The Brookdale Community College softball team will be in an unfamiliar position at this weekend’s National Junior College Athletic Association Region XIX Tournament.
Brookdale, which is a three-time national champion, is not the defending champion this season. That honor goes to 2011 NJCAA champion Gloucester County College from southern New Jersey.
Gloucester and Brookdale will head into the region tournament, to be held May 5-6 at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa., as the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked Division III teams in the country. The powerhouses have won the last two NJCAA titles (Brookdale in 2010 and Gloucester in 2011).
Brookdale has won 15 of the last 19 Region XIX softball tournaments, including a run of 11 straight, but no player on the 2012 Jersey Blues has been to the national tournament and that has given this team a purpose and unified the players. There is no sense of entitlement, only a team with one mission — to win a national championship — and that starts with the region tournament.
“It (a berth in the NJCAA tournament) is something we can achieve together,” said sophomore pitcher Deanna Daluise (Manalapan). “We can do something special. I have no doubt we will do well” in the region tournament.
Daluise said the Jersey Blues have a lot of chemistry this spring. They play for each other and more than anything else, they do not want to let the team down.
The Jersey Blues are riding high heading into the region tourney. They are 45-5 following a doubleheader sweep of Mercer County Community College on April 14 in Lincroft.
Coach Bo Scannapieco, who has led the Jersey Blues to 15 region titles and who earned his 850th career win in Brookdale’s sweep of Mercer, likes the way his team is playing on the eve of the tournament.
“We are having a nice season,” he said. “I am very happy and surprised. I knew we would be good, but not this good. We are better than last year. We make better contact, run the bases better and are more athletic.”
As Scannapieco expected, the offense has been on fire with a team batting average of .406, which ranks third nationally.
Sophomore shortstop Taylor McDonough (Manchester) is batting .416 with 58 RBI (shares the team lead) and 52 runs scored. She leads the club with 27 doubles.
Emma Erbig (Brick Township) is batting .493. The second baseman has scored 53 times and driven in 48 runs. Erbig has hit 19 doubles. Leadoff hitter Chelsea Alston (Matawan) is batting .432 with 60 runs scored and 30 RBI. Her base running is another offensive weapon for the Jersey Blues. The sophomore centerfielder is 22-22 in stolen base attempts.
Catcher Kathleen Sharp leads the team in runs scored (63), has 58 RBI (shares the team lead), and is batting .390. She and Mc- Donough rank in the top 10 in RBI in the country.
Holly Klodin (Red Bank Catholic) has scored 38 times and is batting .422, and outfielder Leeana Adamski (Ocean Township) has hit 13 doubles, scored 46 runs and driven in 29, while batting .328.
The Jersey Blues do not have the type of home run hitters they have had in the past, but Scannapieco noted that everyone in the lineup has hit at least one home run. Adamski, Erbig and Sharp share the lead in home runs with four.
The pitching rotation which was cloudy before the season began has been superb. Daluise has backed up her strong freshman year (17-3) and has been the staff’s ace with a 20-3 record. Her last outing was a five-inning onehitter that including seven strikeouts. She had 189 strikeouts in 145.1 innings, with a 1.64 ERA (ranked 12th in the nation).
Daluise set a Brookdale record in a five-inning game when she recorded all 15 outs on strikeouts.
Freshman Carly Gleason has stepped in and given the Jersey Blues a dependable one-two pitching punch. Gleason is 19-2 with a 1.90 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 117.1 innings.
Molly Carroll (Keyport) and Angela Hauser (Brick Township), both freshmen, have also earned wins.
Gloucester and Brookdale went 1-1 during the regular season, splitting a doubleheader in Gloucester. Brookdale won the opener behind Daluise, 9-2, and lost the second game, 8-4.
Gloucester is 17-1 in Region XIX games and Brookdale is 16-2. Gloucester will be the No. 1 seed at the region tournament. Each team had two region games remaining this week (Brookdale hosted the County College of Morris on May 1).
While all eyes will be focused on Gloucester and Brookdale this weekend, Scannapieco said Northampton (22-11; 16- 4 in region play) cannot be overlooked. Brookdale, the No. 2 seed, will meet Northampton in the first semifinal game.
With the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation playing in the same region and only one team able to advance, one of those squads will not be playing in the NJCAA nationals in Rochester, Minn., May 17-19.