CEDAR GROVE, NJ- Arthur L. Johnson High School junior Nicole Pecoraro and sophomore Megan Tinger have continued to add to their impressive starts to the 2018 season as the Crusaders took to the field for the second matchup of the Cedar Grove Tournament against the DePaul High School (Wayne) Spartans.
On the mound, Pecoraro shone through her third start to the season and Tinger drove in five runs with two big hits, including a two-run single and a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to give Johnson a 7-1 lead, looking like they were going to be on their way easily to a Cedar Grove Tournament sweep on the day.
Pecoraro recorded eight strikeouts and handcuffed DePaul’s lineup through five innings before the game got close. Tinger’s big day at the plate would pay dividends with DePaul not ready to concede as the game shifted to the top of the sixth inning.
DePaul senior starting pitcher Summer Ramundo, who got rocked by the Johnson offense on the mound, started the rally with a two-run home run to deep center field to cut the lead to 7-3. With a few weird bounces in the infield on groundballs, the Spartans were coming back at a rapid pace.
Three straight RBI singles from Bianca Muscato, Dom Corio and Laila Aponte suddenly cut the lead to 7-6 and the tying run now on base, turning a likely win into a situation where a base hit could tie the game and make things tougher for the Crusaders.
“We talk about [adversity and tight situations]. In [the top of the sixth inning], they got us,” Johnson head coach Chris Di Nucci said. “They got a couple of nice shots, then they got a couple that went their way. A mistake here and there and they’re back in the game, but we’re resilient.”
Despite the runs continuing to come in for the Spartans, Pecoraro got the final out to keep the slim lead intact as the game went to the bottom of the sixth inning.
“Knowing that even though [DePaul] hit it, my infield and my outfield were going to have my back and pick each other up after everything,” Pecoraro said of the DePaul rally. “Having confidence in myself and staying positive throughout the whole thing.”
In the top of the seventh inning, DePaul looked for the tying run. Ramundo led off the inning with a single and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt, but Pecoraro induced a flyout and a called strike three as the Crusaders weathered the storm to get the final outs to secure a 7-6 win over the Spartans Saturday afternoon.
“[Those innings showed] that under pressure, we’re able to calm ourselves and get what we need done and to pull away a win in the end,” Johnson senior Nicole Cassano said of her team’s handling of the DePaul five-run sixth inning.
Di Nucci praised his players for handling the tougher times of the game, adding the tougher, closer games could help them in the long run of how to go about getting through those games.
“A part of the reason why we want to play good teams all the time is to get in tight games like that where there’s pressure on you to get ready for those games. We’re going to see that,” Di Nucci said.
“We have a tough conference, so we play tough teams all the time,” he added. “We have a tough county and a tough section, so we’re going to see tough teams like that across the board, so it’s good we’re battle-tested.”
On the mound, Pecoraro dazzled through the first five innings. She scattered five hits and only allowed a fourth-inning RBI single, but kept the Spartans off the bases before the crazy end-of-game rally which she and the team halted to secure a Cedar Grove Tournament sweep.
Overall, she finished the game with eight strikeouts, scattering seven hits, allowing four earned runs (six total) and allowing only one walk to improve to 3-0 on her season.
When Johnson came up to the plate in the bottom of the second inning, senior Nicole Cassano secured a two-out walk and junior Victoria Zatko drove her home with a deep flyball for an RBI triple to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead. Johnson broke it open in the bottom of the third inning at the plate. After senior Jen Tinger and sophomore Lia D’Angelo reached base on misplays in the infield, they went to work.
Zatko walked to load the bases for senior Lauren Donah, who laced a 1-1 pitch to left field to score Tinger, giving Johnson a 2-0 lead. Tinger stepped to the plate and swung at the first pitch she saw to get the base hit, scoring D’Angelo and Zatko, making the game 4-0 Johnson.
“It was nice to see everybody was able to make plays, even when they messed up, we were able to pick our heads up and pick it up with the bat,” Cassano said.
The Johnson Crusaders (7-2) return home to take on Westfield HS Monday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
The DePaul Spartans (2-8) go back on the road to play at Passaic Tech HS Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
