Marissa Spinuzzi is tops for Fair Lawn

 

  Saturday, April 30, 2011

 BY ED MILLS

 The Record

 STAFF WRITER

FAIR LAWN – Marissa Spinuzzi (Hurricanes 18U) worked herself into, then out of trouble most of the evening. She put herself in tough situations but whenever she needed to get a big out she made the crucial pitch that got her out of the jam.
A sophomore right-hander, Spinuzzi threw a complete-game four-hitter, striking out nine and walking nine to lead Fair Lawn past St. Mary, 4-1, in a Bergen County tournament first-round softball game Friday. Fair Lawn (6-5) will play the winner of today’s game between top-seeded Paramus and Pascack Hills on May 7 at Ridgewood at 4:30 p.m.
"I was battling my control a little but I was able to come through with strikes all the times they were threatening," Spinuzzi said. "Our team is resilient and we managed to stay focused every time they put people on base."
Seventeenth-seeded St. Mary (9-3), which had a seven-game winning streak snapped, stranded 11 runners, including leaving the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
Spinuzzi, who helped herself out of a first-and-second, one-out situation in the first by spearing a line drive to start an inning-ending double play, also did the job offensively. She stroked a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the first and then after cleanup batter Jen Calabrase also singled, Samantha Colca drilled a two-run double down the left field line. The Cutters took a 2-0 advantage.
"I wasn’t looking for any pitch in particular, I just got something in my zone that I could drive," said Colca, a freshman second baseman. "We wanted to get on top early and then Marissa was able to keep the lead. This was a big, big win against a quality opponent."
Sixteenth-seeded Fair Lawn came into the game with four straight losses, falling to Wayne Hills, Paramus, Ramapo and Ridgewood.
"We had been about a week between games because of the weather and then we had to play the toughest part of our schedule," Fair Lawn coach Sue Benjamin said. "But I think we righted ourselves with a fine performance – offensive, defensive, pitching – all around, today."
A home run by sophomore catcher Alexis Bush leading off the third inning and Spinuzzi’s (2-for-3) RBI single in the fifth gave Fair Lawn a 4-0 lead.
Lauren Hozak scattered nine hits, striking out two and walking none in taking the loss for the Gaels. An RBI single by Megan Macaluso narrowed St. Mary’s gap to 4-1 in the top of the sixth but then Spinuzzi worked out of further trouble with runners at first and third by striking out two to end the inning. In the seventh, a single by Luana Natalico and a walk put runners on first and second with one out before Spinuzzi recorded a strikeout for the second out. After giving up her ninth base on balls to load the bases, Spinuzzi used a riser in a 2-2 count to get the final St. Mary batter on a strikeout.
"We had our opportunities, she [Spinuzzi] just set us down whenever we seemed like we might have a big inning," St. Mary coach Maria Fagan said. "Just give her all the credit."

Fellow Pirate helped DeGennaro decide on Stevens

Written by
Debbie Schechter

When deciding on college, Pearl River senior Jamie DeGennaro (18U) got some assistance from a former — and soon to be current — softball teammate.

Noreen Jordan, who DeGennaro played ball with at Pearl River, helped the Pirates' catcher decide on Stevens Institute of Technology.

"She's one of my best friends and she plays there," DeGennaro said. "She said I should come look, and I loved the campus. And Noreen talked to the softball coach and the coach was really interested in me."

DeGennaro's other top choices were Binghamton University, SUNY, and the University of Delaware .

Fairfield and Fordham were on her list as well.

DeGennaro wants to major in aerospace engineering.

"I want to build airplanes," DeGennaro said. "I got into the five-year program and you get your masters. They have a co-op program so I will have some work experience. Going there, you have a better chance to get a job out of college."

She's excited for next year to play for the school and with Jordan.

"I'm glad to be going to Stevens so I can keep playing softball for a while longer," DeGennaro said. "They only started a team two years ago and I'm excited to play for them."

There's one moment that will always stick out for DeGennaro and it's the softball moment that helped get her into college — the two-run single by DeGennaro in the bottom of the sixth inning of the state semifinals last year.

