Lady Redwings Fall Short in Section Finals, Third Year In A Row

The Lady Redwings' season ended Thursday with a crushing 13-2 defeat at the hands of Whippany Park in the championship of the NJSIAA/Blue Ribbon Awards North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 tournament. This is the third year in a row that the Redwings have lost in the sectional final. The seniors were sobbing after the game, clearly distraught over the loss.

The top-seeded Redwings (20-5) gave up four runs in the first, three on throwing errors. They took one back in the bottom of the second inning as Amanda Spano scored on a wild pitch. The score remained 4-1, with Hoboken starter Yaritza Santiago allowing only three hits over the next three innings.

But in the fifth, the floodgates opened. The third-seeded Wildcats (20-8) added four runs in the top of the fifth, for an 8-1 lead. The first four WP batters reached base. The first two runs came in on errors.

They continued to pull away in the sixth and seventh, adding five more on a series of defensive miscues and throwing errors. It was by far the sloppiest game Hoboken had played this season.

Renee Zabaleta had an RBI triple for Hoboken in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't nearly enough to propel the Redwings past the Wildcats.

"There's no excuse," Coach Carmine Ronga said after the loss. "When you don't execute on fundamental plays, well, this is what happens." He said the team decomposed in all elements of the game.

The win seemed anti-climatic for WP, as a stream of strange calls put a damper on the game. In the sixth, a runner was called out for not touching first base as she rounded the corner en route to third with a triple. She was restricted to the bench for throwing her helmet after the call. Two batters later, a Wildcat was called out for drag bunting outside of the batter's box.

For the Wildcats, Sarah LaFerrara was 4-for-5, Jill Hall went 4-for-4 with two RBI and Carly Bartholomew was 2-for-3 with one RBI. Hoboken's top hitter was Zabalete, with an RBI triple.

Whippany, who has defeated three Hudson County teams so far in the tournament, will play Wood-Ridge in a state semifinal on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Tisdale School in Ramsey.