By Rich Fisher, Packet Media Group
UNION – If you’re not a fan of Notre Dame High School, but are a fan of East Windsor youth softball, you still had to feel a little bit of pride in what the Irish accomplished this season.
ND came excruciatingly close to a state championship with one-third of its starting lineup hailing from the East Windsor PAL program. The three players were all in the infield as senior Alyssa Giampolo played third, sophomore Angela Giampolo played shortstop when she wasn’t pitching, and sophomore Brighid Douglas played second.
The group helped the Irish to a 28-3 record, their first Mercer County Tournament championship since 2008 and their first South Jersey Non-Public Group A title since 2007. The Irish were seeking their first state title since ’07 this past Saturday, but fell short when Immaculate Heart took a 1-0 win on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh at Kean University.
. Angela Giampolo suffered the loss despite pitching outstanding. She allowed four hits and one walk while striking out one.
“Angela did a great job,” Douglas said following the game. “Angela always does a great job. She’ll have some little hiccups but it’s never game changing. And when she’s in a groove she’s unstoppable.”
“I was just trying to work ahead and hoped my defense had my back,” Giampolo said.
The defense did have her back, but the offense hit a lull in the last six games of the season. Despite the loss, it could safely be termed a disappointing end to an outstanding season.
“I wouldn’t want it to be any different,” Douglas said. “Obviously it would be nice to have a state championship but you know what, everything happens for a reason.
“It’s probably the best group of girls I’ve ever played with. We had a great season, we won MCTs, we won the conference, we won the sectionals.”
“It’s been an amazing year,” agreed Angela Giampolo. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to be with. It was just so much fun.”
“We should have hit a little better than we did today, but it’s OK,” Alyssa Giampolo said. “We had a good season, we all played hard.”
The game was scoreless for six innings as IHA sophomore Olivia Sprotola matched goose eggs with Giampolo by stranding six Irish runners. Douglas made sure it stayed scoreless in the second inning when, with a runner on second, she made a diving stop of Sara Browning’s smash, then shoveled the ball directly from her glove to first baseman Kelly Tinsman.
“That’s kind of just instinct,” Douglas said. “I made a few plays like that against Gloucester Catholic. I’ve been trying to work on making the play and continuing with the throw. But I’ve been working on the glove toss on the side and that definitely came into play today.”
What came into play for the entire season was the cohesion of Notre Dame’s infield with the Hightstown-East Windsor trio leading the way.
“I grew up with them,” Douglas said. “I know Angela didn’t play shortstop today, but when she does our coach has said to us we probably have the best chemistry out of the state of New Jersey because we just click and we play so well together. I know what they’re always thinking, they know what I’m thinking.”
Taking it a step further is the sibling connection between the Giampolos.
“It’s been a whole lot of fun,” Alyssa Giampolo said. “It’s been a different experience, I guess. People are like ‘Oh you guys are sisters.’ I say ‘Yeah she’s my sister and she plays right next to me at short.’ So I get to look at her, pick her up. She picks me up. It’s like a joint effort.”
Because they are two years apart, the girls never played together in travel softball. They had one year together at Kreps and two in high school.
“It was a lot of fun, I wouldn’t change a thing,” Angela said. “She always knows how to pick me up and everything. It’s good to have someone there who knows how to come to me and calm me down.”
For Alyssa Giampolo, playing with her sister while enjoying so much success was a great way to end her high school career.
“We were all able to come together and play as a team especially during MCTs,” she said. “We just worked hard. We had three losses all season, there’s not a lot of teams that could say that.”
