Lexi Corio
BLOOMFIELD, NJ (updated Monday June 12, 4:44 p.m.) – The Bloomfield High School varsity softball team featured seven players who have earned All-Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division honors.
They include:
First Team
• Jalia Santos, senior
• Kristina Collins, junior
• Kasey Coury, senior
Second Team
• Ayana Andrade-Zygmunt, junior
• Lexi Corio, freshman pitcher
Honorable Mention
• Jamell Quiles, freshman
• Rachel Jones, junior
The Bengals, under longtime head coach Bob Mayer, enjoyed an impressive 17-11 season. They reached the semifinals of both the Essex County Tournament and NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 state tournament in which they lost to Mount Saint Dominic, 1-0, in eight innings and lost to Morris Knolls, 5-4, in 10 innings, respectively.
Santos, a senior shorstop, had 44 RBI to break the single-season school record. The old record of 43 was held by Bengal great Sarah Prezioso.
Santos batted .447 and tied for first on the team in hits with 42. She had seven homers and 22 runs scored.
Collins, a junior center fielder, batted .438 and tied with Santos in hits with 42. She led the team in both doubles (12) and runs scored (32). Collins was a solid leadoff hitter as she walked 17 times and had an .522 On-Base Average.
Andrade-Zygmunt, a junior second baseman, batted .338 with 27 hits, 18 RBI and 26 runs scored in the No. 2 position in the lineup.
Quiles, a freshman third baseman, batted .326 with 30 hits and 25 RBI in the cleanup spot.
Coury, a senior catcher, batted .317 with nine RBI in the No. 5 spot. An excellent defensive catcher, she threw out 11 of 22 base-stealers.
Desiree Ramos, a junior left fieler, batted .258 with nine RBI and 12 runs scored.
Kim Zapata, a junior right fielder, batted .267 with six RBI and 18 runs scored in the No. 9 spot.
Ashley Montijo, a senior Designated Hitter, batted .333 with eight RBI.
Corio, a freshman pitcher, went 15-8 with a 2.40 ERA. She held Mount Saint Dominic scoreless in the ECT semifinals before giving up an unearned run in the eighth inning. She also had solid outings against Ridgewood in the quarterfinals and Morris Knolls in the semifinals in the sectional tournament.
Indeed, Mayer was extremely proud of his team.
“We improved tremendously as the season went along,” said Mayer. “I am very happy with that. We were able to compete with some of the best teams around.”
Next season will be tough, as the team will miss graduating seniors Santos, Coury and Montijo, along with moving up to the SEC-American Division, which is the highest division of the conference.. But with a good returning nucleus, the Bengals have reason to feel optimistic for another successful season.
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