North Bergen's softball team looks to rebound after tough 2019 season

 North Bergen sophomore pitcher Amanda Pace

North Bergen senior center fielder Amaryllis Santiago

The streak of Hudson County Softball Tournament championships -- albeit just two, but a historic two at that -- came to an end last year for North Bergen head coach Shawn Stacevicz.

In 2018, Stacevicz became the first coach in Hudson County softball history to win Hudson County Tournament championships with two different schools.

What made the feat even more impressive is that Stacevicz won the titles consecutively, leading Hudson Catholic to the school’s first-ever softball title in 2017, then winning the tourney championship again in 2018, this time with North Bergen.

But last year, Stacevicz wasn’t as fortunate with a virtually brand new team of Bruins, as North Bergen struggled to a 10-12 overall record, falling to his former squad Hudson Catholic in the second round of the county tourney.

“We lost a lot of talent from the county championship team,” said Stacevicz, who was making preparations for his third season at North Bergen before the coronavirus outbreak put a stop to the entire season. “I knew that we were going to take a step back. We were asking a lot of kids who played JV (junior varsity) the year before to step in and play varsity. I knew it was going to be a tough haul.”

So as the 2020 season approached, Stacevicz realized that the team that took somewhat of a beating last year was going to be back this season.

“They have a lot of varsity games under their belts,” Stacevicz said. “The pitchers have been working hard, concentrating on throwing strikes. We needed to do a better job of cutting down on the walks. I really expected them to do a better job this season and I was hoping to get an opportunity to play for a county championship again.”

Stacevicz said that his team faced the major disappointment of not making the spring training trip to the United States Softball Association’s Space Coast facility in Viera, Florida.

“We were leaving March 19 and coming back March 23,” Stacevicz said. “We were going to get 12 scrimmages in. The girls had to raise the money to go. We had 15 girls going and they were all going to get a lot of playing time against good competition. It was going to be a good chance to figure out the starting lineup.”

But the trip was scrapped, as was the scheduled start of the season. The actual start is still unknown – and the longer the hiatus lingers into late April, the chances become slimmer.

However, Stacevicz remained somewhat upbeat about a possible start – mainly because he has two pitchers who are both much improved over last year.

Sophomore Amanda Pace, fresh off her second place finish in the NJSIAA girls’ wrestling championships last month, is back for her second year on the mound, where Pace earned All-Hudson County honors.

“Pitching has become repetitious to her, which is good,” Stacevicz said of Pace, who struck out 85 batters in 81 innings pitched last season. “I think she can still do better than she did last year.”

Stacevicz also welcomes back junior righty Siarah Saavedra, who struck out 31 batters in 28 innings last season.

“She works very hard,” Stacevicz said of Saavedra. “She puts the time in to get better. Without a doubt, I plan to use both of them.”

It might give the Bruins a 1-2 pitching punch that no one else in Hudson County owns.

Sophomore Gabby Fiorese will move into the role of starting catcher.

“She did well playing summer ball,” Stacevicz said of Fiorese, who was the team’s designated hitter last year. “I’m excited to get her back behind the plate.”

The first base duties will be shared by senior Angie Conklin and junior Sueima Filian. Both played last season with Filian seeing more playing time and collecting 14 RBI.

Senior Stephanie Valderrama moves over from her position as the starting shortstop to second base, her natural position, to make way for senior Kailyn Troya, who missed most of last season with an ankle injury.

Third base duties are being shared by senior Jada Flores and sophomore Adrianna Troya, Kailyn’s younger sister. Adrianna Troya hit .429 last season with 11 RBI as a freshman.

The Franklin sisters, namely junior Michele and sophomore Nicole, hold down left field and right field respectively.

The centerfielder is a familiar name. Amaryllis Santiago, the team’s starting catcher last year, has been moved to centerfield this year. Santiago is a senior who hit a team-high .431 with one home run and 18 RBI. She’s one of the top all-around players in the county.

“She has a good arm in centerfield and runs very well,” Stacevicz said.

Junior Natalie Mera, who batted .333 with four RBI in spot duty last year, will get some time once again in the outfield. The player to watch may be freshman Caitlyn Fernandez, who can play the outfield and first base, but swings a big bat.

“We’re expecting big things from the freshmen,” Stacevicz said. “We’re expecting them to come in and play right away. They hit well and can provide some punch to our offense.”

So it was headed for a season of promise for the Bruins – but then it all came to a halt. If and when the season begins, count on the Bruins to be in the mix.