Blues win junior college national championship

FILE PHOTO Brookdale’s Marissa Busch shows off the form that earned her the MVP at the National Division III Junior College Championships.

At long last, Brookdale Community College’s women’s softball team is a national champion.

Bo Scannapieco’s eighth trip and seventh in a row to the National Junior College Division III Championships culminated in the Jersey Blues finally snatching top honors, and in the process becoming the first athletic team from Brookdale to win a national title.

"I’m still basking in the championship," said Scannapieco, who was named the tournament’s Coach of the Year. "It was a great feeling and a little bit of a relief, too.

"The kids really performed well," he added. "They did everything they had to do."

Brookdale beat Hudson Valley of Troy, N.Y., 2-0, in the final on May 18 at Joliet, Ill., with the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, Marissa Busch, hurling a one-hit shutout.

"This will do wonders for the school and help the athletic program overall," said Scannapieco. "We have a lot of very good teams at the school.

"I think we’re the darlings of the Brookdale fans," added the veteran coach. "We’re a blue-collar team. We’re perceived as the underdog and we have lots of support from our fans."

All-American shortstop Amanda Smith knows the importance of the national championship. She was a starter on last year’s team which made it to the tournament but came home without the title.

"It’s such a big accomplishment for the team and the school," she said. "It’s just so exciting."

Busch, the all-American hurler, was 13 years old when her sister, Chere Busch, was a first baseman on the BCC team that competed in the national championships. That made Busch, just a freshman, aware of what a win last weekend would mean to Brookdale.

"It’s makes me so proud to be a part of the team that won the school’s first national championship," she said.

After picking up his seventh straight Region XIX title and the automatic bid to the national championship, Scannapieco said he had a good feeling about his 2002 squad.

"I’ve never had two pitchers (Busch and DeVincenzo) like this before," he said. "They are very talented, throw hard and complement each other.

"Marissa is in and up with her screwball and riser, while Dara is low and away with her drop curve and change-up," he added. "They have contrasting styles, which makes them more effective."

Rather than a rivalry or jealousy, the duo simply matched shutout for shutout and win for win as they inspired each other.

"We were very compatible," said DeVincenzo. "We got stronger as the year went on and we both worked hard."

Scannapieco stuck with a rotation throughout the season and playoffs of alternating his pitchers’ starts. He didn’t go with a hunch or who was hot. Each knew when they would be throwing.

"It worked out perfectly," Busch said. "Dara and I got along well."

A combined 43-9 record and 29 shutouts is all the proof one needs to know that it worked out perfectly for Brookdale.

Upon arriving in Joliet, Scannapieco had an even better feeling about his Jersey Blues.

"The conditions we played in were very arduous," he said. "It was cold and the wind was blowing. When we played at 7 p.m. on Friday, it was 39 degrees and the wind was 20 miles per hour. It was very, very tough to play in. It was not very conducive to the offense."

That suited the Blues just fine, with the tournament’s best pitching tandem. In the five tournament games, Busch and DeVincenzo threw three shutouts and permitted just three runs, of which only one was earned. Pitching like that will bring it home every time.

Brookdale, which went to the nationals riding a 28-game winning streak, stretched it to a school record 31 straight by winning three games on May 17 to advance to the finals.

Brookdale beat Delta College (Mich.) 1-0 in the opener behind Busch, and then blanked Rochester Communications and Technology (Minn.) 8-0 behind DeVincenzo. The Blues dispatched the College of DuPage (Ill.) at night, 5-2.

Hudson Valley advanced through the loser’s bracket to meet the Jersey Blues in the double-elimination final.

Brookdale did not take advantage of the opportunity to nail the championship down on the first try as the Blues saw their 31-game winning streak snapped in a 1-0 loss.

Brookdale, however, was undaunted.

"We knew that there was still another game," said Busch. "How many times do you get a second chance? Everybody was intense and ready to go in the second game."

Smith said that the defeat acted as a motivator.

"We were mad at ourselves more than anything else," recalled Smith. "We all knew how much each wanted it. We went out and earned it."

Busch knew that she was getting the call for the nightcap. Unlike past years in the finals (the Blues have twice been runner-up) Brookdale was not going to come up short on the mound.

After giving up a two-out single in the first, Busch retired the next 19 Hudson Valley hitters in order to close it out for the Blues.

"I warmed her up," said Scannapieco. "She was overpowering early. She really reached back in those last two innings. It was a tremendous effort on her part.

"We were very, very focused as a team and played a tremendous game," he added.

Throughout the tournament, Brookdale’s defense complemented its pitching.

"We were so good on defense, especially our infield, which was flawless," Scannapieco said. "Amanda Smith was outstanding at shortstop."

Along with MVP Busch, DeVincenzo, Smith and Kenney were named to the all-tournament team. Smith, as the lead-off hitter, was the catalyst on offense scoring five runs, but her defense may have been even more important. Kenney led the team in RBIs with three and went 3-3 against Rochester. DeVincenzo was 2-1 and her only loss was that 1-0 game to Hudson. Busch was 3-0 and tossed a pair of shutouts including the one-hitter in the championship game.

Busch and Smith both made the Division III All-American first team. It’s the first time that Brookdale has had two players make it in the same year.

Brookdale finished the season with a 47-9 record and established school records for wins in a season and consecutive wins (31). Between them, Busch (16) and DeVincenzo (13) threw 29 shutouts, another team record. Busch was 22-4 and led the nation in pitching with a 0.640 earned run average. She had four no-hitters including one perfect game.

DeVincenzo was 21-5 and graduates as the school’s all-time winningest pitcher with 42 career wins. She had two no-hitters and a perfect game and ERA of 1.205.

Smith had 74 hits, walked another 40 times and scored 75 runs, all team highs. She also batted in 36 runs from her lead-off spot.

Kenney was second in the nation in RBIs with 54 and she was followed closely by Allison Cenci (48) and Kim Roessner (45), who were fourth and fifth. Busch was 10th with 42 and Sarah Otto, 15th (39).

Looking back on the championship season, Scannapieco pointed to his team’s experience as a big factor.

"We were a sophomore-heavy team, which is what you want," he said. "With Dara back and Marissa coming in, I knew that we would have a nice pitching combination.

"We made some changes in the field and the girls worked hard," he added. "Having a veteran team that has been there before is big. The girls performed well under pressure. Experience does make a difference."