Heights Heat 2021 D2 Parkway League 10U Champions
Submitted by Carolyn Sayre
In the first game of the 2021 summer season the Berkeley Heights Heat 10U Red team opened with a nail-biting, 1-0 victory against the Hunterdon Pride. After the game, the umpire told the girls still hanging around on the diamond that it was the “best game of softball he had ever seen at the 10U level.” As fate would have it, the two teams met again in the Championship game in Roselle Park on Wednesday, July 28th. The final score was, yet again, 1-0.
The roster featured twelve fierce athletes who built on their skills all season to achieve this incredible goal: Mia Bussin, Samantha Chew, Leah Dasti, Ellis Duff, Alexandra Duryee, Ava Garcia, Katherine Klacik, Allison Nelson, Nora Ramos, Sydney Richel, Alyson Sayre and Emily Sorge.
During the regular season, the Heat fought through a very tough schedule against the best teams in the Parkway League. They continued to improve all summer long, impressing in two tournaments along the way during which they went a combined 6-0 in pool play. The girls finished second in the Long Hill Twisters tournament and then came away with third place in the Cranford Summer Slam out of the 14 participants. The additional game experience, especially under the pressure of elimination, really drove the success they would later see in the playoffs during the second half of July.
With 24 teams from across Union, Somerset, Morris and Essex counties vying for the same prize, the Heat came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. In the first round, their bats were on fire against Somerset Hills with Bussin and Richel leading the way. Bussin got on base in all four plate appearances out of the leadoff spot, scoring four runs, and Richel went 4-for-4 with a grand slam and 9 RBIs. Duff also had multiple extra-base hits, roping a pair of doubles. Then, in the quarterfinal game against Metuchen, the girls faced one of the toughest pitchers they had seen all season. They were not to be deterred through, as softball veterans Duryee and Nelson carried the load on offense, going 3-for-3 with a double, a triple and 3 RBI, and 2-for-3 with 4 RBI, respectively. Finally, in their semifinal win over Springfield, seven different players drove in runs and Chew, Dasti, Garcia, Klacik and Sorge all reached base in every plate appearance they had, helping to spark key rallies.
All the while, the dynamic battery of Sayre on the mound and Ramos behind the plate kept opposing hitters at bay. Together they held those three opponents to just one run across 16 innings using a combination of targeted inside/outside placement of the fastball and a devastating changeup to neutralize the strong hitters on the other teams. Ramos snagged a pair of strikeouts with her glove, as well, by catching two foul tips for third strikes.
In their 24th game of the summer, the Heat again found themselves in the opposite dugout from the Hunterdon Pride girls. The packed crowd was alternatively loud and quiet throughout the evening, with their volume inversely following the intensity of the game. As soon as the game started, everyone from the spectators to the umpires knew they would be in for an intense, low-scoring pitchers’ duel.
The first inning saw a lot of action from both teams. The Pride led off with a single on the first pitch of the game and found themselves with runners at first and third with two outs. On the sixth pitch of the next at-bat, their #5 hitter roped a line drive between third base and shortstop, which Klacik made an incredible catch on to end the rally. In the bottom of the first, Bussin and Richel led off the game with walks. Bussin stole third two pitches later, and it was a good thing she did, as on the next pitch, Duryee drove a fly ball deep into left-center field for a sacrifice fly and the first run of the game.
After that fly ball, there was only one other ball put into play for either team until the bottom of the fourth inning, Hunterdon’s pitcher and Sayre traded punchouts over the next two and a half frames. The Heat put together a rally in the fourth, with Duryee punching a single into the outfield to start the inning and Sayre advancing her to third on a ground out to second base. With one out, Klacik put a nicely hit ball in play, but a strong Hunterdon Pride defense played their infield in and kept the Heat off the board.
The top of the fifth inning had the Heat faithful on the edge of their collective seats once again. With the game still 1-0, the Pride led off the inning with a successful bunt and the runner advanced to third base with no outs. But the Heat were determined not to let her score. With Klacik and Richel crashing in on the corners, and Sayre throwing smoke on the mound, they thwarted multiple squeeze attempts. Three strikeouts later, the runner was stranded on third base and the Heat needed just three more outs for the title.
The girls and coaches huddled together as they took the field in the top of the sixth inning with the narrowest of margins and the heart of the Pride lineup coming up. Sayre started things off with a four-pitch strikeout and then induced a grounder to Duryee at second base, which she flipped to Richel at first for the second out of inning. Finally, Sayre bore down with a full count and drove a fastball by the final hitter at the top of the zone for her 16th strikeout of the day, and the celebration on the field started.
After a heartbreaker of a one-run loss in the semifinals of the Spring travel season, this group of resilient players had finally broken through and won the championship they had all worked so hard for, not just over these last four months but, for many, over the last four-plus years. As they gathered first in the outfield and then at the trophy table, the reality of what they had accomplished together finally sunk in and their faces were overjoyed.
The team was fortunate to have the support and dedication of a wealth of specialized coaches this summer season. Head coach Bret Sayre, along with his right-hand man, assistant coach and strategy partner, Chris Duryee, have both been with this group of girls since they started playing back in 2017.Hype man Ed Sorge was a constant course of energy and spirit in the dugout. GameChanger guru Todd Klacik kept a flawless scorebook all season long. And assistant coaches Lilly Bussin, Emily Ramos and Carolyn Sayre were invaluable in warmups, practices and the dugout—while also doubling as our medical staff when necessary. None of this would be possible without the entire coaching team, who worked tirelessly all summer long.
Congratulations to the 2021 D2 Parkway League 10U Champions – the Heights Heat!
