The UGals Softball Tournament Champion Black Ice - Front row (left to right): Daniela Saggio, Ashley Lobell, Rachel Yu and Ali Walek; back row: assistant coach Frank Vuono, Meghan Masotti, Dianna Gatto, Megan Beiermeister, Kayla Curtis, Alyssa Cartier and head coachChristy Vuono. Sammie Booth, a player, was not availalble for the photo shoot.
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Photo by Kim Lobell
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Pitchers allow 7 runs in 6 games
as Black Ice (6-0) wins tourney
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BERGENFIELD - Talk about a stingy pitching staff!
The Black Ice U12 travel softball team's three-man pitching staff the team used to win the UGals Softball Tournament held here the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, July 10-11, gave up seven runs on 12 hits in winning all six of its games to win its age-group division.
In those six wins, one was a perfect game, two others were one-hit shutouts, there was one two-hitter and one-three hitter as the Black Ice outscored its six foes, 65 runs to 7.
Megan Beiermeister pitched her second one-hitter of the tournament in a 3-0 victory over Marlboro in Sunday's championship game. It was Beiermeister's second one-hit victory over Marlboro in the tournament.
In earlier games Sunday, Ali Walek gave up five hits in a 14-4 win over Dumont in one of the semifinals; and Sammie Booth kicked off the day's championship run when she pitched a four-inning perfect game in a 25-0 victory over Oradell in a 9 a.m. quarterfinal game.
The Black Ice, sponsored by the Play2Win Academy of Rockaway and coached by academy owner and director Christy Vuono, were also 3-0 in Saturday's seeding games. Booth pitched a three-hitter to open the tournament with a 10-1 victory over the Lady Yellow Jackets; Walek gave up two hits in an 8-2 win over Dumont; and Beiermeister won the third seeding game by one-hitting Marlboro, N.Y., 5-0.
Beiermeister struck out 14 and walked seven in the championship game victory, allowing her only hit with one out in the seventh inning - a grounder between short and third.
The Black Ice scored a run in the second when Dianna Gatto doubled, stole third and scored on a single by Walek and added two in the third when Rachel Yu and Ashley Lobell walked and, after Yu stole third and Lobell took second on Beiermeister's groundout with Yu holding third, Kayla Curtis walked to load the bases and Gatto hit another double to bring in Yu and Lobell with the final two runs of the game.
In the semifinal, Walek had four strikeouts and three walks and gave up two runs in each of the first two innings before the Black Ice broke a 4-4 tie with two third-inning runs and then added eight more runs in the next two innings to end the game after five innings due to the tournament's 1 mercy rule.
Curtis had a double and two singles and drove in two runs and scored four times to lead the Black Ice's 12-hit attack. Alyssa Cartier and Beiermeister each had two singles with Cartier drving in two runs and scoring three times and Beiermeister scoring twice.
Lobell walked three times, had an RBI and scored four runs; Gatto waked twice, drive in two runs and scored twice; Saggio had a single and drove in two runs; Walek had a single and a walk and on RBI; Meghan Masotti had a single and drove in two runs; and Yu walked three times, drove in a run and scored a run.
It was all Booth in the quarterfinal-round win over Oradell as she struck out nine of the 12 batters she faced for her perfect game and was also perfect at the plate as she finished with two doubles, two singles, drove in seven runs and scored three times as the Black Ice finished with 14 hits and benefitted from 15 walks issued by Oradell pitchers.
Cartier drove in four runs and scored three times while reaching twice on singles and once each on a fielder's choice and an error; Lobell had a single, three walks, an RBI and scored four times; Beiermeister had a single, walked twice, drove in three runs and scored four times; Curtis had two hits, two walks, two RBI and scored twice; Gatto had a triple, single, walked once, drove in two runs and scored twice.
Also, Saggio walked three times, drove in two runs and scored a run; Walek singled, walked, drove in two runs and scored once; Masotti walked twice, reached on an error, drove in two runs and scored three times; and Yu singled, walked and scored twice.
On Saturday, Beiermeister's bid for a no-hitter in the third seeding game against Marlbobo was broken up early on a first-inning bunt single. She finished with 14 strikeouts and four walks. Cartier had a single, two RBIs and a run scored; Saggio had two singles and an RBI; Gatto had a single, two RBIs and a run scored; and Curtis had a single, walk and a run scored to lead the offense.
