Sports

Sunday, May 6, 2007 NEW JERSEY SUNDAY HERALD B—5
SPORTS
Parity reins in the SCIL this season
By ANDREW GOODMAN
agoodman@njherald.com
With the first part of the SCIL softball
schedule over, there’s a lot to look forward to
in the second half — as long as the weather
continues to cooperate.
Here’s a look at what happened so far and
what will happen from this point on:
Five Storylines to Watch
1. What team is the SCIL’s best?
A case can be made for Pope John, Sparta
and Kittatinny. But Kittatinny lost to Sparta
and had its first game against Pope John
rained out. It comes down to Sparta and Pope
John.
The Lions won the first meeting and Sparta
triumphed this past week, but Pope John lost
to High Point last week and the Spartans have
won five straight
So the best team is Sparta ... for now.
2. What team has been the SCIL’s
biggest surprise?
There isn’t one. Everyone is essentially
where they were predicted to be.
Kittatinny, Pope John and Sparta were
expected to be at the top, Jefferson has
remained competitive because it always is and
High Point and Wallkill Valley had their pitchers
return so they’re in the mix as well.
3. How many teams will make the state
tournament?
It appears six. High Point and Wallkill Valley
are hovering around .500, but both had big
wins in the past week. The Wildcats knocked
off High Point and handed Sarah Olsen her
first loss while the Rangers defeated
Kittatinny.
Kittatinny, Sparta and Pope John are locks,
and Jefferson will also get in.
By Herald Staff
HARDYSTON — Wallkill Valley
got enough offense in the second
game of a doubleheader and
earned a split on Saturday with
New Egypt.
The Rangers defeated New
Egypt, 14-4, in the second game,
and dropped the first, 13-6.
John Mayer was 3-for-4 with two
runs scored and a run batted in.
Rick Keslo had two hits and two
RBI, while Matt Briggs finished 2-
for-4 with two RBI.
Ken Caruso got the win as he
fanned two hitters.
Steve Simmons was 3-for-3 in
the first game with two RBI.
Travis Wenz also recorded
three hits and scored two runs in
the loss.
Game one
New Egypt 13, Wallkill Valley 6
NE (8-6) 101 400 7— 13 16 1
WV (7-10) 103 000 2— 6 12 4
WP: Dakota Havens (1-2). LP: Kyle
McDonald (1-3).
2B: Dylan Rowley (NE), Mike Fassel
(NE), Pete Cuomo (WV), Steve Simmons
(WV), John Mayer (WV).
HR: Dan Knott (NE).
Game two
Wallkill Valley 14, New Egypt 4
NE (8-7) 112 000 0— 4 5 4
WV (8-10) 280 013— 14 17 1
WP: Ken Caruso (1-0). LP: T.J. Smith
(3-3).
2B: Rick Mackesy (NE), Mike Fassel
(NE) 2, Adam Bowlby (WV), Ken Caruso
(WV).
3B: Pete Cuomo (WV).
HR: Dakota Havens (NE).
Friday’s games
VERNON — David Jacob was
3-for-4 with two runs scored and
one RBI in Vernon’s 5-2 win over
Newton on Friday.
Drew Berke got the victory,
pitching a complete game with six
strikeouts and four walks.
Paul Williams was 2-for-3 with a
run batted in for Newton.
Vernon 5, Newton 2
V (9-6) 102 011 0— 5 9 1
N (2-12) 011 000 0— 2 4 2
WP: Drew Berke (4-0). LP: Steve
Zander
2B: David Jacob (V) 2, Steve Myhren
(V), Tyler Courter (V)
Jefferson 10, Hopatcong 1
HOPATCONG — Tim Rain and
Kevin Ialeggio homered as
Jefferson beat Hopatcong on
Friday.
Rain finished 2-for-4 with a
homer and two RBI.
Ryan Kalish was 3-for-3 and
scored three times.
Dom Macaluso went the distance
and struck out five.
Steve Serocke had two hits for
Hopatcong.
Jefferson 10, Hopatcong 1
J (13-3) 203 212 0— 10 11 3
H (8-7) 000 100 0— 1 5 3
WP: Dom Macaluso (4-0). LP: O’Grady
2B: Ryan Kalish (J), Steve D’Urso (J).
HR: Tim Rain (J), Kevin Ialeggio (J).
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL:
SCIL NOTEBOOK
4. Which teams can win a sectional
title?
Kittatinny and Pope John have the best
chance.
The Cougars’ section includes a handful of
contenders but they already played one of
them, defeating Pequannock, 2-1. Other teams
that have a chance are Indian Hills, Pascack
Valley and Ramsey.
