April 4, 2012

North Bergen's Jessica Feria (right) is greeted by Kayla Muniz after forcing extra innings. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

North Bergen at Union City Softball Photo Gallery

UNION CITY – Just two games into her varsity career, Alize Sarmiento had never witnessed the environment surrounding North Bergen's games with Union City.

Properly educated by her older teammates, the sophomore second baseman  made her first experience in the rivalry a memorable one.

Sarmineto's RBI single in the eighth inning broke a five-all deadlock as North Bergen rallied from three down to jolt Union City 7-5 yesterday at the Midtown Athletic Complex.

"Not a lot of these girls were on the team. They weren't even at the ball game last year," said North Bergen head coach Tom Eagleson referring to last year's matchup  Hudson County Tournament final, won by Union City 6-5. "But the girls who were on the team, they let them know how important the game was."

Leadoff hits from Natalie Rodriguez and Jessica Feria set the stage of Sarmiento with one out. Sarmiento fell behind 0-2, but was able to fight off a Melissa Mendoza pitch into shallow center to plate Rodriguez for the game-winning run.

"I wasn't nervous at all," said Sarmiento, who was hitless up until that point. "I wanted to hit. I wanted to come through."

Thalia Garcia added an insurance run for the Bruins (2-0) with a bunt single to drive in courtesy runner Xiomara Taylor. Feria would retire the side in the bottom of the eighth to cap off an improbable North Bergen comeback.

"We just try to be there for each other," Feria said. "We try to pump each other up and when we pump each other it just gives us the enthusiasm to get the hit and keep going."

Feria and the Bruins had fallen behind 5-2 in the sixth on a three-run homer by Michelle Ruiz and were two outs away from defeat when it started their comeback.

Garcia initiated the rally  when she reached base on a hit by pitch. Junior shortstop Nerylix Cerda blasted an inside the park homer to deep center to cut the deficit down to one. Muniz followed with a hit to deep center of her own for a triple. Sabrina Reyes then tied it up on a fielder's choice to drive in courtesy runner Jaylene Grimes.

"I felt it. I knew it was coming. It happened last year (against them in the regular season) and I knew it was going to happen this year," Muniz said. "We're a fighting team. We never give up."

Union City (1-1) would threaten in the bottom half of the inning, putting runners on second and third with one-out hits by Jessica Diaz and Adriana Liverman. Feria would escape the jam by inducing a Shalia Rolon grounder to short and a strikeout of Jovanique Meneses to force extra innings.

"It was a really tough moment because she's a great batter and I've known her since my freshman year," said Feria of Meneses, her former teammate at High Tech. "When I struck her out, I was really shocked because she's a good hitter."

Feria, a hard-throwing junior, struck out seven in the complete game victory. The hard-throwing junior gave up a pair of unearned runs in the first, but settled down and at one point retired 13 of 14 batters, the lone blemish coming on a bunt single from Liverman.

Cerda reached base four times and scored two runs. Garcia got on base three times and stole a base. Christina Otero hit an inside the park homer in the fifth to make it 2-1 and Cerda scored on a throwing error to tie the game later in the inning.

Mendoza struck out four and allowed six earned runs for Union City. Liverman and Ruiz each had a pair of hits and Meneses scored twice in the loss.

"This was a good game for us to be engaged in since it was a playoff atmosphere," Soaring Eagles head coach Ray Coccioli said. "But we've got to keep working. It's only game two, not the county championship so we have to keep working harder."

Union City's Adriana Liverman flips the ball to Yarleen Ramirez to record the out. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

North Bergen at Union City Softball Photo Gallery