By Sean Reilly
Claire Giardina thrives on performing on the softball field, and she had plenty of opportunities to do exactly that over the weekend at Diamond Nation.
Whether it be inside the pitching circle or atop the batting order, Giardina played a pivotal role in all seven games for her Jersey Intensity 14U-Burzo team over two days at the Aces Spring Invitational.
The capper was a pitching win in relief to complete a 3-2 tiebreaker thriller over the NJ Mystics 14U Gold-Melvin in the semifinals, which was immediately followed by a five-inning four-hitter to beat the Central Jersey Lightning 13U-Gizzi, 6-2, in the final.
The Intensity ended the event with a 7-0 record and 45-16 runs differential.
Giardina was the winning pitcher in four of the games and also went 10-for-20 at the plate. She was selected the tournament MVP.
She thought that her team’s success came down to two things.
“Power and belief,” Giardina said.
The Intensity survived a semifinal in which the Mystics scored twice in the bottom of the fifth for a 2-2 tie, with the play clock having hit 0:00 along the way.
The Mystics had knotted the game and had runners on second and third with one out when Giardina came in to pitch, and she struck out the next two batters on six total pitches.
The game went to the bases-loaded, one out tiebreaker in the sixth inning.
After the first Intensity batter in the top of the inning popped to shortstop, Riley Laing drew a walk to bring in the go-ahead run.
In the bottom of the inning, Giardina got two more three-pitch strikeouts to end the game.
Claire Giardina of Jersey Intensity 14U was named the 14U Finch’s Aces Spring Invitational MVP.
“I love pitching,” she said. “It was scary coming in there in that situation. It was kind of nerve-racking knowing I’m in charge of the field when the game is so close, but I also know my teammates are back there for me, so it calms me down and helps me to get through it.”
In the final against the Central Jersey Lightning, who also entered with a 6-0 record, the game was tied, 0-0, until the Intensity scored three times in the top of the third.
The first batter in that inning struck out before Giardina singled to left field. Gianna Burzo was safe on an error which sent Giardina to second. Kourtney Murphy then walked to load the bases for cleanup batter Angelina Tessitore.
Tessitore had a full count before hitting a three-run triple to center field for a 3-0 lead.
The Intensity added three more runs in fourth. The inning started with singles from Reese Tullo and Jocie Lopez, and Laing followed with a sacrifice bunt to move them to second and third.
Giardina hit an RBI groundout to shortstop, Burzo delivered a run-scoring single to left, and Murphy supplied an RBI single to center for a 6-0 lead.
The Lightning got an RBI single from Olivia Scaff in the bottom of the fourth, and, after loading the bases with one out in the fifth, scored a run as the game ended on an infield fly that also resulted in a double play.
“We believed that we could do it,” Giardina said. “And we made it.”