The Lions will be challenged by Mount St.
Dominic and Immaculate Heart Academy.
Sparta has the unenviable position of being
in the same section as Ramapo, arguably the
top Group III team in the state.
5. Will the unpredictability and parity
continue?
Based on the way last week went, yes.
High Point has shown the best example of
parity by losing to Vernon on April 23 and beating
Pope John last Monday.
It all depends on how certain teams or players
feel on a particular day, which is impossible
to predict. So picking the SCIL winner is
just as difficult.
Game of the Year (so far)
It doesn’t get better than Kittatinny and
Sparta on April 20.
Sparta finally won, 1-0, in 11 innings. It took
a RBI double from Jamie Cresbaugh, the
league leader in doubles, to finally win it.
The pitchers couldn’t have done better, with
Sparta’s Baylea Sperring and Kittatinny’s
Sara Stocklinski going the distance.
Despite the result, both teams should benefit
from playing that kind of game because
Wallkill Valley 7, Sparta 3
HARDYSTON — Steve
Simmons homered as the
Rangers topped Sparta on Friday.
Travis Wenz earned the victory.
Mark Huelsenbeck and Zach
Passerrelle had two hits apiece for
Sparta.
they may play more like that in the state tournament.
Midseason Awards
Most Valuable Player: Jamie Cresbaugh
(senior, Sparta) — She leads the SCIL with
seven doubles, is second in homers with three
and and has two triples. Whenever the
Spartans need a big hit or someone to drive in
a run, she’s the one for the job.
Pitcher of the Year: Sarah Olsen (senior,
Pope John) — She was undefeated before this
week and shouldn’t be penalized for a bad
week. In any start she has the potential to
have double digit strikeouts or pitch a no-hitter.
Coach of the Year: Ed Levens (Jefferson)
— He lost the SCIL’s best player from a year
ago and the Falcons don’t have the experience
as the SCIL’s top teams. But that hasn’t
stopped Jefferson from remaining in the top
half of the league standings.
Herald Power Rankings
1. Sparta — It holds the top spot as of now
based on the last week, which included a fivegame
win streak.
2. Pope John — The Lions followed two
losses this week by two wins and a 15-0 combined
margin of victory.
3. Kittatinny — It was defeated by Wallkill
Valley and High Point last week but it doesn’t
diminish what the Cougars have done this
season.
4. High Point — It had a great week with
wins against Pope John and Kittatinny.
5. Jefferson — The Falcons have remained
competitive and blew out Hopatcong on
Friday.
Sparta’s Fletcher deals blow to Rangers
By Herald Staff
SPARTA — Sparta’s Sarah
Fletcher hurt Wallkill Valley’s
chances of qualifying for the
state tournament by two-hitting
them Friday in 5-0 shutout.
Fletcher struck out nine and
walked two in seven innings.
Stacey Kerstner had a triple
for the Rangers.
Wallkill Valley must have a
.500 record by Friday to qualify.
Sparta 5, Wallkill Valley 0
WV (8-9) 000 000 0— 0 2 1
S (15-5) 203 000 X— 5 7 0
WP: Sarah Fletcher (7-2). LP:
Stephanie Romano (8-9).
3B: Stacey Kerstner (WV)
Yankees
Continued from Page B1
Wang was trying for the 16th
perfect game since 1900, including
Don Larsen’s gem for the
Yankees in the 1956 World Series.
The last two perfect games in
the AL have occurred at Yankee
Stadium, by New York’s David
Notebook
Continued from Page B1
“O’Leary was able to make the quality
pitches,” Slododzian said. “His best pitch is a
fastball and he throws that with good command.”
Brendan Kramer relieved Corcoran for
Newton and shut down the Spartans. But it
was too late, the damage had already been
done.
But the Braves can still benefit from the
loss. Many of their players will be back next
year, and the experience will make it easier
for them to relax next year.
“This is another step for us,” Selitto said.
“In a tournament situation, there isn’t a next
day. They have to experience it now because
we feel our future is a year or two down the
road.”
The future for Sparta is this week — and
it’s a busy one. Before the Spartans play
Jefferson Saturday, they’ll play a game every
day starting on Monday because they have
Jefferson 11, Hopatcong 4
JEFFERSON — Jefferson combined
for eight runs in the fifth and
sixth innings to beat Hopatcong.
Cori Becker was 3-for-4 with
four RBI.
Jackie Ubhaus struck out eight
and walked one to record the win
in relief.
Brittany Beckman and Jenna
Pettoni had homers for the
Falcons.
