A rocky beginning transformed into a season of vast improvement for the AL Johnson High School softball team. After a disappointing 1-4 start, the Crusaders played in the semifinal round of the Union County Tournament (UCT), captured the Central Jersey, Group 2 crown, competed in the Group 2 semifinal and finished with a 20-12 record.
The first stumbling block came in their season opener with a highly improved Scotch Plains-Fanwood team that prevailed, 4-2. Next came a 10-3 loss to the Governor Livingston Highlanders. The Crusaders beat Caldwell, 5-1, but lost to the Dayton Bulldogs, 5-2, and Elizabeth, 6-4. The Bulldogs would go on to win the UCT title and finish 22-7.
The Crusaders figured things out a bit and stopped Brearley (5-1), Oak Knoll (5-0) and Westfield (6-2). The Cranford Cougars handed the Crusaders their most humbling loss of the season in an 18-2 thrashing but they regrouped and took it out on the Verona Hillbillies, 21-6. After falling 9-7 to Marlboro, the Crusaders got even with Governor Livingston (134) and Dayton (4-1) then added a 122 win over Union Catholic to bring their record to 8-6.
The Watchung Hills Warriors edged the Crusaders, 2-0, and would later go on to win the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 crown and the Group 4 crown to finish 28-3. A 10-0 win over Union and a 7-1 win over St. Mary (Rutherford) was followed with a 2-0 loss to Elizabeth. The Crusaders beat Westfield again (7-0) and Chatham (10-0) but lost to Cranford again (6-3).
After a 7-2 win over Summit, the Crusaders topped Roselle Park, 5-2, in the UCT first round. A grueling, 10 nine-inning win over Westfield in the quarterfinals was followed by a 30 setback to the SPF Raiders in the semifinals. The Crusaders played lights out in a 13-1 triumph over Edison then dropped an eight-inning, 4-3, game to Bridgewater-Raritan in their season finale.
The chips were down in the Central Jersey, Group 2 Tournament and the Crusaders muzzled the Delaware Valley Terriers, 10-0, in the first round. After jolting Manasquan, 6-4, the Crusaders ousted Governor Livingston, 5-2, to face the Delran Bears for the title. The Crusaders prevailed, 4-3, then fell short to the Gloucester Lions, 5-3, in the Group 2 semifinal. The Lions would go on to beat Ramsey, 3-2, for the Group 2 crown and finish 21-5.
The Crusaders had a fine mix of seniors and underclassmen. Offensively, sophomore Liz Fitzharris led the team with a .415 batting average (BA) going 44-for-106 with a teamleading 39 runs scored and four triples to go with 19 RBI, a double, three home runs and eight walks. Sophomore catcher Liz Yanni had a .404 BA (42-for-104) with a team-leading four home runs and 16 doubles, to go with 32 runs scored, 22 RBI, a triple and six walks.
Senior first baseman/pitcher Krista LaBianca finished .382 (34-for-89) with 24 RBI, 22 runs scored, 11 doubles, a home run and 11 walks. Freshman pitcher Cassie Conforti finished .321 (26-for-81) with a teamleading 28 RBI, 14 doubles (2nd on team), 18 runs scored, three home runs, 11 walks and one hit by pitch. Senior third baseman Madden Puerari had a .311 BA (28-for-90) with 18 RBI, 15 runs scored, seven doubles, two triples and 11 walks.
Senior right fielder Lacy Vill finished .293 (22-for-75) with 14 runs scored, 11 RBI, two doubles, nine walks and one hit by pitch. Senior Shannon Lancellotti had a .269 BA (25-for-93) with14RBI,14runsscored,sixdoubles, triple, eight walks and a hit by pitch. Freshman Addison Meyer was 13-for-54 with seven RBI, seven runs scored, four doubles and four walks. Freshman Gianna Calleja finished with eight singles, five runs scored, four RBI, four walks and two hit by pitches.
With limited plate appearances, freshman Courtney Kilmer had five singles and a double, six runs scored, two RBI and four walks. Senior Isabella Todaro went 6-for-17 (.353 BA) with four RBI, five runs scored and three walks. Junior Gabby Muretta had four singles in 10 atbats, with two runs scored and three walks. Used primarily on defense and as a courtesy runner, senior shortstop Jill Duffy did have three hits in eight at-bats with three RBI, four runs scored and one hit by pitch.
Conforti became the mound ace and in 155.2 innings, yielded 120 hits, 76 runs (46 earned), 42 walks and five hit batters, while recording 167 strikeouts for a 2.07 ERA. LaBianca was on the mound for 53.1 innings and allowed 33 hits, 30 runs (17 earned), 27 walks and nine hit batters, while striking out 28 for a 2.23 ERA.
The Crusaders will graduate several talented seniors but will return a good number of talented underclassmen and a strong pitcher next year.
