Thursday,
May 26, 2016
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Brianna Koref tossed a three-hit shutout for Dayton, which ended Weehawken's season, 8-0, in the North 2, Group 1 state sectional quarterfinals. |
SPRINGFIELD – Facing a top-seeded Dayton Regional squad, Weehawken needed everything had to break right to pull the upset. Early on in the game, that is exactly what was happening with the Indians’ Sophie Chong matching Dayton’s standout Brianna Koref pitch for pitch. Just when it appeared the Indians solved the mystery of Koref in the top of the third inning, a baserunning blunder took a run of the board and ran them out of the inning. That was the emotional lift Dayton needed and Koref took full advantage of it.
Koref led off the fourth inning with a solo homerun and the Lady Bulldogs tacked on six runs in the sixth inning to pull away from ninth-seeded Weehawken, 8-0, on Wednesday in the North 2, Group 1 state sectional quarterfinals in Springfield.
“Our story all year is that we’ve been our own worst enemy and that bit us again today,” said Weehawken head coach Joe Coffaro. “Dayton is a real good team that doesn’t make any mistakes. We made some mistakes and they made us pay for every one of them. We felt like we could keep it close and go right down to the wire with anybody in our section. This game was a lot closer than the final score indicated, but it is what it is.”
Dayton had a chance to go ahead in the in the bottom of the second with a runner on third and one out. Sophie Chong fielded a hot shot back through the box and looked the runner back to third before throwing to first for the second out of the inning with the runner from third breaking for the plate. First baseman Nicole Primero threw a perfect strike and catcher Samantha Chong slapped on the tag that ended the inning.
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Sophie Chong helped lead Weehawken to a 15-9 record this season. |
The Indians carried that momentum over into the top half of the third. Sophie Chong drew a walk and Isabel Quinones doubled before the Bulldogs also issued a pass to Jen Acosta to load the bases for Samantha Chong, the Indians’ clean-up batter. Chong hit a drive to right-center that was caught but would have certainly scored a run. However, Quinones thought there were two outs and ran towards third. Bulldogs’ centerfielder Marinha Kwinta saw it immediately and threw to second for the inning-ending double play.
“When we turned that double play I just felt relieved,” said Koref. “The ball went off the bat, I felt like a run was going to come and I immediately thought about making sure they didn’t score more. That play definitely pumped us up. This has been such a great year for us and we honestly didn’t see this coming at all. It just seems like everything is breaking for us at the right time.”
The game was still scoreless heading into the bottom of the fourth with Koref changed that with on swing of the bat. She jumped on the first pitch she saw and crushed it to dead center for a solo shot that put the Bulldogs ahead, 1-0.
“I was getting outside pitches a lot my first at-bat so I went up looking for it the second time I got up,” added Koref. “I got that outside pitch and I just waited on it. My team pulled it together for me with the double play and I knew I had to step up.”
Dayton put another run on the board in the fifth when a fly ball off the bat of Katy Fitzpatrick was misplayed for a triple and she was driven in on a single by Ariana Cacioppo to make it 2-0.
After the shaky third inning, Koref quickly settled down by getting ahead in the count of all but two batters over the final four innings. The Bulldogs rewarded her by busting out the bats in the sixth inning to put the game away. They collected four hits in the inning, including an RBI single by Arianna Griffith. The big blow came of the bat of Cacioppo, the No. 8 batter in the Dayton batting order. Her bases-clearing, three-run triple broke the game wide open and a run-scoring single by Amanda Lau capped the scoring.
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Katy Fitzpatrick and Dayton are heading to the section semifinals for the first time in the history of the program. |
Koref tossed a three-hit shutout with five walks and eight Ks for Dayton (21-4). After just a handful of RBIs during the regular season, Cacioppo has erupted for nine in the Bulldogs’ two state tournament wins, including four yesterday. This win equals the furthest Dayton has ever been in the state tournament. The Bulldogs will get a chance to advance to the first section final in school history when they face fifth-seeded and defending North 2 Group 1 section champ Ridgefield next Tuesday.
“These girls have really settled in, the confidence comes and we do great things,” said Dayton head coach Pamela de la Llave, a former standout at Division 1 Marist College. “I think our kids have really come along. We know (Koref) can pitch well, we play solid defense, and we can hit one through nine. This is the best time to be playing our best and we love that we have a shot on our home field to make the first section final in school history.”
Sophie Chong, Anna Lentini, and Quinones had the three hits for Weehawken. The Indians’ season came to an end with a final record of 15-9. But with the entire team returning next year, this bitter feeling is something head coach Joe Coffaro feels will fuel his new team to new heights.
“Our entire team will be back next year and we’ll remember this experience,” said Coffaro. “This loss hurts but I think with everyone returning next year that we have a chance to make a run at a section title.”
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