BELLEVILLE - Kean University's women's softball team took the New Jersey Athletic Conference by storm last spring and surprised everybody -- maybe even themselves.
The Lady Cougars went from being the last seed in the NJAC tournament to winning it and grabbing a bid for the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III softball tournament.
And one of the instrumental pieces for Kean was Belleville High School graduate Sandra Binkiewicz, who took the NJAC by storm as a freshman and was one of the top newcomers to the conference in 2011.
With the help of Binkiewicz, the Lady Cougars went all the way and defeated The College of New Jersey in the second game of the doubleheader to make it two years in a row that Kean won the NJAC tourney despite finishing with a 17-27 record.
In her freshman year, Binkiewicz was named to the second team All New Jersey Athletic Conference after hitting .360 for the season, the second best batting average on the team along with nine doubles and 25 RBI for the year, also the second best in both categories on the Lady Cougars. "I was just on point and I was focused," said Binkiewicz about her freshman season.
While at Belleville High School Binkiewicz played centerfield, but moved to left field at Kean.
For the Belleville grad she thought she was going to play some for Kean. "I knew that I could play, but I didn't know how much I would play," said Binkiewicz.
And she did play plenty as she was one of five players on the team to start and play in all 44 games during the season. "It was just a great feeling of accomplishment and the hard work paid off," said Binkiewicz about starting in left field from the start.
She added that playing during the summer of 2010 on the Diamond Girls, a group of graduated seniors going to play in college, helped her get ready for the 2011 season. "We got to see a lot of good pitching," said Binkiewicz. "I kind of just jumped into it and it didn't affect me. I just needed to get the job done."
To even get into the NJAC Tournament, Kean had to sweep Rutgers-Camden in the final regular season games. After beating Rutgers-Camden in the first game, the Lady Cougars did just that in sweeping their opponents as Binkiewicz helped clinch the final bid with a pair of hits and three RBI in the 10-5 victory in the second game.
With the pair of wins, the Lady Cougars had feeling the momentum was on their side. "Nothing was going to stop us. It was a great feeling," said Binkiewicz.
In the NCAA Division III tournament Kean was 2-2 in the regional tournament at Salisbury, Maryland, falling short of the NCAA Division III World Series. Shenandoah University eliminated Kean, 6-1, in the Division III tournament last May. In the game Binkiewicz collected a hit that gave her 50 hits for the season which was a team high.
For the Belleville grad she is looking for an ever bigger 2012 and has played this last summer for the New Jersey Explorers. "I’m just trying to keep it the same and maybe get more power in my swing,” said Binkiewicz.
But for the incoming Kean sophomore she knows what she and the rest of the Lady Cougars are aiming for, a bid to the NCAA Division III World Series.
