BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer
JEFFGRANIT staff Manalapan’s Ashley Rampino’s exploits in the pitching circle have led to the Braves’ third consecutive divisional title this spring. When Middletown South and Middletown North beat defending champion Manalapan in back-to-back games, they weren’t doing anyone in the Shore Conference A North Division softball any favors.
“It made us mad,” said Brave pitcher Ashley Rampino.
While the losses brought the two-time defending champions back to the pack, it didn’t shake their resolve or confidence. It made them work harder and made their third straight title even more rewarding.
Coach Jeannette Bruno said the losses were a wake-up call.
“The team realized at that point that it [division championship] was not going to be easy, it was not going to fall in our lap,” she pointed.
The losses put Manalapan in must-win situations last week. But, they went into the week knowing that they controlled their own destiny. They were in a three-way tie for first with Colts Neck and Middletown North, with all three teams having two division losses. The Braves responded like the champions they are to beat Colts Neck, 2-0, and Middletown North, 1-0, to move into first place all by themselves, and then, with 4-0 win against Marlboro, clinched no worse than a tie for the title, for their third straight crown. The Braves are 9-2 in the division, and Colts Neck has finished its scheduled at 9-3. The Braves have a make-up game with Freehold Township this week. A win would give them the title outright.
Rampino was the difference in the two showdowns, allowing a total of five hits in the two games.
“My team has really helped me a lot and my catcher [Nicole Gurrieri] calls a great game,” said the Braves’ ace.
Bruno said the Rampino’s dominance this year, in comparison to past years, comes from her command of the strike zone.
“She’s perfected her corners, that’s the difference,” she pointed out. “It’s her location.”
Rampino said that she has been relying on her riser and deceptive change-up to be her out pitches this year. She had both pitches working on May 2 when she struck out 11 and allowed just one hit in the win over Middletown North.
The Braves pushed a run across the plate in the bottom of the first when Danielle Colagera opened the frame with a lead-off single. She was sacrificed to second and took third on an error. She scored on Deanna Daluise’s sacrifice fly.
The Braves would eventually load the bases, but North’s pitcher Chelsea Gallo got out of the inning without any further damage.
Rampino and the Brave defense made the one-run stand up in what turned out to be a well-played defensive game by both teams.
It took extra innings and the international tiebreaker for Manalapan to get by Colts Neck on April 30.
The Cougars’ Nicole Wisniewski matched Rampino inning-after-scoreless-inning until the eighth inning, when the international rules went into play (the inning starts with a runner on second).
Gurrieri’s RBI single plated Jill Kwiatowski with the first run of the game. An RBI groundout by Brianne Tanke scored Gurrieri with a big insurance run.
Rampino got out of the bottom of the eighth without surrendering a run and the Braves were on their way to what would be a very big week.
Saturday, Rampino pitched her second straight one-hitter as the Braves beat Marlboro, 4-0. Tanke and Kwiatowski powered the offense with RBI doubles.
Tanke gave Rampino all the support she needed with her two-RBI, two-bagger in the bottom of the second. She had three RBIs on the day. Kwiatowski scored twice in addition to her third inning RBI.
With the wins over Colts Neck and Middletown North, Manalapan was in the driver’s seat.