Belleville HS softball team defeats Irvington

BELLEVILLE – Kristan Lombardi went 2-for-4 with one double, three RBI and one run and Kaila Fried pitched a five-inning three-hitter with three strikeouts and three walks to lead the Belleville High School varsity softball team to a 17-2 win at Irvington on April 25 in a Super Essex Conference-Colonial Division game.

Freid also had a hit and an RBI. Karen Wong drove in three runs; Breanna Nieves had two hits and two RBI and Jasmine LaTorre had a hit and an RBI as the Bucs improved to a 7-4 overall record, 6-2 in the division. The Bucs are in third place in the division behind first-place Millburn (7-0 division record) and second-place Newark East Side (8-1 division)

In their previous game, the Bucs lost to New Providence, 6-5, in eight innings, April 23, in non-conference action at the Carl Corino Softball Complex at Clearman field. New Providence won it on a homer by Elizabeth Mohan, her second homer of the game.

The Bucs officially dedicated the field in Corino’s honor that day. Corino was the BHS softball coach, who guided the team to a remarkable 507-191 record  in 25 years (1980-1993 and 1995-2005), including three Essex County Tournament championships, 12 ECT finals appearances and two state tournament championships. In 2002, he became the state’s all-time winningest coach, a distinction he held for two seasons.

Luciana Gilfone went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run; Sydney Gomez went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run and Lombardi went 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs to lead the Bucs to an 11-4 win at Bloomfield Tech on April 20 in a SEC-Colonial Division game. Gianna Benacquista went 2-for-5 with a run. Kara Sica struck out 12 and allowed three earned runs on four hits for the win.

The Bucs lost to Newark East Side, 9-1, at Corino Softball Complex/Clearman Field on April 22.