By Rich Fisher | Correspondent

Four fourth-inning runs and gutsy pitching by Demi Rivera are what tell the big-picture tale of another county championship for the St. John Vianney softball team.

But it was a story that may have never been written was it not for centerfielder Lindsey Baron setting an early tone.

SEE A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE GAME, HERE.

Baron came up with the game’s biggest defensive play in the second inning, which sparked the top-seeded Lancers of Holmdel to a 4-1 victory over second-seeded Middletown North in the Monmouth County Tournament Red Division championship game May 14 at Wall High School.

The game was scoreless in the top of the second before two Lions’ singles put runners on first and second with one out. After a fly out, pitcher Demi Rivera yielded a line single to center by Payleigh Behan.

Baron charged the ball on one hop and Adrianna Cerbo was being waved home as she rounded third. The sophomore came up throwing and fired a ferocious strike to catcher Ally Jones, who made the tag to end the inning.

How big was that play?

“She changed the game,” Rivera said, without hesitation. “That was an amazing play by her. She’s a great player. If she didn’t make that play, the score would have been totally different. It would have changed the game totally. Lindsey kills it out there.”

“It’s huge,” Coach Kim Lombardi said. “That’s just the type of player she is. She’s been playing for me since she was a freshman, her sister played all four years for me. That’s the type of family they have. They have guns for arms and they make nice plays at the plate.”

 Had Baron not made the throw, North would have had a 1-0 lead with two runners in scoring position and the top of the order coming up. As Rivera noted, the game would have changed.

But Baron would have none of it.

“It was just kind of adrenaline going,” she said. “I saw her coming around second and I said ‘I got this’ and I just came up throwing. I saw Ally get it, and I’m like ‘Got her!” I got in and I was like ‘Ally, you got me, I got you.’ The throw was there and she got her.”

It was a sophomore throwing to a freshman as St. John Vianney (17-1) continues to play the role of “We don’t rebuild, we reload” to perfection. After losing five starters from last year, including Ashley Ventura, who threw a perfect game in last year’s MCT final, the Lancers have not missed a beat in winning their seventh straight county championship.

“And we’ve done it with four different pitchers,” Lombardi said. “We have a very young team, a new team. The kids work so hard. I couldn’t be more proud of them. They believe in the picture I’m selling them. They’re really coming along and worked together. We’ve had some big-time players in the past and my girls are getting it done this year.”

As is the blueprint for most softball title games, this one came down to which team took advantage of the breaks. Middletown North (20-3) had chances throughout, but left nine runners on base and four in scoring position.

Conversely, SJV capitalized on several Lions mistakes for its decisive fourth inning.

Gianna Mavica drew a leadoff walk and, one out later, Antonia Pacillo singled and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Anne Manganiello reached on an error to load the bases. Mavica then scored and the other two runners moved up on a wild pitch. Shelli Rivard’s bouncer to second was thrown away at the plate, allowing two runs to score, and Rivera’s single plated the final run.

In the fifth, North had runners on first and second with one out and Rivera got Christine Gebhardt and Kayla Gallo – North’s most dangerous hitters – out on pop-ups. The second was a great catch reaching over the fence by third baseman Manganiello.

“I really just went after the batter,” Rivera said. “I wasn’t worried about the people on base. They didn’t matter anymore. That was out of my head. I just went with screwballs and change-ups and things that worked.”

Asked how she stayed so poised in that situation, the senior said “I’ve been doing this for so long, nothing really bothers me anymore. I’ve been in every situation possible. I’ve worked hard for this and nobody is gonna take this away from me.”

Lombardi feels Rivera has an outstanding demeanor on the mound and feels the competitor comes out in her when situations get tough. She held Gebhardt and Gallo to a combined 1-for-8.

“She came up really big with certain batters up,” the coach said. “I was very proud of her composure. She gave up hits when it didn’t necessarily matter, and she got the kids out when we couldn’t give up hits.”

North tried to rally in the sixth when three of the first four batters singled for a run, but Rivera got the last two outs and set down the final five batters she faced. The hurler received stellar defense throughout.

“Yeah we’re huge on defense,” Baron said. “Every day we’re out there, defense, defense, defense. Our motto is ‘Defense wins games.’ We just have to go out there and get three outs, get in and out.”

“I know how hard we work at practice.” Rivera said. “Coach puts us in every single situation and coach had us ready for this.”

Rivera recalled sitting in the dugout last year while watching Ventura throw her gem, knowing she was next in line to keep the chain of county titles going.

“Ashley was one of my very good friends and even though it was tough to see her go, it was exciting because I knew it was my time,” Rivera said. “She left huge shoes to fill. That just made me hungrier in the off-season to work as hard as she did.”

Next up is the Shore Conference Tournament and states. SJV fell short in both last year.

“I just think we need to continue to believe in each other, Rivera said. “Toward the end of the season it gets tiring and it gets hard. Everybody is exhausted. It’s the end of the school year, everybody’s itching to get out, but I think we need to stay focused and we have to make things happen.”

Baron feels the Lancers’ recent loss to Jackson Liberty may be paying dividends as the tournament games arrive.

“We needed that in a way,” she said. “It’s bad to say that, but it gave us a little bit of a reality check that not every game is going to be perfect. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes, come back and score some runs and win the game.”