Mount St. Dominic softball beats Pope John to win third straight sectional title
Mount St. Dominic softball beats Pope John to win third straight sectional title
Nick Gantaifis
NorthJersey.com
CALDWELL − Gianna Stern felt right at home.
Playing in her final home game on Tuesday afternoon, the Mount St. Dominic senior entertained the hometown crowd and created memories that will last forever.
Stern’s three hits and five RBIs provided the firepower in the Lions' 10-0 win over Pope John in six innings in the North Non-Public A final in Essex County. It’s the Caldwell parochial school’s third straight sectional title and fifth in the last six seasons.
Mount St. Dominic (30-1) advances to Thursday’s Non-Public A title game for the third straight year, where it will meet defending champion St. John Vianney (25-1) at 6 p.m. at Kean University. St. John Vianney defeated Notre Dame, 3-0 in Monday’s Non-Public A South final.
Stern, a four-year starter for the Lions and the daughter of longtime coach Rob Stern, hit the go-ahead two-run double in the third inning, a leadoff home run in the fifth, and a two-run single in the sixth as MSDA extended its win streak to 28 games.
“It was really important for me to play well, especially since it’s the last time playing on this field with my dad as my coach,” Gianna Stern, a Monmouth commit, said. “We’re a very young team and it helps that the younger players don’t know about the pressure at this time of the season. The seniors have taken the team under our wing and we’ve let them know that we’ve got this.”
Freshman pitcher Ava Kelshaw kept Pope John’s lineup in check, surrendering just one hit while striking out six to earn the win. She helped her own cause, collecting two hits, with the highlight a solo home run to left field in the fourth inning to put the Lions ahead, 4-0.
“Getting to this point is something we all expected before the season started,” Kelshaw said. “My first year of high school has been a great experience. We’re looking to finish strong on Thursday.”
MSDA banged out 11 hits in total.
What it means
Mount St. Dominic is sectional champions for the third straight year.
The Lions will play in their 13th state final in program history on Thursday and take aim at their first state crown since defeating Immaculata in the 2014 Non-Public A championship.
“To come out and do what we did in the fashion we did is a tribute to the season that we’ve had. I don’t think we left a doubt that we were the better team,” Rob Stern said. “In all aspects of the game, we played great defense. Ava [Kelshaw] pitched well and only gave up one hit. We hit in timely spots and in big spots. There isn’t a spot where I can say we played bad. To beat anyone in state tournament play and to have a knockout, is incredible.”
Pope John, playing in its first state sectional final since 2015, closes out the campaign with a 19-9 record.
Key stretch
Scoreless heading into the bottom half of the third inning, MSDA got on the board when Stern hit a one-out, two-run double to center field to plate senior Naya Martinez (3-for-4, one run) and sophomore Jillian Cianfrocca.
Martinez, a Seton Hall commit, reached base when she doubled to center field with one out. Senior Olivia Bibbo hit a hard ground ball to shortstop and reached base on an error forcing in Stern for the third run of the inning.
“Our three seniors are three of the greatest kids I’ve ever coached, in any sport. Obviously, I’m close to them because Gianna is my daughter and her two best friends are Naya and Bibbo. They’re just warriors, old-school kids from great parents that have coached them very hard over four years in your face and they responded,” Stern said. “Like I said at our team dinner the other night, they love Mount St. Dominic’s. They love softball, but there’s a pride factor for them winning with a Mount jersey. It means something to them.”
The Lions broke it open in the sixth with five runs. Freshman Natalia Marecki lined an RBI triple to right field, Stern singled on a line drive to plate two more and Bibbo forced in the final two runs when she reached on an error on a hard ground ball to shortstop.
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