With the Region 19 softball tournament coming up this weekend, defending champion Brookdale Community College is in a familiar position.
Head coach Bo Scannapieco’s Jersey Blues are again the team to beat, having proved it with wins over nationally ranked Northampton Community College, Middlesex County College and, most recently, perennial region contender Gloucester County College. The Jersey Blues are the No. 1 seed for the region tournament by virtue of their doubleheader sweep of Gloucester.
The tournament began with first-round games on April 27. Brookdale (36-7) received a bye and will begin its defense of the title when Middlesex hosts he Final Four on May 3-4 in Edison.
The Jersey Blues move into the postseason peaking. They recently had a 30- game win streak and again won the Garden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) championship.
Scannapieco said he knew a lot more about his team after it played Gloucester. The 3-1 and 5-2 wins in Lincroft on April 13 proved his club could win tight games against good teams.
The winning streak has catapulted the Jersey Blues to the No. 1 ranking in the most recent National Junior College Athletic Association Division III poll.
Center fielder Cassidy Brzozowski (Howell) has been red-hot at the plate all year. She was again named the GSAC Softball Player of the Week (ending April 14) when she batted .583 for the week, with three doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs and six runs scored. One of those round-trippers was a two-run blast against Gloucester.
For the season, the sophomore is batting .513 with 16 doubles, six home runs, 49 RBIs and 44 runs scored. Her on-base percentage is .570, and she’s slugging .814.
Pitcher Samantha Hosey (Keansburg) has been rounding into form just as Scannapieco predicted. Slowed by an injury and the cold weather in March, Hosey was the GSAC co-Player of the Week ending April 7 when she had a pair of no-hit wins for the Jersey Blues,
Hosey is 16-0 and pitching to a 0.29 ERA. She has 127 strikeouts in 95.1 innings, and has allowed just 40 hits. Pitching is what Scannapieco said separates his team from the rest. “We have pitching depth the other teams don’t have,” he said.
Krystal Pearson (Sayreville) has thrown almost as many innings as Hosey, at 88.1. She’s 10-6 with a 3.27 ERA. Kaitlyn Kretzmer (Brick) is 5-1 and pitching to a 3.65 ERA. The team ERA is 2.13.
Brookdale’s pitchers have had plenty of support. The team is averaging 10 runs a game, with a team batting average of .412.
Outfielder Sara Vocisano (Piscataway) is batting .504 and slugging .699. She has 15 doubles, three triples, a home run and 32 RBIs. She’s scored 48 runs.
Alexandra Clayton (Wall) is batting .365, has 30 RBIs and 41 runs scored. Pearson (.383) has 35 RBIs, 24 runs scored and 15 doubles. Courtney Semkewyc (Atlantic Highlands) has a .436 average and has driven in 31 runs, while Keara Homan (Manasquan) is batting .364, has scored 37 times and driven in 25 runners.
Those who are batting .400 or above include Bobbie Boehler (Raritan) at .430 and Stephanie Grainger (Howell) at .456.
Baseball
Brookdale is hosting this year’s baseball Region 19 Final Four on May 9-11, and Johnny Johnson’s Jersey Blues would certainly like to be there. First-round action at the home of the higher seed takes place on May 3-4.
The Jersey Blues are currently 9-4 in region play and 22-13 overall. They are battling to have a home game in the first round.
Brookdale is playing its best ball of the season, having won five straight.
Nick Vitale (Brick) is having a big year at the plate for Brookdale with 67 hits, including 16 doubles, 10 triples and seven home runs. He’s batting .486, but slugging .899. He has scored 47 times.
Ryan Kirman (Red Bank Regional) is batting .432 with 25 RBIs. He has 13 doubles, two triples and a home run, and he is slugging .592.
Pitchers Jake Winston (Manalapan) and Tim Rogers (Manchester) are a combined 7-2. Winston (4-1) is pitching to a 1.74 ERA and has three complete games. Rogers has a 3.49 ERA.
The Jersey Blues closed out the regular season at home on April 30 against Ocean County College.