EMERSON—Congratulations to the Emerson 3/4 travel softball team, ending its season on Friday, July 28 at Memorial Field with the championship win over rival Washington Township Cardinals, 4–2.
The win was a repeat of last year’s championship, and a second straight undefeated season for Emerson in the 3/4 division in the Kinderkamack Softball League.
Emerson finished the regular season at 10-0, having given up 23 runs and scoring 113.
The Cavos dominated all regular season, as did Washington Township (9-1). The teams met early in the regular season with Emerson winning, 2-1, in a thrilling game. Both teams had to know their paths would cross again in the championship.
Highlights, via Emerson head coach Mike Carcich on July 30:
- Taylor Zeller was the biggest offensive threat for the Cavos all season, with 14 hits, a 0.636 average, with 21 runs scored, and 26 RBIs.
- Kylie Mulhern, Miranda Gray, Hailey Carcich, and Lexi Perez also had double-digit hits, runs scored, and RBIs for the lady Cavos.
- Defensively, Hailey Carcich was flawless in the field, committing zero errors all year while playing first base and shortstop. • On the mound, Jackie Giella struck out 55 batters while giving up six runs on 13 hits all year in 28 innings pitched. The power arm of Alexia Perez struck out 50 batters and gave up just two hits all season in only 22 innings pitched.
- In round 1 of the playoffs, Emerson defeated River Vale, 15-0, while Washington Township beat River Edge, 13-4. The Cavos had great offensive production from Hailey Carcich (one hit, three runs, one RBI), Miranda Gray (one hit, three runs, three RBIs), and Taylor Zeller (one hit, two runs, two RBIs).
- Kylie Mulhern, Alexia Perez, and Ife Awosanya also scored two runs apiece to help the offense.
- Jackie Giella (0 H, 4 K, 1 BB), Alexia Perez (0 H, 5 K, 4 BB), and Alexa Palko (0 H, 1 K, 0 BB), combined for a no-hitter for the Cavo win.
- In round 2 of the playoffs, Emerson defeated Oradell, 12-1, while Washington Township defeated another River Edge team, 13-1.
- Kylie Mulhern, Miranda Gray, Jackie Giella, and Olivia Kim all scored two runs apiece with Taylor Zeller and Lucia DeSalvo posting two RBIs apiece. Yet again, the Cavos dominated on the mound, with Jackie Giella (1 H, 3 K, 1 R in 2 IP) and Alexa Palko (1 H, 7 K, 0 BB, 0 R in 3 IP) propelling the lady Cavos to the final for the second straight year in a row.
- In the championship, Washington Township came out swinging the bats with its leadoff, Valentina Mastellone, ripping a ball to center field where Kylie Mulhern was able to make a play and prevent an extra base hit.
- The next batter, Brielle Sardina, ripped a triple down the right-field line, followed by a fielder’s choice RBI by Carson Mozian, and Maggie McManus reaching on error and scoring Carson to give Township a 2-0 lead. Emerson, now facing the best pitcher they’ve seen all year in Brielle Sardina, had to respond— but unfortunately left four runners on base in two innings without scoring a run.
- The Cavos, now stunned, quiet, and in unfamiliar territory had to respond, and get the momentum back on their side. Lila Manning, Juliette Rose Connolly, and Hailey Carcich got the offense going in the bottom of the third inning with three walks to load the bases before the power-hitting Taylor Zeller ripped a double, scoring Manning and Connolly to tie the game.
- In the fourth inning, Alexia Perez struck out the side to get the Cavos back in the dugout to do more damage. Katie Tucker led off the inning with a line drive single up the middle, followed by a walk by Jackie Giella and Olivia Kim to load the bases.
- Ife Awosanya, whom Carcich said emerged as the most improved hitter for the Cavos, came up and singled on a full count to score Tucker and Giella and give the Cavos the lead that they would not relinquish.
- Timely hitting aided the Cavos and provided the spark they needed to get going. But the recipe for the Cavos was always pitching and defense and that’s what sealed the deal for Emerson to win. Alexia Perez was dominant pitching three innings in the middle of the game, recording seven strikeouts, allowing two walks and no hits.
- Jackie Giella (3 H, 5 K, 0 BB, 2 R), pitched the first two innings and came in to close the game for the Cavos, but it would not be easy. Jessica Lynn led off the sixth inning with a single, followed by back-to-back strikeouts by Giella. With two outs, man on first, and the tying run up, the Cavos needed to record one more out.
Unfortunately, it also meant facing Brielle Sardina, Township’s best all-around player. She ripped a hard fly ball to right center that would have been a game-tying home run, but fortunately for Emerson, Kylie Mulhern, the sure-handed short-fielder that made the first out of the game, would make the last out of the game, preserving the win for Emerson and sparking the championship celebration yet again.
Carcich — who teaches physics at NV-Demarest and is that school’s assistant football coach, Wood-Ridge’s head baseball coach, and BCCA co-liaison (NJIC) for baseball — told Pascack Press, “It’s a great win for the girls, who worked hard all season. The whole town came out to watch and support the team, and that’s what makes Emerson great.”
He said, “I couldn’t be any prouder of our girls,” and thanked “all the assistant coaches for their time and wealth of softball knowledge they instilled in the girls.”
And he said, “I give a ton of credit to Washington Township. They are a well-coached and fundamentally sound team. If we play them 10 times, we may only win five games. Congrats to them on a great season as well.”