Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 42

14C COURIER-POST, Sunday, June 7, 1998 i SSttHiro g(KBWS Clearview wins chamBioinisMiQ) Undercuffler, Tyska carry softball team t-f I Y-- ffCH 4 Delivers: Clearview junior pitcher Julie Undercuffler struck out Pioneers won their first state championship ever. By Peter Ackerman, Gannett News Service 11 Passaic Valley batters as the St. Joe i comes up short in Group By RYAN SILVERMAN Courier-Post Staff TOMS RIVER The St. Joseph of Hammonton girls' soft-ball team couldn't have expected the seventh-inning roller coaster ride they got in the Group state championship loss to St. Mary's of Rutherford.

"St. Joe went from losing to taking the lead to being one out away from the state title. Finally, the Wildcats lost 3-2 in extra innings at Toms River East High School. "We knew it would be a low-scoring game with both teams fighting for each and every run," St. Joseph coach Matt Ricco said.

"It was just one of those things where the coin fell and they fell on top." The ride began with St. Mary's pitcher Lauren Dickinson allowing the Wildcats (16-9), who had 18 hits in winning the North Jersey championship, just one Amy Stephan single through six innings. The senior southpaw mesmerized St. Joseph pretty much all game long, striking out eight and walking none, and being ahead in the count to almost every batter. "She was tough on us and had a great game on the mound and at the plate, but we knew it was just a matter of time before we started hitting her," Ricco said.

And indeed they did as the coaster began to gain speed and momentum when, down 1-0 in the top of the seventh with pinch runner Megan McHale on third, senior second baseman Julie Straub drove an 0-2 pitch to deep left-center for a two-run home run, the first one Dickinson had allowed all season, to put St. Joseph ahead 2-1. "Hitting that home run was the! best feeling I've had all season," Straub said. "I was really excited, but I knew that anything could happen." But what turned out to be a costly baserunning mistake by junior shortstop Candi Dean on her double, preceding Straub's homer, prevented any more damage. i "We had a strong rally, but Candi just took a wide swing around second and got caught," Ricco said.

Then the bottom dropped out of the coaster when Dickinson hit a home run with two out in the bottom of the seventh, on an 0-2 pitch, to tie the score. "I had to do what I had to do to win the game," Dickinson said. "This meant so much to us." "She hit it right in the right spot and swung the momentum right back in their favor," Ricco said. Finally, the two-hour roller coaster ride came to an abrupt halt when St. Mary's Valerie Esposito singled to left field with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring Teresa Wilson, who was on with a double.

"I love clutch situations and in this one I came through," Esposito said. The loss ruined a gutsy pitching effort from St. Joseph sophomore Britney Grisso. "She did a fabulous job today," Ricco said. "She had good location and good movement, and gave up a couple of unearned runs." St.

Mary's (32-3) coach Frank Venezia agreed. "She baffled us for most of the game, doing a great job changing speeds and keeping our hitters off balance," he said. Despite the loss, the Wildcats had positive remarks about the game and the season. J1 cannot feel good about the war we played out there today and how with a young team we did so much better than expected and got to the state championship game," said Straub, whose high school career ended with the crushing defeat. "I have no bad feelings today except for this being my last game." no slaying the Dragons By DAVID EVANS Courier-Post Staff TOMS RIVER Julie Undercuffler hit the corners.

Steffanie Tyska hit the bases. The pitcher and the right fielder hit paydirt Saturday as the Clearview High School softball team notched the Group 3 state championship at Toms River East. The Pioneers, 16-9 and ranked 13th in the fourier-Post Top 20 Poll, scored first and never trailed, outlasting North I champion Passaic Valley 7-2 for its first-ever crown. Undercuffler, a junior, pitched the complete game, striking out 11, including six in the first three innings. Tyska reached base on four occasions and crossed home plate each time.

Undercuffler fed the Passaic Valley hitters a steady diet of curveballs, keeping the ball low and away. After she hit the comers early, they went for it, and most went down swinging. "(The umpire) really was calling my outside corner," she said. "I was keeping the ball away from them; that's how I could be effective. It doesn't work if I have to go in on them.

"I had to throw pitches that would make them swing." Undercuffler began work with a 1-0 lead, but Passaic Valley got that back quickly. Valley pitcher Lisa Caruso led off with a single and Kathleen Berthold knocked her in with a triple to left field. A pair of strikeouts and a weak grounder to second got Undercuffler out of the inning with minimal damage. With the Pioneers ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Passaic Valley struck back again to tie. Nicole Crosman brought home Erin McNeill with a single and Undercuffler allowed Jerilyn Pa-mi to score on a wild pitch.

"I pretty much had the confidence we would come back," Undercuffler said. "I knew they were a great team. And I knew if sixth, Miller allowed two base-runners in the bottom half of the inning on two errors, but got a strikeout to end the inning. In the seventh, Miller allowed two singles, but settled down and got another strikeout and a groundout to end the game. The win was even more special for Barchuk, the team's shortstop and lone starting senior for the Dragons.

"It's the greatest feeling ever," Barchuk said. "At first, I wanted the game to keep going because I knew it was my last game, but when we got the last out Iwas excited." we got a lead on them it would take some pressure off us." She shut them down the rest of the way, while hitting three: singles to help her cause. "I was very happy with my, hitting," she said. "I wanted to" help myself out as much as I could." And Clearview took the lead for good in the top of the fifth. Tyska led off with a single and stole second.

