JACKSON-The Jersey Assassins 14u travel softball team kicked off their inaugural season in style this weekend, winning their first four games in USABL competition.
Jersey Assassins 15 North Edison Blue Devils 0
On Saturday, in Jackson, Assassins pitchers Skyler LaFisca and Paige Nolan silenced the bats of the North Edison Blue Devils in a double header.
In game one, LaFisca was pitching a perfect game until giving up a last inning base hit. LaFisca struck out 8 over four innings, giving up no walks and the lone hit.
On Offense, the Assassins bats were on fire. Kameko Miraglia led the offensive charge going 3 for 3 with three RBI’s. Christine Giattino drove in 3 runs, Alyssa Apruzzi, Paige Nolan and Alexa Kondas each had two hits and an rbi in the game. The Assassins defeated the Blue Devils in 4 innings, 15-0.
Jersey Assassins 14 North Edison Blue Devils 0
In game two on Saturday, Paige Nolan went the distance, throwing a no-hitter. Nolan also had a perfect game going until the final inning, before giving up two last inning walks. Nolan struck out 11 batters in four innings.
Olivia Minucci led the offensive charge batting 4 for 4 and driving in 3 runs. Miraglia went 2 for three with a two run home run, the program’s first.
C. Giattino went 3-4 with a double and 2 rbis. Erin Stilton, Apruzzi and Alexa Kondas each had two hits. At the plate Nolan helped herself going 3 for 3 with 3 rbi’s.
Jersey Assassins 8 Marlboro Mayhem 7
The next morning the team went on the road to Marlboro to face the Marlboro Mayhem. In the top of the first, the Mayhem took a 2-0 lead, but the Assassins answered back with two of their own in the bottom of the inning after Miraglia drove in Apruzzi on a double to the fence. Miraglia would cross the plate two batters later on a fielder’s choice by Stilton.
The Mayhem scored five unanswered runs in the top of the second, but coming on in relief in the third inning, LaFisca shut down the Mayhem for the next 5 innings.
Marlboro held a 7-2 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning. Leading off the inning, Miraglia almost went deep to center, but a catch at the fence gave the Assassins their first out of the inning. Minucci followed with a line drive base hit to right field. Stilton drove in Minucci with hard line drive that reached the fence, allowing Minucci to score.
The Assassins added one more run in the 5th inning on an rbi single by Jenna Giattino that scored Sophia Peluso.
Going into the last inning=, down 7-4 after LaFisca silenced the Marlboro batters, striking out 4, then Assassins mounted a seventh inning rally that started with a lead off walk by Peluso. J. Giattino followed with a single to left. Peluso came home on a bases loaded walk by Minucci to make the score 7-5 with bases loaded.
With bases loaded, Stilton, batting cleanup, drove a 1-2 changeup the opposite way, clearing the bases, giving the Assassins an 8-7 walkoff come from behind win.
LaFisca threw five innings in relief, giving up no runs and no hits for her second straight win.
Jersey Assassins 8 Marlboro Mayhem 7
In game two on Sunday, Paige Nolan took the mound again, but found herself down 5-0 after two innings as a result of some tough defensive errors, despite delivering strikeouts for 5 of her first 6 outs.
On offense, the Assassins again slowly chipped away, scoring one run in the first inning on a double to center by Stilton. In the second inning LaFisca scored the Assassin’s second run. By the end of the fifth inning, the Assassins made it a 5-4 affair after Nolan began shutting down the Mayhem bats and the defense forgot the errors that plagued them in the first two innings, delivering a flawless defensive performance after the second inning.
In the top of the sixth and final inning, the Assassins mounted another last inning rally that started off with a lead off walk to LaFisca, a Kondas base hit and rbi singles by Miraglia and Minucci. The Assassins scored four runs, making it an 8-5 game.
In the bottom of the inning, Marlboro staged a comeback of their own scoring two runs, one on an infield error, but Nolan threw two strikeouts to end the game, with the final score 8-7. Nolan got the complete game win, striking out an impressive 11 batters.
The Assassins improved their record to 4-0 in the USABL 14u central division. The Assassins, led by Manager Steve LaFisca outscored their opponents 45-14 in their debut weekend.