Sunday,
May 16, 2010
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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Katie
Enright allowed just a bloop single and a walk in a complete
game gem and also drive in a first inning run as Indian
Hills took control early in a 6-0 win over IHA in the Bergen
County Tournament semifinals. |
OAKLAND
– The game was slated for seven innings, but Indian Hills
senior Katie Enright needed just one to take control of Saturday’s
Bergen County Tournament semifinal against defending champion
Immaculate Heart Academy. After striking out two of the first
three hitters she faced in the top of the first inning, she ground
a single through the right side to plate the first run of the
game and only run she would need in support of her right arm.
Enright steered top-seeded
Indian Hills into the county final with a masterpiece, a 2-for-3
three day at the plate batting out of the cleanup spot and a completed
game one-hitter in which she struck out 12 and walked just one
as the Braves made it look easy in a 6-0 win. Next up is No. 3
Ridgewood, a 9-2 upset winner over No. 2 Pascack Valley, in Sunday’s
county final in Saddle Brook.
“What
we have is pitching, defense and hitting. We know we are going
to get the first two and we just have to make sure that we touch
the fourth base and we did that today,” said Indian Hills
head coach Joe Leicht, whose team was looking forward to a deep
run in the county tournament after losing in the quarterfinals
one year ago. “We wanted to play IHA, they kind of called
us out last week, and we knew that to win a county championship
you have to go through IHA. We kind of had this game circled for
a year because we thought that we could be here and I think our
kids showed that they wanted to play them.”
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| Only
one of the six runs scored against IHA starter Christina Miguel
was earned. |
Nicole
Paiotti also drove in a first inning run and Indian Hills, with
its 2-0 lead, was well on its way.
“We were so excited
to come out here and play. They were loud in their dugout, we
were loud in our dugout and we knew that we had to do a good job,”
said Enright, who will play next season at Flagler University
in Florida. “The fact that we came out and scored two runs
in the first inning kind showed them that we weren’t messing
around and then we didn’t stop the rest of the game. It
was so awesome.”
If Enright was ever
in trouble it was in the top of the second inning. Christina Miguel
drew a one-out walk and with two outs Lauren Curren blooped a
single to short centerfield for IHA’s lone hit of the game.
With two runners on, the only two Blue Eagles to reach base all
game, Enright induced a pop-up that ended the inning and pretty
much the competitive portion of the game.
Enright singled again
leading off the bottom of the fourth inning and her courtesy runner,
sophomore Meghan Burke, scored on wild pitch to put Indian Hills
up 3-0. And when the Braves tacked on three unearned runs in the
bottom of the fifth, the handwriting was on the wall.
“When
you fall behind a pitcher like that you know it is going to be
an uphill battle,” said IHA head coach Anthony LaRezza.
“Once the game got away from us in the fourth or fifth inning
it was really just all about the handshake.”
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| Nicole
Paiotti's first inning single put Indian Hills in front 2-0. |
Enright
retired the final 16 hitters she faced and finished with 12 strikeouts,
11 of them in the first five innings. She was also the only player
in the game with two hits. Perri Goldberg had a two-run single
in the fifth inning and scored two runs; catcher Ashley DeYoung
had a hit and her courtesy runner, Lauren Tarabocchia, scored
a run and stole a base.
“We knew we had
to come out strong to day then keep it up and play flawless,”
said DeYoung, a sophomore. “We knew that IHA was going to
be tough to beat, we knew they were the county champs, but we
had a good warm up and carried right over into the game. We were
ready to go.”
Indian Hills is now
ready to go to the county final for the fourth time in the program’s
history and it is looking for is first county title. Ridgewood
is now all that stands between the Braves and school history.
“Ridgewood is
a good team. They run all over the place and they are aggressive
on the bases,” said Leicht, who is heading to his third
final as Indian Hills head coach and his first since 2007. “It’s
going to be a touch game and we have to put this win behind us
because tomorrow is a different game. It was start 0-0 not 6-0,
there is no carryover, so we have to be ready to go.”
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