One out later, Undercuffler moved Tyska to third with a single, and Erin McGee, her courtesy runner, stepped in to steal second. Laren Foody grounded to short for the fielder's choice and Tyska slid, home under the tag. McGee scored on Brooke Letzgus' ground out. Tyska, a junior, took part in all three go-ahead runs Saturday. In the first, she reached on a fielders' choice and scored on Kisha Taylor's double.

Two innings later, she pulled the ball deep into left field, tripling home Jackie Naylor and scoring on Undercuffler's infield single. In the sixth, she reached first on an error, and Taylor brought home Tyska and Naylor with an RBI single. "It feels great. I changed my bats for this game," Tyska said. "I just went up there with the attitude that I'm not getting out." The Pioneers took what they could get against Caruso, Passaic's star sophomore pitcher.

Caruso struck out seven and walked none, staying ahead in the count to most of the Clearview hitters, but four errors behind her cost the team as Undercuffler got stronger. "We didn't think we were getting many runs off Lisa," Clearview coach Bob Wagner said. "We had to take advantage of every break we got." They didn't early in the garni A potential big first inning ws squelched when two runners were thrown out on the basepaths. ii Cherokee defeated by Clifton in bid for title By GREG SAWICKI Courier-Post Staff TOMS RIVER The Chero; kee High School softball team overcame many obstacles this season. But the Chiefs ran into one hurdle they couldn't clear on Saturday: The No.

1 -ranked team in the state, Clifton. The Mustangs (31-0) used a six-run fourth inning to power themselves to their second consecutive Group 4 state title by defeating Cherokee 8-0. It was the 63rd consecutive win for the Mustangs. "We picked the wrong day to have a bad game," Cherokee coach Mike Medrick said. The Chiefs (25-6) were done in during the fourth, slightly by their own hands.

With one out, Amanda Bon-giorno, Jen Carlo and starting pitcher Laura Tynio hit back-to-back-to-back singles, the last one knocking in the first run of the game. After a sacrifice bunt gave the Mustangs runners at second and third with two outs, the Chiefs fell apart. MariEUen Singley walked the next batter to load the bases and Tamara Tinajero's grounder tQ third was mishandled, allowing another run to score. Singley then threw a wild pitch and allowed two straight RBJ singles to Danielle Bril and Kim Anzaldi. In an attempt to get the last out, Cherokee also threw tha ball around which didn't heljjj its cause.

Singley finally settled down to get the final batter the tenth of the inning for the Mustangs tif end the rally. But the damage was done and the Chiefs trailed 6-0 with five of the runs unearned. "We made a few mistakes in that one inning and that really cost us," Medrick said. "(MariEl-len) was sharp in the beginning (of the game), and I'm not sure if i I Please see CHEROKEE, Page 15C i 4f i There's Kingsway won its first softball state title by dominating Mahwah 4-0 in the Group 2 final. By GREG SAWICKI Courier-Post Staff TOMS RIVER It was pure dominance from the first inning to the final out.

The Kingsway High School softball team won its first softball state championship as the Dragons rolled past Mahwah 4-0 in the Group 2 final Saturday. Sophomore Wendi Miller pitched what probably was the best game of her career and also chipped in with a clutch single to lead the Dragons. Miller struck out a career-high 14 batters and allowed just one hit over the first six innings. "I'm just really happy," Miller said. "I wanted to come out strong for the last game of the year and try to win a championship.

I just wanted to perform well. I'm pretty happy with how it went." Miller struck out the side in the first inning and followed with two more strikeouts in the second inning. "Getting off to a good start gives me confidence for the rest of the game," Miller said. "It gives the whole team confidence when we all get off to a good start." It was the second straight game in which Miller struck out five batters in the first two innings. She also accomplished that feat against Hopewell Valley in a 5-1 victory in the state semifinals.

She finished with nine strikeouts in that game. "I was really surprised that I got that many strikeouts today," Miller said. "I got nine the other day and I was really surprised about that. I never thought I'd ever get this many." From the third through the fifth innings, Miller was so dominant that she struck out seven of eight batters including fve in a row for the second ssw TTi vMk. i i eon By Scott Anderson, Courier-Post Home, sweet home: Kingsway's Michelle Byrne slides safely under the tag of Mahwah catcher Erin Shanely in the first inning of the Group 2 state championship game Saturday.

and advanced to second on a fielder's choice. Kelley then scored Barchuk with a single to give Kingsway a 1-0 lead. Michelle Byrne then singled to left and advanced to second when Kelley made a dash for third. Miller was next and smacked a two-run single for a 3-0 lead. From there, it was all Miller, and it seemed the Dragons could do no wrong.

"Everybody helped out today," McFadden said. "This is a team game and everybody did their job. Our entire team played a really good game. After Kingsway added another run in the top of the time in the game. "She's pitched awesome this year, but today she really wanted it," Kingsway catcher Marsha Kelley said.

"You could see by the look in her eyes how much she wanted it." "That's the most strikeouts she's ever had in a game," Kingsway coach Andy McFad-den said. "She came ready to play today. She told me before the game, 'Coach, don't worry, I got this And she sure did. She threw a great game." The Dragons jumped to an early lead by pushing three runs across the plate. Allison Barchuk started things withj.

a one-out single Players wanted Football play wanted (or "Pnw9 NFL football weeks) competition FMadelphiaJ Law fn to 30s preferred. Could be other types txnpetmorw. Can Don. 654-645.