Lancers’ ‘special season’ brings state championship
Jen Retzer and her St. John Vianney High School teammates won the NJSIAA Non-Public A State championship on June 5, defeating Paramus Catholic High School, 4-1, in the championship game played at Toms River East High School. ERIC SUCAR staff
“I had a feeling we’d have a special season,” she said.
Lombardi certainly knew her Lancers well, because the 2010 season was anything but a failure. The Lancers lived up to their coach’s lofty expectations when they captured the NJSIAA Non-Public A State championship on June 5 at Toms River East High School. The Lancers defeated Paramus Catholic, 4-1, in the final.
A four-run fourth inning broke the game open for SJV. It started with back-to-back singles by Kasey Bulman and Taylor August. A sacrifice bunt by pitcher Jen Retzer turned into a run when the throw to first was wild. Cailin Winokur then struck the big hit of the game, a two-RBI triple that scored August and Retzer to give the Lancers a 3-0 lead. Winokur scored the fourth run on an RBI ground-out by Jane Beriont.
The four runs were more than Retzer needed. She was touched up for a run in the bottom of the fifth, but that was all the damage the Paladins could do.
Retzer tossed a four-hit, nine-strikeout gem in the final to improve to 24-3. The Lancers completed their championship season at 29-3 and the Paladins, the North Jersey NP-A champions, were 23-9.
Retzer, a junior, was one of the big reasons that Lombardi had such confidence in the Lancers. Even with the pitching circle moving back to 43 feet from 40, Retzer had no problem dominating games.
Lombardi pointed out that Retzer had maintained her velocity while some pitchers lost it. And she bore down when she was in trouble.
“She was very dominant,” said the Lancers coach, whose six-year career record is now 142-26. “She has speed and movement. She didn’t give up big hits in big situations.”
When teams hit the ball off Retzer, she had a “very good defense” behind her, Lombardi noted.
Senior Bulman was another key to the team’s title run, SJV’s first since 2004. She was such a great hitter that at the end of the season, when she went 2-for-3, her batting average dropped! Bulman, who is off to Providence College to play field hockey, batted .688 this spring, and it wasn’t a light .688. She cracked 10 home runs and 16 doubles and only struck out three times while cranking out 58 hits. All this was done while being intentionally walked 35 times during the season.
“She [Bulman] worked hard in the offseason,” noted Lombardi. “She’s a linedrive hitter with power.”
The extra offseason work is a tribute to her drive to excel. After all, how many players are going to go the extra mile after a .500 season, which is what Bulman did? Her .500 average as a junior wasn’t good enough for her.
Bulman’s walks would have been higher but for the hitting of cleanup batter August. The sophomore became a dangerous hitter in her own right as her season progressed, and that made it more difficult for teams to put Bulman on base via a free pass.
“She [August] provided protection for Kasey,” said Lombardi.
Lead-off hitter Amanda Durham became an impact player for the Lancers as a freshman. She had 40 hits on the season and 26 stolen bases. She set the table for what was a very tough lineup for pitchers to negotiate. Lombardi pointed out that eight of the Lancers in the starting lineup batted .300 or better.
The Lancers’ only hiccup on the way was in the South Jersey final, where they beat Notre Dame High School, 4-3, in 10 innings. The game was 1-1 through nine innings, and international rules were applied for the 10th. Each team started the 10th with a runner on second.
Notre Dame was able to push two runners across the plate to take a 3-1 lead. But its defense fell apart in the bottom of the 10th, and the Lancers scored three times playing small ball. Two bunts were misplayed, opening the door to the three-run inning. With the score tied 3-3 and the bases loaded, Winokur put down a bunt. The speedy Durham, who was on third, beat the throw home, scoring the winning run.
SJV won four championships this spring, starting with the Shore Conference Class A Central Division. The Lancers beat Middletown South to win the Monmouth County Tournament, then added the state sectional and state group titles to their “special season.” The only title that eluded them was the Shore Conference Tournament, where they lost to rival Red Bank Catholic (a team the Lancers beat three of five times, including the state playoffs) in the final. The state championship more than makes up for that one missed title.
Bulman, fellow senior Nicole Saggiomo and Retzer were the Lancers’ tri-captains.