Walek struck out nine and walked four in her two-hit victory over Dumont earlier in the day. She also had two singles and two RBI and had help from Booth, who singled, walked, had a sac fly, drove in two runs and scored a run; and Cartier, who singled twice, drove in a run and scored twice.
In Saturday's 9 a.m. tournament opener, Booth struck out three and walked two and helped herself out at the plate with a single, double, walk, two RBIs and two runs scored. Curtis had three singles, walked once, drove in a run and scored a run; and Gatto had a triple, single, four RBIs and scored two runs to spark a 10-hit attack.
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The players on the Black Ice 12U travel softball team strike a pose with their trophies after being declared the runnerup in the rain-shortened Xtreme Softball Tournament in West Milford. In front, left to right: Daniela Saggio, Ashley Lobell, Rachel Yu and Amanda Delfino; back row: Sammie Booth, Kayla Curtis, Ali Walek, Meghan Masotti, Megan Beiermeister, Dianna Gatto and Alyssa Cartier.
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Black Ice awarded 2nd place
after tourney final rained out
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WEST MILFORD - The Black Ice 12U travel softball team was awarded second place in its division of the West Milford Xtreme Softball Tournament on the weekend of June 12-13 when rain prevented the championship game from being played.
The Black Ice, sponsored by the Play2Win Academy of Rockaway and coached by Academy owner and director Christy Vuono, held a 1-0 lead over Sparta and were batting in the top of the fifth of their American Division semifinal game on Sunday, June 13, when the rains came. After an appropriate wait, the Black Ice-Sparta game was declared official since it went the required four full innings, the tournament was cancelled, and awards given out based on position and seedings.
"We were seeded third in our division after our three seeding games and, had we gone on to beat Sparta in the semifinal, we would have played the No. 1 seed in the championship game," explained Vuono. "With the rest of the tournament rained out, the No. 1 seed was declared our division champ and we were awarded the runnerup trophies."
The Black Ice was 2-1 in their three seeding games played on Saturday, June 12, and then won their quarterfinal and semifinal-round games the next day to finish 4-1 in the tournament and improve their overall 2010 tournament record to 16-7-1.
The Black Ice scored the only run of their semifinal victory over Sparta in the top of the second inning when Sammie Booth led off the inning with a single, stole second and third and scored on Alyssa Cartier's squeeze bunt.
Megan Beiermeister was the winning pitcher, giving up but one hit while striking out five and walking one in four innings of work.
Ali Walek singled for the only other Black Ice hit of the game.
The Black Ice defeated Cornwall, 9-0, in a morning quarterfinal-round game, pounding out eight hits with Kayla Curtis leading the attack with a triple, single and three RBIs. Booth also had a multiple-hit game, finishing with a triple, single and two runs scored.
Cartier had a single, walk and an RBI; Walek had a single and scored a run; Beiermeister had a single and two RBIs; Ashley Lobell had a single and an RBI; Dianna Gatto drove in a run; and Amanda Delfino reached on an error, walked twice and scored three times.
Booth got the win, throwing a five-inning complete-game shutout while allowing four hits, striking out two and walking none.
The Black Ice opened tourney play with a 9-6 victory over the Sparks Black in an 8 a.m. seeding game on Saturday; scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to beat Cornwall, 2-1, in the second seeding game; and then suffered their only tournament loss when Rockland Thunder Blue scored a run in the top of the seventh for a 4-3 victory.
The Black Ice rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth for its win over Sparks. Trailing 6-5, Daniela Saggio led off the inning with a walk, Delfino reached on an error and Beiermeister singled in Saggio and moved into second on the throw home. Gatto followed with a single that drove in Delfino and Beiermeister and Curtis capped the rally with another RBI single.
Beiermeister got the win in relief, coming in for Lobell with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the fourth and allowing no runs on one hit while striking out three the rest of the way.
In the second seeding game, Booth's walk-off single gave the Black Ice their 2-1-run win over Cornwall. Beiermeister opened the bottom of the seventh by reaching on an error and took second when Delfino followed with a single. After Lobell's sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base, Booth delivered her game-winning single.
The Black Ice got its only other hit of the game in the second inning when Booth led off with a single, stole second, was sacrificed to third on a bunt by Rachel Yu and, when the Cornwall catcher dropped a third strike on Curtis, Booth raced home with the run when the catcher threw to first to get out Curtis.
