By Wayne Witkowski
Jackson Memorial High School’s softball team is leaving a solid first impression that it is tournament ready.
Coach Chris Roma’s Jaguars opened play in the Ocean County Tournament May 7 rolling past Barnegat High School, 10-0, as Angelo Lopiccolo drove in four runs and Toni Aguiar pitched a two-hitter with five strikeouts and two walks.
Sam Herceg and Jordy Calderon each drove in two runs, and Gianne Palmieri and Abigail Reist each batted in one.
The victory set the Jaguars’ record at 8-4 as they resumed Shore Conference A South Division play with games scheduled on three consecutive days against Brick Memorial High School May 8, Brick Township High School May 9 and at Toms River High School East May 10.
The Jaguars, who are 7-4 in their division, were looking to avenge tough losses to both Brick teams and to again beat Toms River East, as they did in a 2-0 victory last month.
“The games we lost were our fault with errors we committed,” said Calderon, a senior third baseman headed to the University of South Alabama who leads the team with a .439 batting average and 12 RBIs. “Our hitting has been a strength, coming through in difficult situations sometimes. That’s what we can fall back on for tournaments and if we don’t commit errors, we’ll be able to win those games.”
Of the 38 runs allowed, just 16 are earned. But Calderon feels her team can leave that behind.
“I think we’re really ready for them,” Calderon said of the tournament games.
That defense in the infield includes junior Breanna Sorochka at first base, sophomore Gianna Palmieri at second base, senior Jill McGuinness at shortstop and Calderon at third. Jamie Sheeran has measured up to her challenging role as a freshman starting at catcher and also bats a solid .361 with six RBIs.
Reist anchors the outfield in center field with fellow sophomore Lopiccolo in left field and senior Herceg in right. Herceg bats .324 and is second on the team in RBIs with 10.
As for pitching, Aguiar, a junior, has a 0.98 ERA with 15 unearned runs among the 23 she has allowed coming into this week’s schedule. In 60 innings, she has allowed 55 hits with 46 strikeouts and 13 walks. She also helps herself at the plate with a .375 batting average, which is second best on the team, and six RBIs.
Sorochka has pitched 18 innings with 15 runs allowed, with eight of them earned. She has 13 strikeouts and two walks.
