch.
   Cranbury made it 3-0 in the fourth when Meghan Palagyi walked and stole second. After two strikeouts, Palagyi stole third and scored on Laura Mawn’s single. In the sixth, Erin Hoerner walked, stole second and third and scored on another Mawn single.
   "Laura had a big game for us," Zink said. "She came through twice."
   The game also highlighted the Vikings base stealing prowess, which has gotten more productive this year.
   "We just watch the catcher," Leigh Zink said. "If she can’t throw to second, as soon as she releases, we run.
   "We really played well against Allentown. We played good tight defense, Katie Lindberg was solid at second base. I was really proud of them."
   Last Wednesday, the Vikings took a 10-5 victory over Crossroads in South Brunswick. Dylan Zink went 3-for-4, while Faraci, Jacobi and Ellie van der Veken each had two hits. Hoerner and Lindberg also picked up hits. Amanda Santa Maria and Jacobi each scored two runs and each stole home, while Kelly Wright, Lindberg, Faraci, Zink, Chelsea Persons and van der Veken also scored.
   Zink tossed a one-hitter and struck out 14, but allowed five runs due to a combination of walks and defensive miscues.
   "That was a pretty good game for us," Zink said. "We got our bat on the ball and drew a lot of walks.
   "They’re a lot smarter at the plate this year. They’re being a little more patient and waiting for good pitches."
   The lone downer of the week was a 12-2 loss at Millstone, in which Santa Maria, Lindberg and Faraci picked up hits. Zink had 12 strikeouts in the game, despite pitching to three different catchers.
   Jacobi hurt her elbow, and was replaced by Hoerner, who took a pitch on the thumb and also had to leave. van der Veken, who never caught before, went behind the plate and gave it a gutsy effort.
   "Ellie tried her best," Leigh Zink said. "Catching is just not an easy thing to do."
   The Vikings visit New Egypt today (Friday), South River Monday and Pond Road Wednesday.
TENNIS
   The Viking netters dropped two straight after their 4-1 start, losing a pair of 5-3 decisions to Crossroads and Hun.
   But they rebounded nicely on Tuesday, taking a 7-2 victory over Kreps to up their record to 5-3.
   In the loss to Crossroads, which is the first time the two teams met, Miheer Mhatre won at singles, while the fifth and sixth doubles teams of Greg Bredariol-Ram Yamarthy and Sandeep Tummala-Mike Mayes both picked up victory.
   At Hun, Rohit Gawande won at singles, while Mayes-Andrew Paterson won at first doubles and Pat Chen-Kyle Barron won at second doubles. Barron came up from the JV for the match.
   "Hun just played a lot better that day," said coach Lynn Totten, whose team beat the Raiders in their first meeting this season.
   "The matches were all close in our losses. Everybody is still putting in a good effort, still improving. They’re all working on improving their serves, strokes and their strategy. I’m still pleased."
   Totten then took on the role of Jets quarterback Joe Namath before Super Bowl III.
   "Of the five matches we have left, we have a good chance of winning four of them," she said. "I think we’re going to have a strong finish."
   Totten’s prediction held up in the first match after she made it, as the Vikes had an easy time against Kreps. Greg Bredariol, Rahool Padhye and Arjun Vikuntam won their singles matches, while Paterson-Mayes, Yamarthy-Tummala, Shabeg Singh-Chen and Will Rogers-Christabelle Chen all claimed doubles victories.
   "That was a nice match because we got to give a few different players the chance to play singles," Totten said. "Most of our players just want the chance to challenge themselves because they don’t’ get much of an opportunity.
   "They don’t play competitively in leagues so they don’t have the opportunity to compete. They take lessons and have drills but their only real chance to compete is with us."
   The coach said her two main singles player, Gawande and Mhatre, have shown distinct improvement this season.
   "They’re working hard on their matches and mentally have come a long way this year over last year," Totten said. "They’re winning a lot more under similar circumstances. They have more focus."
   Seventh-grader Paterson and sixth-grader Mayes have also made an impression.
   "Andrew has really improved over last year," Totten said. "And Mike Mayes is a new player. He has excellent skills and he’s moving up steadily."
   Cranbury will play the Princeton Academy at Stuart Country Day on Monday and meet Crossroads at Mercer Park on Wednesday.
BASEBALL
   Suddenly, a black cloud is hanging over the Cranbury hardballers, who lost the services of standout third baseman/pitcher Mark Madden for the season.
   The talented 7th-grader had his year come to an end on Monday when he suffered a broken collarbone in a loss at Allentown. It was an injury caused by sheer hustle.
   "He was diving after a foul ball into a hill, and the catch didn’t even count," said coach Frank Silva. "This is a tremendous loss. We will miss him."
   Aside from losing Madden, the Vikings have also been losing games.
   Cranbury dropped a 6-3 decision to Millstone last Thursday, as Madden pitched a complete game but suffered his first loss of the season. Tyler Distasio had two hits and three stolen bases in the loss, while Clint O’Brien had a double and two RBI, Madden added two hits and Tommy Hines had a single and a stolen base.
   On Friday, Cranbury and MacFarland were in a 2-2 tie when the game was called after three innings due to the weather.
   On Monday, Allentown rolled to a one-sided win over the Vikings, despite big games by Distasio and John Ryan, who each had a single, double and two stolen bases. Ryan Gordy added two hits and a stolen base.
   "Our bats are still asleep," said Silva, whose team dropped to 2-3-1. "We need to pick things up and get back some momentum."
   The Vikings visit New Egypt today (Friday), and travel to South River and Pond Road Monday and Tuesday.
TRACK & FIELD
   The Vikings boys and girls track teams both defeated South Plainfield last week and both lost to Carl Sandburg of Old Bridge earlier this week.
   "A lot of our kids ran second and third places against Old Bridge, so I was proud of them," coach Jay Gilligan said. "They have about nine times the amount of kids at Old Bridge that we do. They have 35 homerooms, we have nine."
   Gilligan said that Matt Chester had a big week, as he twice came within one second of tying the school record in the mile. Chester ran 5:22 in both races, and the mark is 5:21.
   Albert Lam continues to perform well in a variety of events.
   "He’s my number-one discus thrower," Gilligan said. "He also does the relay and the hurdles."
   The coach has also been happy with high jumpers Michael Manning, Ross McDonald, Danica Presepe and Maggie Bleach.
   The new blood in the program is also performing well, as sixth-graders Elizabeth O’Grady (distance), Corey Marsh (distance), Nayir Chowdhury (sprints, hurdles), Sam Kotowski (distance), Katie Carreno (hurdles), Adrienne Casimir (sprints, relays) and Dana Sahli (high jump/sprints) all drew praise from Gilligan.
   The Vikes visit Highland Park on Monday and meet future high school teammates in a meet at Witherspoon Wednesday.