Walek got the win, throwing a seven-inning, complete-game two-hitter with six strikeouts and two walks. Cornwall got its only run of the game in the first when the first batter of the game walked, stole second and third, and scored on an infield out.
In the third seeding game, a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh forced in the winning run for Rockland as the Black Ice suffered their only loss of the tournament.
Trailing 3-1, the Black Ice had tied the score in the bottom of the sixth when Booth singled with one out, stole second, was singled to third by Curtis and, after Curtis stole second base to put runners on second and third, Cartier and Beiermeister followed with back-to-back RBI singles to tie the score at 3-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Black Ice had runners on second and third with two outs but could not score.
Booth had three singles to lead the Black Ice's six-hit attack and Cartier, Beiermeister and Yu drove in the runs.
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Walek no-hitter, Lobell 1-hitter
take Black Ice into title game
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LONG VALLEY - The Black Ice 12U travel softball team reached the championship game of its four-team group at the Atalese Softball Tournament here on Sunday, June 6.
The Black Ice, sponsored by the Play2Win Academy of Rockaway and managed by academy director and owner Christy Vuono, won two of three games in the four-team round-robin seeding round to reach the group title game where it lost to Bridgewater, 3-1, the team that beat the Black Ice in the round-robin portion of the tournament earlier in the day.
"We just weren't on with our hitting this weekend," said Vuono after the championship game. "We were held to seven hits in our two losses to Bridgewater and got only two hits in our win over Vernon."
The pitching was highlighted by Ali Walek's four-inning no-hit 13-0 victory over Long Valley and Ashley Lobell's four-inning, one-hit 10-0 win over Vernon.
In the championship game, the Black Ice scored its only run in its final at-bat when Dianna Gatto reached on an error, stole second, moved to third on Rachel Yu's groundout and scored when Alyssa Cartier followed with a single. Megan Beiermeister and Yu also had singles for the Black Ice earlier in the game.
Walek took the loss, working seven inning and giving up three runs (two earned) on five singles. She struck out five and had no walks.
The Black Ice opened the day with Lobell's one-hit 10-0 victory over Vernon, a game in which the Black Ice got only two hits, building most of their runs around eight walks and three Vernon errors.
Meghan Masotti had one of the hits and two RBIs and Lobell also had a hit, two RBIs and scored two runs. Amanda Delfino scored two runs, reaching on a walk and an error; Kayla Curtis had two RBIs and a walk; Cartier had two RBIs and a run scored; and Dianna Gatto had a walk and a run scored.
Lobell struck out six and walked only one in her four innings of work.
The second seeding game was a preview of the championship game with Bridgewater winning, 3-1, as the Black Ice reaching Bridgewater pitching for only three hits. Delfino led off the game with a walk and eventually stole home for the only Black Ice run. Lobell, Yu, Cartier and Masotti had the Black Ice hits - all singles.
Megan Beiermeister pitched a six-inning complete game in taking the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits while striking out five, walking two and hitting two batters in six innings.
Walek threw her no-hitter in the third and final seeding game, shutting down Long Valley on 10 strikeouts while walking two in the four-inning game halted by the 10-run mercy rule.
The Black Ice had their most productive offensive showing of the day as they finished with eight hits and took advantage of 13 walks issued by Long Valley pitching.
Delfino had a double, three RBIs, walked twice and scored twice; Lobell had an RBI, walked twice and scored a run; Gatto had a double, single, two RBIs, one walk and two runs scored; Yu had an RBI, two walks and scored one; Cartier had a single, two RBIs and walked twice; Curtis had two RBIs and a walk; Walek singled twice and scored twice; and Beiermeister had two singles, two RBIs, a walk and scored twice.
By splitting their four games in the tourney, the Black Ice season record now stands at 12-6-1.
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Black Ice reach semifinals
of Memorial Day tourney
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ROCKAWAY TWP. - One thing opponents learned about the Black Ice 12U travel softball team over the Memorial Day holiday weekend was that the team can't be counted out.
The Black Ice played six games in the Rockaway Rampage Memorial Day Softball Tournament and compiled a 3-2-1 record to reach the semifinal round of the Gold Bracket before being eliminated.
Twice, the Black Ice scored three runs in the final inning to win. The team also staged a two-run rally in its final at-bat to secure the tie. And, in one of the losses, the Black Ice staged a two-run, last-at-bat rally that fell short..
