Jun 03, 2010
Caseys repeat

By Robert Ziegler APP STAFF WRITER June 2, 2010

WALL  Kristin Travers' first season as Red Bank Catholic's No. 1 pitcher had its share of ups and downs.
On Wednesday, the junior ended things on a high note.
Travers threw a five-hitter, and Sam Bowlsbey hit a two-run home run to lead the fourth-seeded Caseys to a 4-0 victory over second-seeded St. John Vianney in the Shore Conference Tournament final at Wall High School.
The SCT title is Red Bank Catholic's second in a row.
Travers' performance came three days after she limited Middletown South to a run on four hits in the semifinals. Both St. John Vianney and Middletown South will be playing for state titles on Saturday in Toms River.
Those victories were the culmination of a season that saw Travers learn on the job after pitching sparingly behind former Caseys ace Brittany O'Donnell the past two seasons. Travers battled control problems at times, but seemed to settle in later in the season and issued just one walk against the Lancers on Wednesday.
"The more games she played, the more confident she got. The more pitches she threw, the more comfortable she felt," Caseys coach Tracey Yarosz-Lombardi said. "And the support the whole year from the team . . . no matter her ups or her downs, her teammates were always there for her, cheering for her."
In her final 14 innings, Travers gave up one run on nine hits against two of the state's best teams. She struck out two in the championship and benefited
from some fine defensive play by Red Bank Catholic's infield.
Kristen Berger and Alana DiMaso turned 4-6-3 double plays in the first and fourth innings, and in the fifth, third baseman Marie Flego fielded a hard-hit grounder by Amanda Durham, held the runner at third and threw out Durham for the second out.
Travers got Nicole Saggiomo to ground back to her for the last out in the fifth and retired the heart of St. John Vianney's lineup in order in the sixth before working around a leadoff single by Cailin Winokur in the seventh.
"I was really pumped up. I really wanted to win for the seniors because I love them all and this was their last game," said Travers, who also singled and scored ahead of Bowlsbey on the left fielder's two-run shot to center in the second.
"In the beginning (of the season), I was a little shaky, but going along I got more focused," she said. "I could relax a little more and by the end, I was fine."
Bowlsbey hit a soft liner over Lancers pitcher Jen Retzer that landed between shortstop Kasey Bulman, who went 0-for-2 with a walk, and Winokur, the second baseman, and Jess Long scored from second to give the Caseys a 3-0 lead in the third.
They added a run in the sixth, when Dakota Canta and Gabby Klecko each reached on errors with one out and DiMaso drove in a run with a groundout to short. Red Bank Catholic had lost three consecutive games to the Lancers this season.
"(Retzer) threw an inside pitch and I watched one go by, and I was hoping she'd place it there again," Bowlsbey, who went 2-for-3, said of the homer. "A base hit, that's all I was hoping for, and it went over. I just got lucky with that one today."
The Lancers must regroup for Saturday's Non-Public A final against Paramus Catholic.
"This game's over, it's in the past. We can't worry about this game, it's over with," St. John Vianney coach Kim Lombardi said. "On Saturday we're playing for the state championship. Right now that's more important. They were the better team today. They won. That's the way it came down."
Red Bank Catholic's victory marked the fourth consecutive year a team eliminated from the state tournament defeated a group finalist in the SCT final. The past two losers  Middletown South last season, Red Bank Catholic in 2008  went on to
win state titles in their next games. Toms River East lost both the SCT and Group IV finals in 2007.
The 2004 St. John Vianney team that went 33-0 was the last team to win both the SCT and a state title in the same season.