"That was one of the best moments of my life," she said.

Mom in the stands: Clarkstown North's Irma Navarro of New City

Apr 21, 2011  |  

Irma Navarro of New City, mother of Clarkstown North softball player Lauren Navarro (Hurricanes Gold)
What's it like in the stands at the Clarkstown North softball games?
"It's a like reunion of the parents of the girls who played New City Little League softball. She's playing softball with the same girls since they were 9 years old."
Is it easy for you to get to all the games?
"I'm a freelance court reporter. I make sure I have short depositions on the days Lauren is playing. During travel season, I try to make all her games on the weekends except when she's far away playing softball in other states like California, Indiana and Florida."
What was it like for you watching Lauren and the team win that first playoff game against Yorktown last year?
"It was exciting to watch Lauren and the team win that game. We have lots of talent on our team. I wasn't surprised we won."
How proud are you of what Lauren's accomplished?
"Very proud. The varsity softball team made the playoffs last year. Her travel team won several tournaments and then went on to win the World Series in Myrtle Beach. She's also been recruited to play softball by St. Thomas Aquinas College."
At what age did you know that Lauren was going to really excel in sports?
"When she was playing basketball at a very young age and was outrunning and outplaying boys her same age. Her nickname was 'The Bullet' because she was so fast."
What's your greatest wish for Lauren on and off the field?
"No one reaches success in life or in sports without working hard. They have their whole lives in front of them. All of their dreams are possible. They can be anything."

— Debbie Schechter

12-And-Under Girls Softball Team Wins PONY National Qualifier

The New City-based Hudson Valley Hurricanes 12-and-under Black fastpitch softball team won the 2nd Annual First Chance Pony National Qualifier on Long Island, earning a bid to PONY Nationals. “We are very proud of the girls. With this bid they plan on attending and representing our area at PONY Nationals in Cary, NC in July,” said team assistant coach James Guevarra.
The Hurricanes team is made up of girls mostly from Rockland County who are hoping to go on to play high school softball. The team is managed by Kristen Sullivan, a Suffern High School graduate who is set to be induected into the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame on April 30 in a ceremony at the Pearl River Elks Club.
During the tournament over the weekend, the Hurricanes 12U Black team went 6-0.
The wins were the result of a team-effort, which saw the Hurricanes outscore opponents for a total of 47-9, with the offense dominating 23-1 in games on Sunday.
The Hurricanes were led by strong pitching from Reese Guevarra, a New City, sixth-grader, Sarah Gunderson, and Kelsey Oh striking out 61 batters in 33 innings. Supporting the pitching effort were key defensive plays with timely hitting from Amanda Schweitzer, a Stony Point seventh-grader, Gabby Palumbo, a Bardonia, seventh-grader) , Taylor Sullivan, a Suffern seventh-grader, and Alicia Bertolino, a Stony Point seventh grader.
The offense was led by Megan Sneeden, a Valley Cottage seventh-grader, getting 8 hits, 11 runs scored and 5 RBI's, Deangie Jimenez, a Spring Valley seventh-grader,  blasting 2 home runs on Sunday with 9 RBI's and Taylor Adolff, a New City seventh-grader, with a .600 on base percentage and 4 stolen bases.
http://newcity.patch.com/articles/12-and-under-girls-softball-team-wins-pony-national-qualifier