Jefferson 11, Hopatcong 4
H (4-10) 202 000 0— 4 4 2
J (9-6) 111 053 X— 11 13 1
WP: Jackie Ubhaus (5-0) LP: Cassie
Ridge
2B: Cassie Ridge (H), Brittany
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
Beckmann (J)
3B: Alyssa Rowen (J), Cori Becker (J),
Amanda Baker (H)
HR: Beckmann (J), Jenna Pettoni (J)
Newton 6, Vernon 0
NEWTON — Chelsea Homa
struck out 11 Braves to lead the
Vikings to victory Friday.
The freshman surrendered one
hit in seven innings.
Newton had one hit but scored
six runs on four Vernon errors.
Newton 6, Vernon 0
V (4-13) 000 000 0— 0 1 4
N (4-10) 300 210 X— 6 1 2
WP: Chelsea Homa (4-9). LP: Brittany
Peterson.
Cone (1999) and David Wells
(1998). Larsen also pitched his at
the ballpark.
Randy Johnson has the last
perfect game in the majors, for
Arizona at Atlanta on May 18,
2004.
Brian Bruney took over for
Wang to begin the ninth and finished
off the two-hitter.
On Tuesday night, Yankees
rookie Phil Hughes took a no-hitter
into the seventh inning at
Texas, but was forced to leave
because of a hamstring injury.
If Wang was at all fazed by the
growing tension in the Bronx, he
didn’t show it. After the seventh
inning, he sat all by himself at the
far end of the dugout with a white
towel draped over his right shoulder.
This was certainly an unlikely
situation for a perfect game.
makeup games squeezed in.
Six games in six days won’t help Sparta,
but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a
chance against the Falcons.
“Jefferson is a top team, so we’re going to
have to play extremely well,” Slobodzian
said. “We have to have a well-pitched game.”
The four Sussex County Coaches Baseball
Tournament games next Saturday will be
played at Skylands Park for the first time.
The first game is set for 10 a.m. with No. 6
Wallkill Valley playing No. 3 Pope John. The
next game is at 12 p.m. and features No. 7
Sparta versus No. 2 Jefferson. At 2 p.m., No.
5 Vernon will meet No. 4 Hopatcong. The
final game will pit No. 9 High Point against
No. 1 Lenape Valley.
Sparta 8, Newton 3
N (2-14) 003 000 0 — 3 9 2
S (8-9) 530 000 X — 8 4 2
WP: Pat O’Leary (4-3). LP: Kramer (0-1)
3B: Williams (N).
Cutoff day coming
Friday is the final day for teams to qualify
for the state tournament. All teams must
Sussex Tech 9,
West Ampton Tech 3
SPARTA — The Mustangs won
their quarterfinal matchup with
West Ampton Tech to move on in
the New Jersey Vocational
Athletic Conference Tournament.
Brittney Kelly went 3-for-3 with
three RBI and two runs scored.
Jess Gilman pitched seven
innings, striking out six and walking
two.
Sofia Bosio was 3-for-4 with two
runs scored and an RBI.
Sussex Tech 9, West Ampton Tech 3
WAT 000 111 0— 3 4 2
ST (7-6) 040 302 x— 9 9 3
WP: Jess Gilman (5-3) LP: Selena
Rivera
2B: Brittney Kelly (ST)
3B: Brittney Kelly (ST)
HR: Amanda Coxen (WAT)
Wang, who finished second in the
AL Cy Young voting last year,
went on the disabled list in spring
training with a strained right
hamstring and struggled in his
first two starts of the season.
Wang cruised through the first
two innings, striking out two in
the second. Third baseman Alex
Rodriguez backhanded Jose
Lopez’s hard one-hopper and
threw him out to end the third.
have at least a .500 record to make it.
Jefferson, Lenape Valley, Pope John and
Vernon will qualify. High Point, Hopatcong,
Wallkill Valley and Sparta have a chance. For
the latter four it will come down to what happens
this week.
It could be a good thing or bad thing to
have makeup games this week. It gives
teams the opportunity to tack on wins but
could wear out a pitching staff.
So anything could happen.
Herald Power Rankings
1. Lenape Valley — The Patriots avenged a
loss to Pope John with a 1-0 win on Thursday.
2. Jefferson — It hasn’t lost since being
upset in the first round of the Morris County
Tournament.
3. Pope John — The Lions defeated
Vernon but were knocked off by Sparta.
4. Vernon — Three of its four SCIL losses
have come at the hands of Jefferson and
Pope John.
5. High Point — It has defeated Hopatcong
twice and owns a win over Vernon.
