LADY BEARS ROMP TO 2006 HUDSON VALLEY CONFERENCE SOFTBALL TOURNEY TITLE WITH SWEEP OF NEW ROCHELLE (9-1) AND ST. ELIZABETH (11-3)
HEALY NOTCHES MVP AWARD WITH 2 WINS, 4 RBI’S IN LEADING SJC TO THEIR 2ND HVWAC CHAMPIONSHIP
What a difference a month makes ! In early April, the Lady Bears could not have been in a more dire position, sitting with a 1-9 record and all hope appearing lost on even attaining a .500 mark, let alone winning a conference championship. Usually ever the optimist, even three-time Coach of the Year Frank Carbone was, in his words, “starting to think about next year”. However, Senior pitcher / shortstop Kristin Healy had other thoughts in mind. “There was no way that I was going to end my St. Joe’s career with a losing record – I was going to do everything in my power to not let that happen !”, reflected a brash Healy. Well, Healy’s prediction certainly proved as accurate as one of her patented fastballs, as she literally put the team on her back and carried the Lady Bears to their 2nd Hudson Valley Conference Title in the past 3 seasons with a dominating performance in the HVWAC championship tournament. St. Joe’s won their semi-final match-up vs. the College of New Rochelle by a 9-1 score and followed that up with a convincing win against the College of St. Elizabeth, 11-3, to capture the 2006 HVWAC Tournament Championship. Healy provided the decisive blows throughout the sweep, both on the mound and at the plate as she pitched 2 complete games and paced the St. Joe’s offensive attack with 3 hits, 4 runs scored and 4 RBI’s. For her efforts, Healy was named the MVP of the tournament, but she was the first to give her teammates all of the credit. “We all brought our ‘A’ games to the table today”, exclaimed a jubilant Healy, “and our hard work and determination paid off in the end – we all truly believed we could win the whole thing !”
In opening the day with a semifinal win over New Rochelle, Healy pitched 5 innings to record her 11th win of the season and added 2 hits and 2 RBI’s. She was joined in the hit parade by fellow All-American centerfielder Lynette Reyes (2 hits, 2 runs scored), first baseman Kaitlin O’Neill (2 RBI’s) and leftfielder Theresa Mendez (2 hits, 2 runs). In the championship game, St. Joe’s stormed back from a 3-0 first inning deficit and exploded for 9 runs over the next two innings to overwhelm the #2 seeded Eagles from the College of St. Elizabeth (NJ) by a score of 11-3. Among the star performers were shortstop C.J. Kavanagh, who drove in 4 runs, including a huge 2 run blast to break open a close game in the 2nd inning. Healy continued her brilliant efforts by hurling a 2nd consecutive complete game to earn her 12th win and added a hit and 2 RBI’s as well to seal the championship game victory. The title capped off quite a season for both Healy and the aforementioned Reyes, who teamed up to merit USCAA National First Team All-American honors and secure HVWAC All-Conference selections to close out their impressive collegiate softball careers. Perhaps Reyes summed it up the best when she added, “while it was certainly nice to receive recognition for our individual accomplishments, the only thing that we both really wanted to end our careers with the conference championship !”
After starting off with just one win in their first 10 contests, it was truly an uphill climb for the Lady Bears, but Coach Frank Carbone never let them get down on themselves. “I knew we had the talent to overcome the rough start – but the challenge was getting them to believe it !” And did they ever…the Lady Bears almost immediately went on a tear, winning 17 of their final 21 games to not only complete a perfect Hudson Valley Conference regular season campaign, but capture the tournament title as well. “This was an incredibly satisfying season on a number of accounts,” added Carbone, “but my girls truly showed the heart, grit and determination necessary to overcome every obstacle and win when it counted the most !” The Lady Bears received big contributions from their veterans throughout the year, not only from Healy and Reyes, but from fellow Senior and utility specialist Laurie Hartwig along with Juniors Kavanagh, O’Neill and All-Conference backstop Kristen Izzo. This nucleus led a tremendous offense that averaged over 6 runs per game and combined to hit a shade below .300 on the season. In fact, both Reyes (.492) and Healy (.453) were a veritable Murderer’s Row in the line-up, leading the team in just about every major offensive category.
While the loss of these two juggernauts will certainly be hard to replace, the Lady Bears will be counting on big contributions not only from Izzo, Kavanagh and O’Neill, but from a solid core of underclassmen, particularly sophomore hurler Ryan Vasquez and freshman outfield sensation Theresa Mendez. For now though, St. Joe’s will spend some time enjoying the fruits of the labor, as indicated by outgoing Senior Laurie Hartwig’s comments. “I am so happy that all of our hard work paid off with the title,” added a cheerful Hartwig, “and I’m so proud and will always cherish the fact that we battled back and truly left a lasting mark on the SJC softball program – but I can’t wait to come back and see what this next group is going to accomplish !” Three cheers to the Lady Bears…and hopefully a shot at a third title in 2007 and beyond !!!