Brookdale Community College’s women’s softball team is back on top. The Jersey Blues went into the Region XIX Tournament at Middlesex County College in Edison (May 4-5) ranked No. 1 in the country and left it where they started after defeating defending national champion Gloucester County College, 5-2, in the finals on May 5.
“We knew a lot of teams were coming at us,” said pitcher Samantha Hosey, who was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “After the first game (4-1 win over Northampton Community College) we just went with it.
“We play so well together,” the Keansburg High School graduate added. “We have such a bond. We believe in each other.”
That may explain Brookdale’s incredible 55-3 record after its three wins over the weekend in Edison. Even Hall of Fame coach Bo Scannapieco was at a loss for words to describe the win-loss record.
“I can’t explain the record,” he said. “We’ve played well all year. We did what we had to do [at the tournament].”
Now, after a two-year absence, the Jersey Blues are headed back to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III National Championship in Rochester, Minn. The Jersey Blues will seek their fourth national title when play gets under way on May 16.
Scannapieco believes his team will get the No. 1 seed for two reasons. It is ranked No. 1 in the country and it is 4-0 against Gloucester, the No. 3 team with 44 wins.
“We had to beat them four times, which isn’t easy,” he said. “That bodes well for us. The No. 1 seed is pretty important.”
For the eight sophomores on the Jersey Blues, the May 5 victory was the sweetest win of their careers. Last year, Gloucester ended its season in the region finals. It was the toughest loss of his career, Scannapieco said afterward, because he thought his club was good enough to win the national title that Gloucester went on to capture. For the sophomores, the only thing that has mattered all year was getting back to the championship game and winning it.
“We may have won a lot of games, but this was the first that meant something,” said catcher Kathleen Sharp, one of Brookdale’s sophomores. “This is the only win that really matters.
“Cloud nine is the only way to put it,” the Toms River High School East graduate continued. “We gained our revenge.”
Scannapieco was happy for his sophomores, who he pointed out are 104-10 over the last two years but had nothing to show for the record until the region victory.
“They’ve been great,” he said. “The sophomores deserve to get the opportunity to play for it (national championship).”
Hosey permitted just one earned run and struck out eight in beating the defending champions in the finals. It was her second win over Gloucester in the tournament. She shut out the Roadrunners, fanning 10 in the winner’s bracket finals played on May 4.
“They’re a great hitting team,” Hosey said of Gloucester. “They hit my inside pitches hard. I had to throw them outside and mix in the curve.”
The Roadrunners may be a very good hitting team, but Brookdale’s freshman standout has had their number all year. She got the win in each of Brookdale’s four wins over Gloucester this year.
Behind her is an outstanding defense and a great hitting team, added Hosey.
Scannapieco brought a powerhouse to Edison — a team with a .417 team batting average that was scoring just under 10 runs a game. Although they “only” scored five times in the finals, the Jersey Blues were relentless. They had the Roadrunners under pressure in every inning and scored in five of their six at-bats.
It all started in the very first frame. Courtney Paone (Middletown North) walked and was immediately sacrificed to second by Keara Homan (Manasquan). Sharp singled to center, scoring Paone from second.
Scannapieco was playing for an early lead.
“It’s important to score first against them,” said the veteran skipper, who registered his 900th career victory earlier this spring. “I wanted to take an early lead. They like to run, and that takes them out of their game. Yesterday we scored four times in the first (8-0 win).”
Gloucester got the run back in the top of the second, when Melissa Mackey smacked a long double and scored the Roadrunners’ only earned run off Hosey on Courtney Grim’s RBI single.
Brookdale answered right back in the bottom of the second on back-to-back doubles by Brianna Davidson (Monroe Township) and Bobbie Boehler (Raritan).
Molly Carroll (Keyport) singled to score a run in the third to make it 3-1. Gloucester got an unearned run in the top of the fourth that made it 3-2.
Brookdale pushed across add-on runs in the fifth (two-out RBI single from Davidson) and sixth (sac fly by Allie Muratore from Middletown South) to make the last two innings easier for Hosey to register her 27th win of the season.
Freshman Cassidy Brzozowski (Howell), who had a hit and scored a run in addition to making a nice running catch in center field, pointed to Brookdale’s closeness as a team with making them such a great team this year.
“We clicked right away after a couple of practices,” she said. “That made things so easy. We care so much for each other. We have so much trust in one another.”
That has carried Brookdale to the region title, a 55-3 record and No. 1 ranking in the nation. There’s only one thing left to accomplish — winning it all in Rochester.
If the past record of Region XIX champions means anything, Brookdale is in good shape. The past three Region XIX winners have gone on to win the national championship, starting with Brookdale in 2010 and Gloucester the last two years.