Wallkilll Valley splits DH with New Egypt
Wallkill Valley 7, Sparta 3
S (7-9) 110 001 0— 3 5 1
WV (7-9) 400 012 x— 7 9 1
WP: Travis Wenz (1-0). LP: Ryan Pelle
(1-3)
2B: Pete Cuomo (WV), Christian Kasa
(WV).
3B: Travis Wenz (WV).
HR: Steve Simmons (WV)
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SCIL SOFTBALL STANDINGS
(through Friday’s games)
SCIL Overall
W L W L
Sparta 11 1 14 4
Pope John 9 2 11 4
Kittatinny 9 3 11 3
Jefferson 7 3 9 6
High Point 6 5 7 6
Wallkill Valley 6 6 7 8
Hopatcong 3 9 4 10
Lenape Valley 2 8 3 8
Newton 2 9 4 10
Vernon 1 10 4 13
STATS
(through Friday’s games)
Doubles
Jamie Cresbaugh (Sparta) 7
Stacey Kerstner (Wallkill V.) 5
Amanda Baker (Hopatcong) 4
Amanda Kent (Pope John) 4
Stephanie Romano (Wallkill V.) 4
Triples
Amanda Baker (Hopatcong) 4
Jill Black (Pope John) 3
Amanda Kent (Pope John) 3
15 tied with 2
Home Runs
Abby Ralph (Kittatinny) 4
Jamie Cresbaugh (Sparta) 3
Nicole Armstrong (High Point) 2
Katelyn Miele (Pope John) 2
Mikayla Wingle (High Point) 2
11 tied with 1
Pitcher’s winning percentage
(minimum eight decisions)
Baylea Sperring (S) .800 (8-2)
Sarah Fletcher (S) .777 (7-2)
Sarah Olsen (PJ) .777 (7-2)
Dana Inez (PJ) .750 (6-2)
Sara Stocklinski (K) .727 (8-3)
Morgan Bell (HP) .600 (6-4)
MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W L Pct GB L10 Str Home Away Intr
Boston 19 9 .679 — 7-3 W-3 9-4 10-5 0-0
New York 13 15 .464 6 5-5 W-1 7-7 6-8 0-0
Baltimore 13 16 .448 6 1 ⁄2 2-8 W-1 8-6 5-10 0-0
Tampa Bay 13 16 .448 6 1 ⁄2 z-5-5 L-1 7-8 6-8 0-0
Toronto 13 16 .448 6 1 ⁄2 z-4-6 L-4 7-7 6-9 0-0
Central Division
W L Pct GB L10 Str Home Away Intr
Cleveland 17 9 .654 — z-8-2 L-1 11-3 6-6 0-0
Detroit 17 11 .607 1 z-7-3 W-5 8-6 9-5 0-0
Minnesota 15 14 .517 3 1 ⁄2 4-6 L-3 7-8 8-6 0-0
Chicago 13 14 .481 4 1 ⁄2 z-4-6 W-1 5-7 8-7 0-0
Kansas City 10 20 .333 9 z-4-6 L-1 6-10 4-10 0-0
West Division
W L Pct GB L10 Str Home Away Intr
Los Angeles 17 14 .548 — z-6-4 L-1 12-4 5-10 0-0
Seattle 13 12 .520 1 z-7-3 L-1 8-6 5-6 0-0
Oakland 14 14 .500 1 1 ⁄2 z-5-5 W-1 6-7 8-7 0-0
Texas 11 18 .379 5 3-7 W-1 7-7 4-11 0-0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W L Pct GB L10 Str Home Away Intr
Atlanta 18 10 .643 — 6-4 W-2 9-5 9-5 0-0
New York 18 10 .643 — z-6-4 W-3 7-7 11-3 0-0
Florida 14 14 .500 4 z-6-4 W-1 8-7 6-7 0-0
Philadelphia 13 17 .433 6 4-6 L-2 6-7 7-10 0-0
Washington 9 21 .300 10 3-7 L-4 4-10 5-11 0-0
Central Division
W L Pct GB L10 Str Home Away Intr
Milwaukee 19 10 .655 — z-7-3 W-1 11-5 8-5 0-0
Chicago 14 14 .500 4 1 ⁄2 7-3 W-4 6-9 8-5 0-0
Pittsburgh 13 15 .464 5 1 ⁄2 z-5-5 L-1 5-8 8-7 0-0
Cincinnati 13 16 .448 6 z-4-6 L-3 6-8 7-8 0-0
Houston 13 16 .448 6 4-6 W-1 6-8 7-8 0-0
St. Louis 11 17 .393 7 1 ⁄2 3-7 L-1 4-10 7-7 0-0
West Division
W L Pct GB L10 Str Home Away Intr
Los Angeles 17 12 .586 — 4-6 L-1 8-7 9-5 0-0
San Francisco 16 13 .552 1 z-5-5 W-2 10-7 6-6 0-0
San Diego 15 14 .517 2 z-4-6 L-1 8-6 7-8 0-0
Arizona 16 15 .516 2 z-6-4 L-4 9-7 7-8 0-0
Colorado 12 17 .414 5 4-6 W-1 6-7 6-10 0-0
z-first game was a win
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Saturday’s games
N.Y. Yankees 8, Seattle 1 Chicago White Sox 6, L.A. Angels 3
Cleveland at Baltimore (late)
Oakland at Tampa Bay (late)
Boston at Minnesota (late)
Detroit at Kansas City (late)
Toronto at Texas (late)
Sunday’s games
Seattle (Washburn 2-2) at N.Y. Yankees (Rasner 0-1), 1:05 p.m.