Outlook sunny again for Old Tappan after 11-0 win over Northern Highlands

 Friday, April 8, 2011

 BY TIM LEONARD

 The Record

 STAFF WRITER

OLD TAPPAN — Allison Brown (Hurricanes Gold) noticed herself looking out the window during the day Thursday. The Old Tappan junior catcher was doing the same thing her teammates were doing, checking to see that it wasn’t raining.
It wasn’t that the Golden Knights were especially looking forward to facing Northern Highlands. Really, the opponent didn’t matter. Old Tappan didn’t just want to play Thursday. The Golden Knights needed to play.
And they did. The game wound up being switched to Old Tappan’s more playable home field, which allowed the Golden Knights to defeat the Highlanders, 11-0, in five innings.
More importantly, the win allowed the Knights to put Wednesday’s disappointing loss to Fair Lawn behind them.
"We were hoping we could get the game in and redeem ourselves," Brown said. "We wanted to play so badly [Thursday]."
On Wednesday, Old Tappan wound up losing to Fair Lawn, 4-2. The loss was made more disappointing by the fact that the Cutters scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Not long after that, the rain intensified and umpires were forced to call the game. The Golden Knights considered it an opportunity squandered.
Not playing Thursday would have meant carrying around that disappointing loss for another 24 hours. Instead, the grounds crew at Old Tappan was working on the field Thursday morning and had it ready to play when many other games wound up being postponed.
"We needed to respond," Old Tappan coach Melissa Landeck said. "Our attitude was that no matter what Mother Nature hands us, we want to play."
Old Tappan didn’t take long to respond. The Golden Knights took control by scoring four runs in each of the first two innings for an 8-0 lead.
Brown cracked a run-scoring double to center field in the first inning and scored when Emily Russell dropped a two-run single into right field. Sabrina Capabianca sliced a two-out single to right to make it 4-0.
It was more of the same in the second, as Old Tappan again sent eight batters to the plate.
Kayla Farrell drove in a run with a double down the left-field line and scored when Brown crushed a double off the center-field fence that missed being a home run by about a foot.
Brittany Steindl later drove in two runs with a slicing single to right.
Brown added a run-scoring single in the third, giving her three hits and three RBI on the day. Old Tappan had 11 hits and made one error.
Meanwhile, pitcher Kelsey Morgan permitted just three hits and had seven strikeouts in five innings.
It all meant that Brown and her teammates will be able to have more focus in class today.
Said Brown, "[Wednesday] is gone."
E-mail: leonard@northjersey.com

OLD TAPPAN — Allison Brown noticed herself looking out the window during the day Thursday. The Old Tappan junior catcher was doing the same thing her teammates were doing, checking to see that it wasn’t raining.
It wasn’t that the Golden Knights were especially looking forward to facing Northern Highlands. Really, the opponent didn’t matter. Old Tappan didn’t just want to play Thursday. The Golden Knights needed to play.
And they did. The game wound up being switched to Old Tappan’s more playable home field, which allowed the Golden Knights to defeat the Highlanders, 11-0, in five innings.
More importantly, the win allowed the Knights to put Wednesday’s disappointing loss to Fair Lawn behind them.
"We were hoping we could get the game in and redeem ourselves," Brown said. "We wanted to play so badly [Thursday]."
On Wednesday, Old Tappan wound up losing to Fair Lawn, 4-2. The loss was made more disappointing by the fact that the Cutters scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Not long after that, the rain intensified and umpires were forced to call the game. The Golden Knights considered it an opportunity squandered.
Not playing Thursday would have meant carrying around that disappointing loss for another 24 hours. Instead, the grounds crew at Old Tappan was working on the field Thursday morning and had it ready to play when many other games wound up being postponed.
"We needed to respond," Old Tappan coach Melissa Landeck said. "Our attitude was that no matter what Mother Nature hands us, we want to play."
Old Tappan didn’t take long to respond. The Golden Knights took control by scoring four runs in each of the first two innings for an 8-0 lead.
Brown cracked a run-scoring double to center field in the first inning and scored when Emily Russell dropped a two-run single into right field. Sabrina Capabianca sliced a two-out single to right to make it 4-0.
It was more of the same in the second, as Old Tappan again sent eight batters to the plate.
Kayla Farrell drove in a run with a double down the left-field line and scored when Brown crushed a double off the center-field fence that missed being a home run by about a foot.
Brittany Steindl later drove in two runs with a slicing single to right.
Brown added a run-scoring single in the third, giving her three hits and three RBI on the day. Old Tappan had 11 hits and made one error.
Meanwhile, pitcher Kelsey Morgan permitted just three hits and had seven strikeouts in five innings.
It all meant that Brown and her teammates will be able to have more focus in class today.
Said Brown, "[Wednesday] is gone."
E-mail: leonard@northjersey.com