MAHWAH, NJ-Senior pitcher Jamie Anzaldi
picked up her 14th shutout of the season as she blanked Union on two
hits to lead Ramapo to a 6-0 victory over the
Dutchwomen in a loser's bracket game of the NCAA Division III Eastern Regional
Softball Tournament at Ramapo College.
The loss ends Union's season at 25-5
while Ramapo, the event's second seed, needs to
defeat top-ranked Moravian twice on Sunday (May 9) if they are to advance to
next week's World Series in Salem, Virginia. Union, which went into
the event as the fourth seed, defeated No. 3 Allegheny, 3-2, behind the
pitching of Abby Arceneaux and the hitting of
freshman second basewoman Colleen White.
Anzaldi, who allowed just one walk
in pitching Ramapo over Allegheny, 1-0, on Friday
(May 7), allowed a first-inning bunt single to Arceneaux
and a one-out single to left by sophomore shortstop Beth Carcone. Anzaldi, who came
into the game with a 20-5 record, an earned run average of 0.51, and 134
strikeouts, fanned nine Dutchwomen, walked three, and allowed two balls to
leave the infield….Carcone's single and a fly out to
center off the bat of Erika Eisenhut in the fifth.
Ramapo, which improves to 35-7,
scored three times in the first on three hits, added a run in the fifth and two
in the seventh, one of which was a home run by Andrea Pastiglione.
Union sophomore Jackie Coffey, who had thrown 132 pitches
while leading the Dutchwomen to a 4-3, 10-inning win over Staten
Island in the tournament opener Friday morning, picked up just her
third career loss in 26 decisions.
Arceneaux, who lost to Moravian,
5-2, on Friday afternoon, was in complete control against Allegheny. She continually got in front of the hitters
and had the Gators completely off stride while finishing with a five-hitter
that included eight strikeouts.
White, who finished the season as the Dutchwomen's top run
producer, drove in her 22nd run of the year in the fourth to snap a
0-0 tie and made it 2-0 in the sixth before Caitlin DelZotto's
single in the sixth proved to be the game-winning hit.
Erika Eisenhut helped build the
Dutchwomen's first run when she was hit with a pitch on a one-ball, two-strike
count (after falling behind two strikes) and promptly stole second. She easily beat the throw home on White's
single to right.
Union scored two in the sixth as Arceneaux, the team's leading hitter, opened the frame with
a single to left and moved to second as Julie Gawronski's
batted ball was booted for an infield error.
White's single plated Arceneaux and Gawronski scored on DelZotto's
hit.
“It was another outstanding season,” said seventh-year head
coach Pete Brown, whose Dutchwomen do not have a senior on the roster. “We fell a little short of achieving our goal
of moving on to the World Series, but a two-year record of 51-12 and the
program's first two trips to the NCAA tournament isn't
too bad. These women will continue to
improve and two trips to the national tournament shows
them exactly what they need to do in the off season if we are to qualify for
the NCAAs again next year and then win the regional
title.
“The entire team should be proud of its accomplishments; I
know Brian (assistant coach Brian Speck) and I are extremely proud of the these women, as people and as players.”