FARMERS RETURN ALL BUT TWO INFIELD STARTERS, SEEKING TO DO BETTER IN COUNTYAND STATE TOURNAMENT PLAY

There’s no doubt that the Union softball team will be very good again next season, with everybody returning except for the third baseman and shortstop.

Barring an injury to pitcher Amanda Kardys, the Farmers should at least reach the Union County Tournament semfinals again, with three-time defending champion Cranford and Linden, which has made the semifinals now the past two seasons, also heavy favorites to reach the Final Four at Linden’s Memorial Field based on the pitchers and players both of those teams have coming back.

But if the Farmers are to prevent Cranford from winning a fourth straight UCT championship and capture their first since 2000 and if they are to challenge for the North 2, Group 4 crown - which they have not won since 1995 - they will have to step up their play a bit in 2009.

"We scheduled Iselin Kennedy and Bishop Ahr both on the road for next year," said Union head coach Chris Flinn, who has been at the helm since 1996 after serving as an assistant to George Hopkins.

Union was defeated at home by J.P. Stevens of Edison 10-0 in its first state tournament game this year, with its other three losses coming by a combined total of four runs.

The Farmers lost in the bottom of the seventh at Westfield 3-2 and at Millburn 4-3 and lost to Cranford 2-0 in the UCT final at Linden, which was the season finale for both.

Cranford finished 25-1 and this Sunday in The Star-Ledger will be crowned the No. 1 team in Union County for 2008.

At 24-4, Union will finish No. 2. The Farmers reached the UCT semifinals for the first time since 2004 and the final for the first time since 2002. Union has still won the most UCT titles with 10.

"We beat Bishop Ahr 3-1 and they reached the Middlesex County final, losing to Old Bridge," Flinn said. "Bishop Ahr beat Kennedy in the semifinals.

"We also beat Bridgewater-Raritan 3-1 and they won the Somerset County Tournament, beating Immaculata 2-0 in the championship game.

"We beat one good team from Middlesex County and another good team from Somerset. Against J.P. Stevens, we were flat and had a bad day. J.P. is good team and they beat us pretty good."

Union will play at Iselin Kennedy April 28 next year, which is a weekday game. In addition to also playing at Bishop Ahr, the Farmers will also play challenging out-of-conference games against Morristown, Millburn and Governor Livingston.

Union repeated as single-division Watchung Conference champion, winning the title outright with a 17-1 record. Westfield, the team Union split with, finished 16-1 and did not make up a game against Newark East Side.

"We had five team goals," Flinn said. "They were to win our own tournament, to win 20 games, to win the conference, to win the county and to win our section."

The win over Bridgewater-Raritan was Union’s second in its own tournament, with a 14-0 victory over Columbia being the first on April 19.

"We attained three of our five goals and reached the county final," Flinn said. "We’re happy about our season. Fortunately, we have so many good players back next year to give it another shot."

Returning starters for 2009 include Kardys at pitcher, who will be a junior; Hana Gross at catcher, who will be a senior; Kristen Wilson at first base, who will be a junior; Amanda Ruhl at second base, who will be a junior; Allie Davis in left field, who will be a junior; Jessica Goncalves in center field, who will be a senior; and Kristen Scioscia in right field, who will be a senior.

The only starters lost to graduation include senior third baseman Angela Nascondiglio and senior shortstop Celeste Schimmenti.

Nascondiglio earned 12 varsity letters total after excelling in soccer, basketball and softball. She was also a captain of all three teams and will continue as a student at Penn State University.

Schimmenti, No. 1 in her senior class academically, will continue as a student in the honors program at Boston College.

Here’s an individual look at the success of Union’s top players for 2008:

Amanda Kardys, sophomore pitcher: The standout left hander went 16-4 with a 1.04 ERA. She will enter her junior season with a 25-10 mark that includes a 9-6 pitching record her freshman campaign.

In 134 innings, Kardys allowed 30 runs, with 20 of them earned. Nine of those earned runs came in Union’s 10-0 loss to visiting J.P. Stevens in the North 2, Group 4 quarterfinals.

Kardys struck out 219, which comes out to 1.63 strikeouts per inning. She allowed 69 hits - 1.94 per game - and walked 19 - which is 0.14 per game. Of the 69 hits yielded, seven were doubles, two triples and two home runs.

Kardys also tossed 11 shutouts, including three in UCT play. In four UCT games, she went 3-1 and allowed only two runs total in 26 innings.

"She could have won more games had we pitched her against some of the lesser teams on our schedule," Flinn said. "She did just a great job for us and really improved over last year. She plays all year round, working hard in the summer, fall and winter, playing for other teams and participating in clinics.

"She will develop another pitch in the off-season to go along with her fastball, curveball and changeup."

Kardys struck out 13 and did not walk a batter in the UCT final, allowing only four baserunners total in seven innings.

"She pitched well in big games," Flinn said.

Wilson, a righthander, also was effective on the mound, finishing with a 7-0 record. Goncalves, a righty as well, was 1-0.

Kardys also proved valuable at the plate, batting .320 (24-for-75) and driving in 28 runs from her No. 5 position in the batting order. She banged out two doubles, three triples and one home run.

Hana Gross, junior catcher: Gross led the Farmers in batting average, home runs and RBI, winning the team Triple Crown.

She was among Union County’s three strongest catchers, with seniors Brittany Murray of Johnson and Jenny Drechsel of Cranford being the others. Linden junior Courtney Melchionna, one of the county’s top hitters, was also a fine backstop for the Tigers this year, filling in at that position.

Gross batted .493 (35-for-71), slugged nine home runs and drove in 37 runs from the No. 3 position in the lineup.

"She hit home runs off Cyndil Matthew of Westfield - the 2007 Star-Ledger Union County Player of the Year - Fitzsimmons of Bridgewater-Raritan and the Bishop Ahr pitcher," Flinn said.

Gross also did well to throw out Cranford junior speedster and leadoff batter Deanna Russomanno attempting to steal second base in the top of the first of the UCT final on a strike out-throw out double play.

Jessica Goncalves, junior center fielder: One of the top fielding outfielders in the county, Goncalves also ignites Union’s offense from the leadoff spot. She batted .483 (43-for-89) and scored 48 runs, which is the most by a Union player in some time according to Flinn.

In addition to leading Union in hits and runs, Goncalves banged out five doubles, two triples and five home runs and drove in 34 runs, which is not bad from the leadoff spot.

Goncalves also walked 19 times and was a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen base attempts.

Allie Davis, sophomore left fielder: Batting cleanup in the order, Davis had a solid year at the plate, fashioning an impressive .467 average (35-for-75). She drove in 31 runs, scored 23 and smacked six doubles, three triples and one home run.

Celeste Schimmenti, senior shortstop: A .383 batting average included 31 hits in 81 official at-bats. Schimmenti slugged four doubles and drove in 16 runs.

Angela Nascondiglio, senior third baseman: She sported a batting average of .366 (30-for-82) and led the team with 10 sacrifices from the No. 2 spot in the order. She belted four doubles and drove in 21 runs.

Kristen Scioscia, junior right fielder: In addition to a .338 (25-for-74) batting average, Scioscia hit one double, one triple and one home run and also drove in 17 runs.

Against Cranford sophomore righty Kelly Hardman, the winning pitcher of the UCT final for the second straight season, Scioscia banged out two singles.