South Bergenite area teams started off on the right note as fields across the area screamed "Play ball."
It was especially true for the area baseball teams in Rutherford, St. Mary’s, Lyndhurst and Becton.
While the Gaels lost 2-1 to Group 4 Bloomfield on Sunday, St. Mary’s dominated Bergen Catholic in a 4-2 quality win over a larger non-public school.
Danny O’Neill was dominating on the mound as he struck out 15 and fired a seven-inning complete game.
Offensively, St. Mary’s gave O’Neill all the support he needed in the first inning as they put up all four runs for a 4-0 lead. T. J. Olobardi, Pat Manning and C. J. Gonzalez each had an RBI each.
On the other side of town, Rutherford got off on the right foot with new head coach, Carmen Spina, as they defeated Queen of Peace, 7-3, in a battle of South Bergenite match on Wednesday.
Anthony Frisina had a big day with a home run and five RBI in the season opener for both teams. Pat Saracino also hit a round tripper for the Bulldogs and Jared Skinner hit a home run for the Golden Griffins. Skinner had a pair of RBI for Queen of Peace.
Chris Fichtel picked up the victory as he struck out 14 batters. Skinner took the loss for the Golden Griffins. Rutherford scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull away.
And also about a mile away, pitcher Glenn Flora led the way for Lyndhurst on Wednesday as the Golden Bears defeated Emerson, 6-1, in their season opener. The junior hurler struck out 10 Cavos while Lyndhurst’s offense scored three runs in the first inning that would be enough to back Flora who only gave up two hits. Anthony Dorio and Miguel Molina had a pair of RBI each for the Golden Bears.
In Becton’s opener at home, the Wildcats defeated Cresskill, 9-4, as they held on in East Rutherford on Thursday. O.J. Younes had a big day with three RBI while Matt Fleck had a pair of RBI. Senior pitcher Jeremy Liebeck got the victory for Becton and he added an RBI. German and Hediger added an RBI for the Wildcats in the independent contest.
area teams started off on the right note as fields across the area screamed "Play ball."
Softball
St. Mary’s, Rutherford and North Arlington won their season openers last week as the high school softball season got under way.
In a battle of South Bergenite teams, Rutherford senior pitcher Veronica McGorry threw a three-hitter as the Lady Bulldogs defeated Queen of Peace 8-0, in the opener for both teams.
McGorry also did it with the bat with a home run and five RBI in the Wednesday divisional battle in North Arlington. Jill DeMarco took the loss for Queen of Peace. The difference was the four inning when Rutherford scored seven times. Lindsay Fitzpatrick, Brittany O’Keefe and Alexia Silver all had an RBI each for the Bulldogs.
Looking to rebound this season, St. Mary’s softball team got off on the right foot with a 3-1 win over a quality Emerson team on the road on Wednesday. Lauren Zdanowicz had an RBI double and a run scored to lead the Lady Gaels offense.
Kaitlin Wasylyk had a big day in the circle in striking out three and scattering six hits for the victory in the season opener.
North Arlington is looking to get back to the state playoffs and showed some offensive muscle as the Vikings defeated Kearny on the road, 12-0, on Thursday.
Returning starting pitcher Samantha Veneziano had a very good day as she fired a no-hitter against the Kardinals.
Veneziano also did it with the bat with a pair of RBI. Freshman Karen Dys also had a pair of RBI while Kristen Palatella and Sandy Graca added an RBI each in the season opener. The Lady Vikings scored 10 runs in the first inning to support Veneziano.
