BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer
Bo Scannapieco knows that, during a long softball season, teams will go through peaks and valleys.
For Brookdale Community College, it’s more peaks than valleys, but even the Blues have can have their struggles.
“It’s what happens,” said Scannapieco. “This game is more mental than any other. It’s played every day.”
After an opening-game loss, Brookdale ripped off 17 straight wins before going 4-4 during a one-week stretch.
“We just totally stopped hitting,” Scannapieco said. “It was a bad week to do it because we had a lot of tough games.”
PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff Brookdale third baseman Jessica Williams (above) is among the nation’s leading hitters this season, leading a potent BCC offensive attack. But the Jersey Blues have been equally adept in the field, as illustrated by second baseman Nicole Carroll’s nifty pick-up during the Blues’ win over Raritan Valley last Wednesday in Lincroft. Among the teams on the schedule was Division II power Catonsville (Md.), which visited Lincroft on April 9 undefeated. Catonsville topped the Blues 4-1 in the opening game of the day, but Brookdale bounced back to win the nightcap, 9-4, sending the visitors home with their first loss of the season.
Pitcher Cherise Maltais went the distance for the win, surrendering no earned runs, and Tara Hertzke was 3-for-4.
The next day, the Blues played a strong Delaware Tech-Owens squad on the road and again earned a split — dropping the first game, 7-6, and coming back to win the second game, 10-3.
Scannapieco was hardly discouraged by the weekend split.
“I was very encouraged, going 2-2,” he said. “They were the best teams we’ve played this year.”
Taking stock of his club, now standing at 25-5 and ranked No. 1 in the country in Division III, Scannapieco sees his team as having gone through its rough patch and ready for a strong finish.
“At this point, we’re right where we should be,” he said. “Our hitting will come around and our pitching, which has been good all year, will get better.”
As if on cue, BCC started last week with a pair of 14-0 shutouts of Bergen to improve to 5-1 in the Garden State Athletic Conference (tied for first with Sussex) and a twin bill sweep of Raritan Valley, 9-0 and 12-8. The nightcap win was highlighted by Jessica Williams’ grand slam.
Elyse Papaianni and Cherise Maltais took turns tossing three-hitters against Bergen. Leah Minnick had a pair of doubles and three RBIs in the first game, and Williams was 2-for-4 with a double, home run and four RBIs in the nightcap.
Pitching has been Brookdale’s constant from the very start. Maltais, Papaianni and Erin Covell are ranked 8-9-10 in the country, giving the Blues the country’s best rotation.
Maltais, a sophomore from Manalapan, is 10-1 with a 1.31 earned run average.
“She’s pitched lights out for us since the beginning of the season,” said Scannapieco. “I DH’d [designated hitter] her last year, but with Kara Hertzke hitting so well at DH, I’ve moved Cherise out of that role, and it’s made her stronger.”
Papaianni, a sophomore for Manasquan, is 7-3 on the season with 1.54 ERA. Freshman Covell (Notre Dame) is 6-1 with a 1.51 ERA. Another freshman Amanda Roberts (Freehold Township), is 2-0.
Just as they have three of the best pitchers in the national rankings, the Blues have three of the top four RBI producers.
Williams (Central Regional) leads the nation with 42 RBIs. The third baseman is batting .406 with six home runs and 16 doubles. She has also scored 20 times.
Minnick (Middletown South) is third in RBIs with 27. The outfielder is batting .395 with 12 doubles and three home runs.
Hertzke (Raritan) is fourth in the nation with 22 RBIs. She’s batting an even .400 with 11 doubles and four home runs.
Lynn Olender (Sayreville) and Allyson Weinkofsky (Ocean Township) are Brookdale’s catalysts at the top of the lineup. Olender is batting .376 and has scored 36 runs. Weinkofsky is batting .358 and has scored 34 runs.
Olender has been the team’s biggest thief with 14 stolen bases. Stephanie Brady (Ocean Township) has seven, and Weinkofsky six stolen bases.
“We’re running more this year,” noted Scannapieco.
Brookdale steps out of the GSAC this week with a double-headers on Friday against Cecil starting at 3 p.m., followed on Saturday by a twin bill with New York University that starts at noon in Lincroft.
The Region XIX tournament, which Brookdale has won the last nine years, begins April 30-May 1 with games at the higher seed. The tournament moves to Gloucester for the semifinals and finals May 6-7. The prize for the winner is a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III National Championships in Alfred, N.Y., May 19-21.
The Blues won the NJCAA championship in 2002.