Young Jefferson trying to conquer MCT softball

Gaining experience with every game, a Jefferson squad bolstered by a youth movement is hoping to live up to the expectations that come with the No. 2 seed in the Morris County Tournament.

Freshman Alyson Hine belted a two-run homer in the sixth inning to provide the decisive runs in a 14-13 first-round victory over No. 15 Morris Hills, sending the Falcons into Saturday’s quarterfinal.

With two freshmen and two sophomores in the everyday lineup, Jefferson got off to an 8-1 start, before stumbling a bit and losing four of its next five games before defeating Morris Hills.

“We got off to a good start, as inexperienced and young as we are,” Falcons coach Nick DeGennaro said. “Because we’re young, we will make some mistakes but hopefully we will get better each week.”

Hine, who starts at third, has made an instant impact, hitting .440 with one home run and 14 RBI. Katie DeBell, another freshman, has done a stellar job at second base and has bolstered the bottom of the batting order by hitting .364 with 13 RBI.

Sophomore Clare Bohn, who got her first taste of varsity action as a courtesy runner last season, is a slap hitter who starts in left field. She is batting .321 and has scored 15 runs. A backup pitcher and designated player last season, sophomore right fielder Isabel Seise is hitting .388 and leads Jefferson in home runs (three) and RBI (21).

Freshman pitcher Alexa Pettit shares time in the circle with senior Gabby Puglis. A hard thrower, Pettit is 4-2 with two shutouts and 40 strikeouts in 41 innings.

Captains Amanda Delfino, Kayla Weber, Dianna Gatto and Puglis are providing leadership and stability for the youngsters.

Delfino, a senior centerfielder, has handled 23 chances without an error and has two outfield assists. Weber, a senior first baseman, is hitting .451 with seven doubles and 18 RBI and has drawn a team-leading 11 walks. Puglis, a senior southpaw, is 4-3 with one shutout and one save. Gatto is a senior catcher who is hitting .571 with 16 RBI.

“The four captains have been terrific in building a positive attitude and being good leaders for our young team,” DeGennaro said. “Gabby has done a good job of tutoring Alexa and they really work together and have a good chemistry. The two of them offer us great balance because Alexis is a power pitcher and Gabby is a finesse pitcher. They are competing together instead of with each other. We’re still a team that’s finding ourselves and we’re attacking every game as a way to get better. With a young team, confidence is the issue and confidence only comes with experience and success.”

MCT quarterfinals set

Saturday’s quarterfinal round is set, with top-seeded Butler hosting No. 9 Pequannock at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs dispatched 16th-seeded Morristown-Beard, 12-0. Pequannock rolled to a 15-1 defeat of eighth-seeded Whippany Park in the first round.

No. 12 Mount Olive knocked off fifth-seeded Chatham, 8-2 and will square off at 4 p.m. against fourth-seeded Morris Knolls, which advanced to a quarterfinal with a 7-4 victory over No. 13 Morristown.

Jefferson will host seventh-seeded Parsippany, an 11-7 victor over No. 10 Mendham, at 2 p.m.

In a matchup of long-shots, 11th-seeded Madison will play host to 19th-seeded West Morris at 3 p.m.. The Dodgers dispatched No. 6 Kinnelon 2-0. After earning an 11-2 preliminary victory over 14th-seeded Randolph, West Morris knocked off No. 3 Montville, 6-1, behind Nicole Frank’s six-hitter.

Milestones

Congratulations to Montville’s Rachel Inglesino. The senior went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI and collected her 100th career hit in a 12-3 loss to Butler last Saturday.

TOP 10

1. Butler (13-1)

2. Morris Knolls (13-3)

3. Jefferson (10-5)

4. Madison (7-5)

5. Kinnelon (8-4)

6. Pequannock (9-7)

7. Chatham (9-4)

8. Morristown (8-5)

9. Mount Olive (8-6)

10. West Morris (6-8)