RBC is ready to play for a Lady Buc championship
By paul salus
Staff Writer

FARRAH MAFFAI Red Bank Catholic’s Erin Cusmano shows perfect form while taking a cut during the Caseys’ Parochial A South semifinal loss to St. John Vianney on May 29 in Holmdel.

The Red Bank Catholic softball team is one of the few local teams still competing at this point in the season, much to the delight of head coach Randy Scinto.

Currently holding an 18-6 record, RBC has advanced through the ranks in the Lady Buc Tournament and is set to play one of three possible teams in the final, after defeating Ocean on Monday, 2-0.

Middletown South and Manasquan were set to square off in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, with the winner to get defending champion St. John Vianney in the other semifinal. If the weather cooperates, the championship game is scheduled to be played later today at Red Bank Regional.

Regardless of the opponent today, Scinto is confident his team will be ready.

"We’re winning some games, and we’re playing for the Lady Buc championship," the first-year coach said.

"I’d say that is pretty good. We lost a tough game to Middletown South in the Shore Conference Tournament, but we may get another shot at them."

RBC lost that game to South, 4-3, after beating a quality Manchester team to get there.

"South is the king of the one-run wins. They always seem to pull out the win by one run every game. They’re a really good team, and they are well coached," said Scinto.

On Monday, the Caseys scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning on a clutch single from Natalie Cruz.

With the speedy Kate Marvel on third base with just one out, the Spartans elected to intentionally walk Erin Cusmano to load the bases.

With the infield drawn in, Cruz hit the ball right back at Ocean pitcher Arielle Weinkofsky, who knocked it down, while Marvel and Kalynn Davies scored the game’s only two runs.

The sophomore third baseman’s single was the only hit of the rally, but it was enough to advance the Caseys, as senior Jenna Roper limited the Spartans (18-8) to just two hits.

Roper was really only in trouble once, with runners on first and second with no outs, and the dangerous Weinkofsky at the plate. But she got the Ocean senior to chase a high pitch for strike three, then got a ground out and a fly ball to end the inning.

The solid pitching performance is nothing new for the Caseys, who have been in low-scoring games all season long.

"Both of our pitchers (Roper and Cruz) have been remarkable all season long, and we’ve played tremendous defensively," Scinto said.

"I would say our only weakness all season has been our inability to bring in runners in scoring position. We have left a lot of runners on, and that’s an area we could have improved on."

Although the Caseys have had their trouble scoring runs, there have been some bright spots, starting with the incomparable Marvel. The speedy junior entered Monday’s game hitting at a Shore-leading .567 clip, with 36 hits.

"I expected Kate Marvel to be the great player that she is," Scinto said.

"She’s been hitting really well, and is getting the job done for us."

But Scinto added that while Marvel has been the star, his entire team deserves credit for its play this spring, even before their run in the Lady Buc.

"All of the girls have lived up to my expectations, and I’m proud of their accomplishments," he said.

It sounds like Scinto is enjoying his first season at RBC.