The Black Ice, sponsored by the Play2Win Academy in Rockaway and managed by academy owner and director Christy Vuono, compiled a 1-1-1 record in the seeding round to earn a spot in the single-elimination round as the No. 12 seed. The Black Ice finished 2-1 in the elimination round of the tournament, beating the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds before falling to the No. 1 seed North Jersey Angels, 9-0, in a semifinal game played at Peterson Field on Sunday, May 30.
"We ran into a hot pitcher who moved the ball around and changed speeds to keep us off balance," said Vuono. "She was the best pitcher we saw in the tournament.
"The girls came back very well and I couldn't be happier with the girls making it to the semifinal round.
The Black Ice got but one hit - a single by Dianna Gatto - and made six errors against the Angels, who took a commanding lead early on with a five-run first inning.
The Black Ice loaded the bases with one out in the second inning but couldn't push across a run for its only scoring threat of the game.
In earlier elimination games on Sunday, the Black Ice opened the day's play with a 6 -3 victory over the No. 5 seed New Jersey Heist and followed that up with a 5-3 win over the No. 4 seed N.Y. Panthers in games played at the Dennis B. O'Brien School.
The game against the Heist was tied 3-3 after six innings and, according to tournament rules, the international tiebreak rule went into effect with each half inning after six starting with a runner on second base.
The Black Ice took advantage of three Heist errors - the only errors of the game for both teams - to score three times in the top of the seventh with Amanda Delfino knocking in the winning run. Megan Beiermeister completed her complete-game performance by shutting down the Heist in the bottom half of the inning.
Beiermeister gave up three runs (all earned) on five singles while striking out two and walking four in seven innings of work.
Alyssa Cartier, Meghan Masotti and Gatto each had two hits to lead the Black Ice eight-hit attack. Cartier had two singles; Masotti had a triple, single and an RBI; and Gatto had a double, single, drove in a run and scored a run.
Against the Panthers, the Black Ice again rode a three-run final inning to victory, coming back from a 3-2 deficit in the top of the sixth inning to secure a place in the semifinals.
Ali Walek was the winning pitcher, giving up three runs (one earned) and five hits in six innings while striking out five and walking none.
The Black Ice was also held to five hits with Kayla Curtis doubling in a run and scoring a run to lead the way. Rachel Yu singled and scored a run; Cartier singled, was hit by a pitch and scored twice; Walek had an RBI single; and Masotti had two RBIs and scored a run.
The Black Ice opened tournament play by playing the New Jersey Fusion to a 4-4 tie in the first seeding game at Hibernia Field on Friday, May 8. The team returned to Hibernia Field the next day and lost a 6-4 decision to the Howell Heat in a morning game before completing the seeding round with a 7-4 victory over the Orange County Cyclones to secure the No. 12 seed in the 12-team Gold Division. The top 12 teams were grouped in the Gold Division while the next 12 teams were placed in the Silver Division.
Against the Fusion, the Black Ice scored two runs in its final at-bat (the sixth inning) to earn the tie. Gatto had an RBI triple and Yu drove in Gatto with an infield groundout in the sixth and Gatto and Yu each had RBI singles in the fourth inning after the Fusion had taken a 4-0 lead with a four-run flurry in the third inning
Walek got the complete-game win, striking out 13 and walking five in six innings. Gatto led the Ice's five-hit attack by going 2-for-3 with a single, triple, two RBIs and two runs scored. Daniela Saggio, Cartier and Yu each had singles and Amanda Delfino scored twice.
The Heat led 6-0 after three innings before the Black Ice got on the board with single runs in the fourth and fifth and a two-run rally in the final inning that fell two runs short. Ashley Lobell and Delfino each had two hits; Masotti had a triple; and Cartier, Walek and Beiermeister each had singles. Walek finished with two RBIs while Lobell and Cartier each had one. Beiermeister pitched four inning of relief, allowing one run (earned) on three singles while striking out six and walking only one.
The Black Ice had its most productive hitting game of the tourney in the final seeding game, batting around in the first inning and finishing with nine hits (two doubles) to beat the Cyclones as Walek and Beiermeister shared the pitching duties, each working three innings.
Delfino was 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored; Yu had a single, double and three RBIs; Gatto had an RBI single and scored a run; Cartier had two singles and scored twice; Masotti singled and had two RBIs; Lobell singled and scored a run; and Lindsey Schreiner had an RBI.
