Ventura Picks Up 20th Win in Dominant Fashion
By Mike Ready
WALL TOWNSHIP – Junior Ashley Ventura won her 20th game of the year, tossing a complete-game shutout in top-seeded Saint John Vianney’s 4-0 Red Division championship win Sunday versus second-seeded Manasquan (20-3) in the finals of the Monmouth County Tournament.
Find out what's happening in Holmdel-Hazletfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The game - held at Wall Township High School - marked the Lancers (20-1) ninth Monmouth County Tournament title and fifth in a row, both tournament records.
Ventura, who didn’t allow a hard-hit ball all day, gave up four-soft singles, didn’t walk a batter and struck out eleven in her seven-inning masterpiece. She faced only four batters over the limit and was in complete control the entire game.
Find out what's happening in Holmdel-Hazletfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The hard throwing righty stepped in as the number-one starter this season after first team All-State pitcher and Notre Dame-bound Katie Beriont suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the state basketball playoffs.
“When Katie got injured I cried for her, not our program,” SJV coach Kim Lombardi said. “I knew we had a kid like Ashley who’s a phenomenal pitcher who was waiting for her time. She’s an unbelievable pitcher that has confidence on the mound, never loses her composure and who’s getting stronger with her command of pitches. In my opinion she’s as good as anyone in the Shore Conference right now.”
In the bottom of the sixth with two outs and the Lancers holding a precarious 2-0 lead, the Warriors Quinn Saito – hitting an incredible .720 on the season - bounced a single past diving first baseman Megan Masi to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Shakyra Moore.
It was a classic showdown between Moore and Ventura. Moore, one of the top sluggers in the Shore Conference this season with eight home runs, two triples, 20 doubles and 41 RBI’s stepped to the plate looking to tie the game with one swing.
Ventura got two quick strikes on Moore before she got her looking on a called third strike for the final out of the inning to preserve the Lancers 2-0 lead.
“I found her weakness and targeted it,” Ventura said. “I was throwing inside – outside and set her up with each pitch I threw. This feels great; it’s a good win to start off the tournament season. I’m very excited to continue on in the post season.”
The game was scoreless heading into the top of the fifth with Manasquan freshman-ace Victoria Glavin (18-3) squirming out of a couple jams in the second and fourth innings to keep the game scoreless.
In the fifth, leadoff hitter Michelle King lined a single into the left-center field gap before third baseman Marlena Bevilacqua’s bunt was misplayed into an error putting runners at second and third. Leadoff hitter Jackie Gallagher then broke the tie, dropping a two-run single into short right field for a 2-0 lead.
“Jackie’s been doing this for me for four years,” Lombardi said. “She’s always been a consistent hitter in my lineup; she’s a team player and a leader.”
“Glavin’s a really great pitcher,” Gallagher said. “We had to prepare all week for this game and forget about the Middletown South game; I think we did great. The loss to South definitely gave us more focus and I think it put us back on track for the post season run.”
St. John Vianney, No.3 in the Star Ledger top 20, lost a 3-1 decision to Middletown South last week for their first loss of the season. In that game, Ventura gave up only one-earned run over seven innings.
“I absolutely think a loss now-and-then is a good thing,” Lombardi said. “Tommy (Erbig) does a great job at Middletown South (14-8). They came ready to play that day and we were a little down that day; kudos to them for coming out and winning, they did a nice job.”
Saint John Vianney tacked on two crucial insurance runs in the top of the seventh to give Ventura a little breathing room.
Gallagher led off with a walk and two batters later, right fielder Helena Coppola rolled a single down the first base line, putting runners on first and second with one out. Ventura walked to load the bases and Katie Baron brought Gallagher home with a sacrifice fly to deep center field. An error by the shortstop brought home the second run of the inning pushing the lead to 4-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
In the seventh, Ventura gave up two bloop singles wrapped around two strikeouts before getting pinch hitter Ceci Barreda to tap into 1-4 ground out at first to end the inning and the game.
Coppola finished 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Jess Carlucci was 1-for-2 with a RBI sacrifice fly.
Glavin (18-3) gave up two-earned runs on seven hits, struck out four and walked two in only her third loss of the season. Moore went 1-for-3 with two K’s while Saito was held to one hit in three at bats.
“Wins like this never get old,” Lombardi – in her 10th season as head coach – said. “There’s always a new crop of kids and new experiences; these girls are doing a really nice job working hard for me. We have a lot of baseball ahead of us and I’m looking forward to it.”
