Saturday,
April 12, 2014
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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Julie Rodriguez struck out seven in a complete game and also had an RBI single in the first inning as Old Tappan improved to 4-1 on the season with a 2-1 win over Demarest on Friday. |
OLD TAPPAN – The rivalry between Northern Valley/Old Tappan and Northern Valley/Demarest presented each team with that little extra boost to get things right. Old Tappan was coming off its first loss of the season and wanted to keep its sister school from being the one to let a losing streak take root. Demarest, on the other hand, has had a rocky start to its season and was hoping that that little boost of adrenalin that comes with a road game against its closest rival might be just what it needed to put together the full compliment of seven solid innings.
The result was a well-played game that went right down to the final out. Freshman Julie Rodriguez pitched out of a two-out, bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh inning by fielding a hard come-backer to the circle. That was the final out in a 2-1 Old Tappan win on Friday afternoon.
“It's real big to bounce back. One of things we were disappointed with in that loss on Wednesday [to Pascack Valley] more than our physical performance was our intensity and not having our heads in the game for the full seven [innings],” said Old Tappan head coach Melissa Landeck. “One of our goals for today was to pull that out of ourselves and I thought we did a nice job of it. We had a lot of big outs to get late in the game today and we were able to do it.”
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Veronica Corcoran drove in the Demarest run with a single on this swing in the top of the sixth. |
Old Tappan got right to work on building its lead as senior centerfield Alexa Smedberg, the left slap-hitter, led off the bottom of the first inning with a bunt single and then scored on a well-struck double by Julie Rodriguez, the freshman who has impressed as the No. 2 hitter in the lineup and also as the Golden Knights starting pitcher. In the second inning it was the bottom of the order that came through as the No. 7-9 hitters strung together three straight singles.
Freshman Lana Davidoff and Brianna Fleming went right back up the middle for base hits before Rebecca Blekht hit a rope to left-center to drive in Davidoff and make it 2-0 the first time though the lineup.
“As the ninth batter the other team doesn't really expect you to be able to get base hit or drive in runs, so I like hitting there. Maybe the other team relaxes a little bit when I come up, but I go up there trying to hit the ball hard,” said Blekht, Old Tappan's junior rightfielder. “I got to a 3-0 count and then I took a strike. The next pitch looked good to me and I drove it into left center. It felt right when it left the bat and I was happy to get that run in.”
It looked like the Norsewomen were in for a long day as Old Tappan still had two runners in scoring position after Blekht's run-scoring single, but Stefani Antoshak, Demarest's starting pitcher, got a strikeout to end that frame and then settled in and did not allow another run the rest of the way. It was defensively where Demarest showed the most improvement as it played an error free game, which all the Norsewomen to hang around.
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Rebecca Blekht singled in Old Tappan's second run in the bottom of the second inning. |
“Our defense finally got the point that it should be. It hasn't shown itself all year long and today it did. I told the girls that it took playing at Old Tappan to elevate your game, then I will schedule them for the first game next year,” said Demarest head coach Keith Johnson. “Defensively we have had a rough go of it this year, but today they showed how they can play. I am happy today at least that we played well and that we battled against a good team.”
Offensively it was tough for Demarest (2-4) as Rodriguez did not give up any free bases on walks through the first six innings. Se ran into a tight spot in the top of the third when a catcher's interference allowed Haley Pontillo to reach leading off and then gave up a one out single to Antoshak before Kristen Farrell cleanly fielded the third out at third base with two runners in scoring position.
Rodriguez retired all six hitters she faced in the fourth and fifth innings before Victoria Corcoran led off the sixth with a bunt single and went to second on a throwing error to set up Demarest's first sustained rally. Antoshak bunted the first Corcoran twin up to third base before the second Corcoran twin, Veronica, singled her sister in to make it a 2-1 game. Veronica Corcoran then got herself into scoring position with a stolen base but Rodriguez got a strikeout and a come-backer to preserve the Knights' one-run lead.
Antoshak stranded two runners on the bottom of the sixth and Demarest got right back after it in its final turn at bat as Samantha Herbner blooped single into short rightfield leading off before being replaced at first base by Pam Ng, who hit into a fielder's choice. Samantha Menisalco singled into right field and the two runners moved up on Pontillo's groundout. With first base open, Rodriguez pitched carefully to Victoria Corcoran, who drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases before Rodriguez fielded the final out, a comebacker that she flipped to Danielle Matteo at first base to close out the game with little room to spare.
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Victoria Corcoran scored the lone run for Demarest. |
Rodriguez, who plays on a high-level club team that plays a national schedule, has settled in to high school softball. A freshman in name only, she has played in pressure packed games against quality competition many times before taking over as the Golden Knights starting pitcher this year. She also saw her sister, Alex, an All-County third baseman, have a stellar career at Old Tappan in the mid-2000s.
“I feel like high school softball is more important to me. I want to live up to my sister's reputation – I am wearing her number [23] -- and show everyone around this area what I have been working so hard for. I think it sis the same intensity, I have nerves before every game, but high school is different because there are people watching that I actually know,” said Rodriguez, who has earned all of the decisions in Old Tappan's 4-1 start to the season. “When you play club you are playing in front of college coaches whose names I have heard of, but high school lets you share more with your teammates because everybody has the same goal. We are all just trying to win games together as a team.”
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