Old Bridge softball knocks off five-time defending champ St. Thomas to reach GMCT final

SOUTH PLAINFIELD — After St. Thomas Aquinas pushed across a pair of runs in the top half of the first inning, with the most decorated pitcher in the Greater Middlesex Conference in the circle, there was a sense the Trojans’ GMCT semifinal contest with top-seeded Old Bridge was all but over.

That was anything but the case.

Old Bridge (19-4) was able to rally not once, not twice, but three times, while Gianna Lombardi held St. Thomas scoreless for the remainder of the afternoon and the Knights ended the Trojans’ five-year hold on the GMCT crown with a 7-2 decision in Thursday’s semifinals.

Old Bridge will oppose second-seeded South Plainfield (16-5), a 10-0 winner in five innings over sixth-seeded Metuchen, in the GMCT championship game, which has been moved to noon Saturday at Woodbridge.

“We preached all week; short, quick swings, put the ball in play and good things will happen,” said Old Bridge coach Angela D’Amico, whose team struck out a mere four times. “Solid defense. They’re resilient, they just don’t give up and that’s all we ever ask of them.”

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Ava Accettulli, who bats ninth in the Old Bridge lineup, belied that status by slugging a two-run double in the fifth inning and a two-run homer later to extend the lead to five runs.

Gwen Negron and Kamerin Collado led off the game with singles for St. Thomas (14-7) and, one out later, Sophia Colucci doubled them both home for the 2-0 cushion.

And that was it, as Lombardi kept the St. Thomas bats off balance for the third time this season in beating the Trojans for the second time, the first of which ended the Edison school’s 66-game winning streak against Middlesex County foes.

“I use my spin and I know my defense will make plays behind me,” said Lombardi, a sophomore who thrives on guile rather than overpowering opponents. “I’m so excited and I hope we can go all the way.”

To break down the Old Bridge rallies, one need to merely look at Accettulli’s at-bats.

Her first came in the second inning with two runners on -- an obvious bunt situation for a No. 9 hitter against St. Thomas’ heralded Hayley Wieczerzak. But Accettulli was swinging away and, on a 1-2 delivery, became the second of four batters the Trojans senior would hit with a pitch.

Savannah Martinez and Dimitra Milonopoulos would each single home runs and Zoe Milonopoulos knocked in what proved to be the winning run with a sacrifice fly.

Wieczerzak retired the first two batters in the third but walked the third and hit the fourth. Up stepped Accettulli and, on a 2-0 count, the senior second baseman drilled a double to the fence in left center, scoring both for a 5-2 edge.

“We’ve been working on a new swing for me so coach told me to use my new swing and I just knew I had to execute it, and I did, and I was really proud of myself,” Accettulli explained. “There were people on base and I wanted to get them in. I really was just looking to hit the ball hard. I believed we could do it, I stopped stressing out about everything and just believed in myself.”

Wieczerzak retired the first two batters again in the fifth but plunked Emma DiMartini for a second time. This time, Accettulli’s blast to left center hit the top of the fence and caromed over, for the first home run of her career and a 7-2 advantage.

“It felt amazing,” Accettulli acknowledged. “Before the game I was very nervous, very nervous. I was telling myself it's going to be fine, it’s just a game, I got this. I prayed a lot before this and I told myself that we deserve it.”

Lombardi (14-4) retired seven consecutive batters after the first-inning uprising and finished with a six-hitter with two strikeouts and a very uncharacteristic five walks. St. Thomas left seven runners on base over the final three innings.

Wieczerzak (7-5), who has not been herself all season, struck out three in five innings with two walks and four hit batters while yielding six hits.

“We had our bats going in the beginning and I think our approach at the plate changed a little bit and we didn’t have as many good at bats as the game went on,” St. Thomas coach Missy Collazo offered. “Old Bridge had good at bats, they hit the ball, they made all of the plays in the field, and their pitcher stayed strong at the end. My hat’s off to them.”

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: Old Bridge beats 5-time defending champ in GMCT semi