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The Black Ice U12 girls travel softball team finished second at the Kittatinny Spring Fling held at Kittatinny on Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16, 2010. The team: front row (left to right): Taylor Masino, Amanda Delfino, Ashley Lobell and Rachel Yu; middle row: Alyssa Cartier, Meghan Masotti, Daniela Saggio and Lindsey Schreiner; back row: Kayla Curtis, Megan Beiermeister, Dianna Gatto and Ali Walek.
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Black Ice U12 girls second
in Kittatinny Spring Fling
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KITTATINNY - The Black Ice U12 girls travel softball team, a first-year elite team sponsored by Play2Win Academy in Rockaway, finished second in its first major tournament, winning five of the six games played at the Kittatinny Spring Fling here during the weekend May 15-16.
The Black Ice, coached by Play2Win owner and director Christy Vuono, went 3-0 in Saturday's play-in games to earn the No. 2 seed in Sunday's eight-team single-elimination portion of the tournament.
The Black Ice won its quarterfinal and semifinal games on Sunday to reach the championship game, where it lost a 6-0 decision to the tournament's top-seeded N.J. Spirit.
The Spirit put the pressure on the Black Ice right away as it scored four times in the bottom of the first inning and the Black Ice never could catch up or score, in spite of finishing with six hits.
Losing pitcher Megan Beiermeister gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits with 10 strikeouts and seven walks. She left the game with one out to go in the bottom of the sixth aggravated a minor ankle sprain while fielding a ground ball. Ali Walek came in and struck out the only batter she faced.
Ashley Lobell, Amanda Delfino, Dianna Gatto, Rachel Yu, Daniela Saggio and Meghan Masotti each singled for the Black Ice in the title game.
The Black Ice also fell behind in their semifinal game, a 2-1 victory over the Rockaway Township Rampage.
The Rampage scored a run in the top of the first and the Black Ice didn't match it until the bottom of the sixth.
The Black Ice pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh when Walek led off with a single, went all the way to third on a bunt single by Alyssa Cartier and scored when the Rampage made an error on a pickoff attempt.
Walek was the winning pitcher with a complete-game three-hitter. She gave up one run (unearned), struck out nine and walked none.
In the first game of the single-elimination portion of the tournament on Sunday, the Black Ice used a 14-hit attack to defeat Mount Olive, 15-5, in a six-inning game cut short by the 10-run mercy rule.
Delfino led the attack by going 5-for-5 (all singles) with four RBIs and three runs scored. Taylor Masino was 2-for-2 with a homer, two RBIs, two walks and three runs scored. Kayla Curtis also had two hits and two RBIs.
Lobell got the win for the Black Ice, throwing a compete-game, six-inning two-hitter with four strikeouts and three walks. All five runs scored against her were unearned.
On Saturday, the Black Ice beat the Lenape Blazers, 7-1, in the first play-in game; blanked host team Kittatinny, 1-0, in the second game; and made it a three-game sweep with a 10-3 victory over Mount Olive in the final game of the day.
Against Lenape, Lobell threw a one-hitter (a fourth-inning double) with five strikeouts and three walks. Yu and Masotti each had two RBIs; Curtis had an RBI single and two walks; andGatto had a triple.
Delfino's walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh brought in Saggio with the only run of the game in the Black Ice's victory over Kittatinny. Walek threw a complete-game two-hitter (both singles) with 13 strikeouts and only one walk for the win.
The Black Ice scored six times in the top of the seventh and final inning to turn a 4-3 game into a seven-run victory over Mount Olive. Curtis had a triple, two RBIs, a walk and scored twice to lead the Black Ice's six-hit attack. Beiermeister went the distance, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits while striking out 13 and walking five.
Notes: The Black Ice will play in the Rampage Memorial Day Tournament on Friday-Saturday May 28-29 ... there are 24 teams in the 12U field ... the Black Ice will play the Jersey Fusion on Friday in a 6:30 p.m. game at Hibernia Field and then play two Saturday games at Hibernia Field, the Howell Heat at 8 a.m. and the Orange County Cyclones at 12:30 p.m. ... the Black Ice is 7-2 so far this spring, winning two of three in the Sparta Spring Warmup before going 5-1 at the Kittatinny Spring Fling ...
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