Sunday, April 3, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Casey Zdanek struck out 12 and hit a home run for Lyndhurst, which got its season off to a solid start with a 4-3 win over Hackensack.

LYNDHURST - While many coaches tell their players that the first game of the season counts only as much as the rest of the games, that is not entirely true. A season-opening win can boost a team's morale and raise its level of confidence or just as easily play on a team's psyche in a negative fashion.

For proof, just ask Lyndhurst head softball coach Elaine Catanese. After blowing a seventh-inning lead in last year's season-opener against Hackensack, her team went into a tailspin losing its first five games en route to a 7-15 season. With Hackensack again the opening day opposition this year, it was a chance for the Golden Bears to start fresh and prove that last year's disappointing campaign is well in the rear-view mirror.

Trailing by two runs going into the bottom of the fifth may have been an automatic loss for Lyndhurst in 2010, but not this year, not to this team. Jamie Kelly and Julie Schiedenbach each hit two-out, two-strike RBI singles in the fifth and Alyssa Pippo scored on a wild pitch an inning later to back a strong effort in the circle from sophomore Casey Zdanek as Lyndhurst pulled off a 4-3 comeback win over Hackensack on Saturday in Lyndhurst.

"This is a huge win for us and our hard work in the off-season is already paying off," said Catanese. "This is a game that if it was last year, one bad inning would have led to another and we may have gotten 10-run ruled. But our effort today was matched by the confidence and poise we showed. We knew if we kept plugging away that we could find a way to get a win here."

Hackensack's Jaclyn Allegretta stroking what would have been a game-opening homerun before it was deemed to be a double.

Lyndhurst caught a big break in the first inning when Hackensack standout Jaclyn Allegretta roped a shot to deep right-center for what would have been a leadoff homerun. But as Allegretta was about to round third and score easily, the ball
got caught in a soccer net and she was only given only a ground-rule double. She was eventually stranded at third when Golden Bears' left fielder Nicole Baratta made a nice running catch to end the threat.

The Golden Bears struck drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning on just one swing of the bat. Zdanek crushed a fastball to deep left-center for a solo homerun and a 1-0 lead. Hackensack pitcher Mindy Lugo was a bit wild in the inning, giving out three walks to load the bases before striking out a batter to end the inning and leave those three runners stranded.

The lead did not last for long as Hackensack scored three runs on just one hit, a leadoff triple by No. 9 batter Stephanie Ramos. On a wild pitch, Ramos scooted home to tie the game at 1. After an error, an a passed ball brought in another run, Megan Gowe lifted a sacrifice fly to cap the inning and put the Comets ahead, 3-1.

"I had one bad inning and I knew I had to make up for it," said Zdanek. "I needed to attack their hitters and make sure they didn't get any more runs across. We were a little too anxious at the plate and we had to adjust. After the way we lost to them last year, we didn't want it to happen again. We got a couple of big hits and that got us pumped up again."

Nikki Villani and Lyndhurst turned the tables after an opening day loss to Hackensack last season.

With two outs and a runner on in the bottom of the fifth, Jaime Kelly hit a Texas-leaguer inside the right field line and spun by the right-fielder, allowing Baratta to score and Kelly to move up to second. Schneidenbach followed by punching a 2-2 pitch through the right side of the infield with Kelly just beating a throw to the plate to knot the score at 3.

In the bottom of the sixth, pinch-hitter Jenna Pollio and Alyssa Pipon lead off with back-to-back singles and a fielder's choice loaded the bases with nobody out. It looked like a run would score on a deep fly to center, but it was ruled that the runner left early from third and was called out for the second out of the inning. Both runners moved up on the throw though, which set up the game-winning run when Pipon raced home on a wild pitch for a 4-3 lead.

That was enough for Zdanek who retired 12 of the final 13 batters she faced, including a
1-2-3 seventh inning as the Golden Bears were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief with a one-run win.

"Tip your hat to Lyndhurst, they came in well-prepared and they made plays when they needed to," said Hackensack head coach Joelle DellaVolpe. "We had been riddled with six major injuries and we're still trying to jell and get on the same page. I'm happy with our effort today and the way we hit the ball. We just have to work on our small ball and doing the little things better. I'm confident that we'll learn from this and be better prepared the next time we're in a close game like this."

Hackensack's Jasmine Cornett looking to slap a single from the left handed batter's box.

Zdanek shined for Lyndhurst (1-0) by tossing a four-hitter with one walk and 12 Ks, along with a 2-for-3 day with a homerun at the plate. Pipon also went 2-for-3 and scored the game-winning run.

Lugo gave up seven hits, walked four, and struck out five in taking the loss for Hackensack (0-1). Allegretta had a fine game defensively at shortstop along with a double, with Gowe and Sydney Sanchez having the other hits for the Comets.

With games against comparable competition in Harrison, Lodi, and North Arlington coming up this week, Lyndhurst hopes that just as one bad loss led to a rough patch to start the season year; one good comeback win can be the spark that the Golden Bears need to have a successful season.

While it is just one step towards reaching its goals, it is a huge step that the program has not taken one for quite some time.

"It's nice to be on the winning side of one of these close games early in the season," added Catanese. "Casey (Zdanek) pitched real well, we hit the ball well, and I thought we played pretty good defense for it just being the first game of the season. We're a very young team, but we know we're capable of having a real good season. We know it's only one game, but I think this is a great sign of things to come."

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