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Quigley gets in one more home run

Quigley gets in one more home run

MONTVILLE _ Elizabeth Quigley wanted to hit one more ball over the fence, to experience the adrenalin rush and have teammates waiting for her at home plate. Quigley, Morris Tech's catcher, achieved her goal by slugging a sixth-inning home run for the Blue Team at the 11th Annual Morris County Senior All-Star Game held on June 12 at Montville Municipal Fields. In her previous two at-bats, Quigley struck out so the two-run blast to right field, which came off a 2-2 pitch, was ultra meaningful. The homer was Quigley's last - in a Morris Tech uniform or any uniform -…
Hanover Park coach Jamie Galioto shows the trophy to his team after it defeated Parsippany for the sectional title.

Hornets garner sectional crown

PARSIPPANY _ It was another joyous moment in the history of the Hanover Park softball program when it defeated Parsippany 12-5 for the North Jersey Section 2, Group II title. The Hornets had a subdued celebration then went to right field to discuss what previously had been prohibited: The fact that their Group II semifinal against Ramsey, slated for 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 31 at Seton Hall University, would start at the same time as the prom. "We haven't mentioned it once because it would have been a distraction," Hanover Park coach Jamie Galioto said. "We knew when the…
Annalee Smith, whose home run boosted Mount Olive over Ridgewood in state tournament action on Friday, May 25, revels in the win with Gabby Grillo and other teammates.

Homer sends Mt. Olive into final

MOUNT OLIVE _ Annalee Smith was seeking redemption for herself and Mount Olive. Last year's result against Ridgewood was still weighing heavily on the mind of Smith, the Marauders' catcher, when she stepped to the plate to open the bottom of the sixth inning with the score tied, 3-3, in a North Jersey Section 1, Group IV semifinal. All she wanted was to get on base. Smith looked over the first pitch, a ball, before homering over the fence in right field. The home run, Smith's first in 48 games, more than fulfilled her wish, sending the third-seeded Marauders to…
Jessica Torch poses with balloons and flowers after getting her 100th hit in late April.

Torch went short in quest for 100 hits

MOUNTAIN LAKES _ The Mountain Lakes softball team was winless when Jessica Torch was a freshman in the spring of 2015. The Lakers posted two victories a year later and four during Torch's junior year. Through it all of Mountain Lakes' struggles, Torch kept hitting. On April 26 versus Villa Walsh, Torch, the senior shortstop who resides atop the Lakers' order, rapped out two hits, including the 100th of her career - a drag bunt - and scored the decisive run when Mountain Lakes recorded a 2-0 shutout in eight innings. "We needed baserunners. It was 0-0 in the top…
Knolls falls to Ridgewood

Knolls falls to Ridgewood

DENVILLE _ The first four innings, all 1-2-3, were the best all season by Morris Knolls pitcher Kayla Turcios. Turcios, a sophomore right-hander, obviously, did not give up a hit for the majority of the North Jersey Section 1, Group IV quarterfinal. The Golden Eagles scored a first-inning run and, for awhile, it certainly seemed like it might just be enough. Ridgewood broke through for a single in the fifth inning and Turcios gave up a walk. Those runners were left on and Morris Knolls was able to cling to its slim lead. In the sixth inning, however, the Maroons…
Katie Preston went the last two innings for Mountain Lakes when it played Boonton on Monday, May 14, 2018.

Zannelli's three RBIs key for Lakers

MOUNTAIN LAKES _ Nikki Zannelli has a hit in every game but one this season yet Mountain Lakes' junior second baseman considered herself in a slump going into the Lakers' game against Boonton. Zannelli felt something was amiss and that led to her being videotaped by Mountain Lakes coach Alison Preston. "Going into our game on Friday, Nikki said 'I don't know what's wrong. I can't hit,'" Preston recalled. The videotape revealed that Zannelli wasn't tracking the ball. Her head was in but her eyes weren't following the pitch. However, after the Lakers' 7-5 victory over Boonton on Monday, May…
The Hornets rush to pitcher Jessica Miller after she made the final out of the MCT final.

Hornets hang on, gain MCT title

ROXBURY _ Hanover Park pitcher Jessica Miller squeezed the popup in her mitt, exhaled and spiked the ball into the infield dirt. Finally, it was over. Miller's stomach turned many times in the top of the seventh inning when Mount Olive cut into the Hornets' once-substantial lead. Eleven batters took their turns at the plate. Five runs scored but fifth-seeded Hanover Park held on for a 9-7 victory over the sixth-seeded Marauders at Landing Park to garner their first Morris County Tournament title in 39 years. "All of the frustration and excitement just came out," said Miller of the celebratory…
Jess Miller belted two home runs and singled for Hanover Park in its 21-1 win over Parsippany in MCT semifinal action on Saturday, May 5.

Miller leads Hornets into MCT final

ROXBURY _ It clearly wasn't Jenna Devens' night and that pained Hanover Park's senior ace Jess Miller. "I'd be terrified to be in this position as a freshman," Miller said of Devens, Parsippany's first-year pitcher who was making her debut in the Morris County Tournament semifinals. "It's a lot. I felt bad. I guess we all have our days." Although it wasn't Devens' day, the MCT semi was certainly one to remember for Miller, who had three hits, including two home runs, and fired a four-hitter to highlight Hanover Park's surprising 21-1 win over top-seeded and defending champion Parsippany on…
The Marauders celebrate Annalee Smith's game-winning hit. Mount Olive edged Randolph, 3-2, in eight innings in a MCT semifinal on May 5, 2018.

Smith, Mt. Olive jar Rams in semis

ROXBURY _ Annalee Smith, perturbed by her lack of hitting, decided, literally and figuratively, to take the gloves off. The phrase means to not hold anything back and that's exactly the approach that Smith, Mount Olive's catcher, decided she had to take with two outs, the score tied and a runner on first base in the bottom of the eighth inning. Smith, admittedly superstitious, gripped her bat with her bare hands and ripped a first-pitch offering down the third-base line to knock in pinch runner Brianna Segnello with the winning run when the sixth-seeded Marauders edged seventh-seeded Randolph 3-2 in…
Parsippany catcher Alivia Mercuro tags out Kinnelon's Sierra Jacko in the sixth inning of an MCT quarterfinal-round game on Saturday, April 28.

MCT quarterfinals

PARSIPPANY _ Freshman Rachel Volarich is considered Parsippany's eighth or ninth best hitter. That sounds like a harsh assessment but it is not at all an insult. The Red Hawks' lineup is laden with consistent batters. There's no particular reason why Volarich is No. 9 in the order. On Saturday, April 28, Volarich had three hits, one of them a ground-rule double to left field that knocked in two runs in the five-run fifth inning, to help top-seeded and defending champion Parsippany to a 9-8 come-from-behind victory over ninth-seeded Kinnelon in Morris County Tournament quarterfinal-round action. "It's a compliment to…
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