Well-Rounded Caldwell 14U Softball Rolls On

There's apparently very little the Caldwell 14U softball team can't do. The Chiefs run well, play strong defense, pitch, hit and score runs.

They demonstrated all of these skills Tuesday night as the second-seeded Chiefs pounded No. 7 West Orange 11-1 in the quarterfinals of the Bi-County League Tournament at James Caldwell High School. The game ended with one out in the bottom of the sixth because of the mercy rule.

Caldwell, which improved to 10-1, will host either East Hanover or Glen Ridge in Wednesday's semifinals at 6 p.m. The tournament final is Thursday at the site of the highest remaining seed.

There was no question what team was the higher seed on Tuesday.

The Chiefs scored three runs in the first inning and four in the second to back the pitching of righty Cayla Lombardi, who threw a complete game.

West Orange took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Lombardi worked out of bases-loaded jams in the second and third innings and escaped a second-and-third situation with no one out in the fourth with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout as West Orange stranded a total of 12 runners.

Lombardi said she tends to focus better when runners are on base. She was also thrilled to throw a new pitch she learned recently. 

"I threw a curveball,'' said Lombardi, who scattered six hits, struck out six, walked five and hit a batter. "I was told how to do it and tried it for fun and it worked. ''

She received all of the run support she would need when the Chiefs erased the one-run deficit in the bottom of the first inning.

Center fielder Alex Nufrio had an RBI double, while Casey Ward and Lombardi each recorded RBI singles. Val Murphy's two-run triple highlighted the four-run second inning, while two other runs scored on errors.

Leadoff hitter Gianna Genello slapped an RBI single in the third to give Caldwell an 8-1 lead as Nufrio, Genello at shortstop and Murphy at third base continued to make strong defensive plays behind Lombardi.

"The amazing thing, all nine of our kids are unbelievable defensive players and they can hit, play defense and we have pitching," coach Pete Frazza said. "Cayla is a very, very good pitcher. She's developing, she's just going to get better and better. They're all going to get better.

"We're such a young, young team. We have nine seventh-graders on this team and West Orange had a lot of ninth-graders.''

Caldwell's lone loss of the season was a 3-2 defeat to top-seeded Hanover in the bottom of the seventh inning.

"That was a great, great game," Frazza said. "We lost it with two outs in the seventh inning."