BLOOMFIELD, NJ – The Bloomfield High School varsity softball team certainly opened many people’s eyes late in the season.
Indeed, the young Bengals will be a team to watch for next season, after making strong runs in the county and state tournaments.
The sixth-seeded Bengals gave a solid Morris Knolls team all it can handle in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 state tournament. But second-seeded Morris Knolls, down to their final three outs, rallied with two runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat Bloomfield, 5-4, in a thrilling walk-off game in the semifinals May 25 in Denville.
Head coach Bob Mayer’s Bengals finished their inspiring season with a 17-11 record.
Morris Knolls broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run homer. The Bengals answered with three runs in the top of the fifth to take a 3-2 lead. Morris Knolls responded with a run in the bottom of the fifth to tie it 3-3.
The game went into extra innings. In the top of the 10th, junior Ayana Andrade-Zygmunt hit a RBI sacrifice fly to give the Bengals a 4-3 lead. But Morris Knolls rallied in the bottom of the 10th for the win.
Andrade-Zymunt also had an RBI single in the fifth inning.
One week earlier, the fifth-seeded Bengals lost a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to top-seeded and eventual champion Mount Saint Dominic Academy in the semifinals of the Essex County Tournament.
The Bengals will miss graduating seniors Jalia Santos and Kasey Coury, but return a strong junior class, along with freshmen Lexi Corio, Jamell Quiles and Katie Bretz. Corio, the team’s No. 1 pitcher, emerged as one of the top hurlers in the area. Among the key juniors, along with Andrade-Zygmunt, are Kristina Collins, Rachel Jones, Melissa Marte, Desiree Ramos, Rachelle Ramirez, and Kim Zapata. Other seniors were Giana Lopez, Megan Rumph, and Ashley Montijo.
Bloomfield HS softball team falls to Morris Knolls in 10 innings in section semifinals to end inspiring season added by Joe Ragozzino on
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