HEFLIN 4 HITS, PUGLISI 2 RBI 2B; BOGART 2-RUN HR

Blue Devil Bella Scipioni and Raider Olivia DiSalvo were engaged in a memorable pitching duel in Scotch Plains on April 30 but only one would savor victory while the other would just have to shake her head. With the score tied, 3-3, in the 10th inning, the International Tiebreaker rule was in effect and the Westfield Blue Devils managed to get one across in the top of the inning then Scipioni remained stubborn in the Raider half of the inning to earn her team a 4-3 victory.

According to Blue Devil Head Coach Caitlin Cheddar, “In the 10th inning, we went to International Tiebreaker which means the last batted out of the ninth inning starts the 10th on second (base) – that’s how Erin (Doherty) started at second base. Then, Alex Laguna singled to left and the leftfielder misplayed the ball so Erin was able to take home and score.”

In those 10 innings, Scipioni spread out six hits and four walks, while recording five strikeouts. She also managed to field a few bunts that she converted to putouts.

“Bella has been great for us all season but yes, she was really on. She demonstrated command and also fielded her position very well,” Coach Cheddar explained.

DiSalvo was blazing and recorded 11 strikeouts, while yielding eight hits, walking one and hitting two batters. Offensively, Maddie Bogart blasted a key two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings. Sam Friscia and Julia Friedrichs (walk) both singled and scored once. Emily Roof (walk), Sairah Llano (RBI) and Harper Shimko all singled and DiSalvo drew a pair of walks.

“SPF played a really good game. They are a team with a lot of potential. DiSalvo pitched a great game. She moved the ball around nicely and had command for the whole game.

The top half of their lineup put the ball in play consistently and also showed some power potential.They are a good, young team that definitely has a bright future,” Coach Cheddar said.

The 9-6 Blue Devils received some key production from the top of their lineup also. Cat Heflin, who moved from the leadoff spot to the five spot, went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases and a run scored. Laguna doubled, singled and scored once. Gianna Puglisi rapped a two-run double and scored once.

Coach Cheddar noted, “Cat has been hitting well lately and coming through in big spots. She is a very good base runner and we’ve been able to capitalize on those skills lately.”

DiSalvo retired all three Blue Devils in the first inning. Scipioni retired the first two Raiders in the bottom of the inning then walked Roof. But when Roof attempted to steal second, she was gunned down by catcher Annie Reilly.

DiSalvo ran into some difficulty in the second inning. Laguna laced a leadoff single to right-center, Heflin pulled off a bunt single then Puglisi pounded her two-run double over the centerfielder’s head. Two more attempted bunts resulted in putouts then Puglisi scored when Reilly’s grounder to third resulted in a throwing error.

In the Raider third, after Scipioni struck out Friedrichs, Reilly hauled in a difficult popup and Reyes made a running snag in leftfield. The Raiders squashed a potential Blue Devil run in the fourth. Heflin sizzled a ground single to right, stole second and advanced to third on Puglisi’s sacrifice bunt. Natalie Ardente’s wiggler back to the mound resulted in Heflin getting caught in a rundown and tagged out by Friscia the catcher.

Friscia led off the Raider fourth with a ground single past short. Roof looped a single over third and both runners advanced on DiSilva’s infield groundout. Sairah Llano popped one just over Scipioni’s head to record an infield RBI single when Friscia scored.

The Raiders posed a threat in the fifth. Friedrichs singled to center and skipped to second on Kate Sullivan-Massa’ bunt. Bogart’s fly ball to center was hauled in by Quinlan Doherty for the second out then a bizarre scramble allowed Friscia to reach first base while Friedrichs dashed to third. Scipioni escaped the inning when she struck out Roof.

Offensive silence for two innings allowed the Raiders to step to the plate in the seventh trailing 3-1. Friedrichs drew a leadoff walk and after a popup to short, Bogart popped her two-run home run over the leftcenterfield fence to push extra innings, which would lead to the International Tiebreaker.

“Gi’s (Puglisi) 2-RBI double was huge for us obviously,” Coach Cheddar expressed. “We’ve been recording a decent number of hits per game lately but we’re having trouble getting timely ones and Gi really came through for us in that spot.”

The situation for the upcoming Union County Tournament should be a real puzzle because no team can seem to get a dominant upper hand.

“The County Tournament Seedings will be interesting. I think the reality is that no one is unbeatable and there will be some great match-ups. Hopefully, the committee takes the time to sort out all of the complexities and takes into account each team’s unique results to get the seedings right. I think there are multiple teams that have the potential to win it this year. I wouldn’t count anyone out,” Coach Cheddar said.

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