Cleveland (Sabathia 4-0) at Baltimore (Burres 0-0), 1:35 p.m.
Oakland (Blanton 2-1) at Tampa Bay (Jackson 0-4), 1:40 p.m.
Boston (Schilling 3-1) at Minnesota (Ponson 2-3), 2:10 p.m.
Detroit (Durbin 1-1) at Kansas City (Greinke 1-3), 2:10 p.m.
Toronto (Burnett 2-2) at Texas (Loe 1-2), 3:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Buehrle 2-1) at L.A. Angels (Colon 3-0), 3:35 p.m.
Monday’s games
Cleveland at Baltimore, 12:35 p.m.
Seattle at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Saturday’s games
Chicago Cubs 5, Washington 3 Houston 13, St. Louis 0
San Francisco 9, Philadelphia 4
San Diego at Florida (late)
L.A. Dodgers at Atlanta (late)
Pittsburgh at Milwaukee (late)
Colorado at Cincinnati (late)
N.Y. Mets at Arizona (late)
Today’s games
San Diego (Peavy 3-1) at Florida (Olsen 3-1), 1:05 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Wolf 3-3) at Atlanta (Davies 0-1), 1:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh (Armas 0-2) at Milwaukee (Sheets 2-2), 2:05 p.m.
Houston (Sampson 3-1) at St. Louis (Looper 3-2), 2:15 p.m.
Washington (Hill 2-3) at Chicago Cubs (Guzman 0-0), 2:20 p.m.
Colorado (Fogg 1-2) at Cincinnati (Arroyo 1-2), 3:15 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Pelfrey 0-3) at Arizona (L.Hernandez 2-1), 4:40 p.m.
Philadelphia (Hamels 3-1) at San Francisco (Lincecum 0-0), 8:05 p.m.
Monday’s games
San Diego at Atlanta, 7:05 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers at Florida, 7:05 p.m.
Houston at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.
Washington at Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m.
Colorado at St. Louis, 8:10 p.m.
Philadelphia at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.
N.Y. Mets at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.
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SCIL BASEBALL STANDINGS
(through Friday’s games)
SCIL Overall
W L W L
Jefferson 11 2 13 3
Pope John 9 3 10 6
Lenape Valley 8 3 11 3
Vernon 9 4 9 6
High Point 5 6 5 8
Hopatcong 5 7 8 7
Wallkill Valley 5 7 7 9
Sparta 3 9 7 9
Kittatinny 4 9 5 11
Newton 1 9 2 11
STATS
(through Friday’s games)
Doubles
Mark Young (Pope John) 8
Ryan Kalish (Jefferson) 7
Rob Klinck (Lenape Valley) 6
Tim Rain (Jefferson) 6
Jamie Creamer (Vernon) 5
Brendan Kramer (Newton) 5
Mike Scott (High Point) 5
Ken Meerendonk (Vernon) 5
Sean Galligan (Lenape Valley) 4
Shaun Gawel (Vernon) 4
Rick Keslo (Wallkill Valley) 4
Steve Myhren (Vernon) 4
Dan Pregno (Lenape Valley) 4
Triples
Mike Scott (High Point) 2
14 tied with 1
Home Runs
Jim Abbott (High Point) 5
David Jacob (Vernon) 5
Dom Macaluso (Jefferson) 5
Mark Young (Pope John) 5
Bobby Guild (Pope John) 4
Shane Hosler (Lenape Valley) 4
Christian Kasa (Wallkill Valley) 4
Anthony Perretti (Hopatcong) 4
Eight tied with 3
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