Red hot Brookdale wins GSAC softball title Brookdale gets top seed in Region XIX BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer Bo Scannapieco's confidence never wavered. Even when his Brookdale Community College softball team hovered around .500 through most of the season, the veteran coach believed his team's talent would surface. The Jersey Blues rewarded their legendary coach's patience by getting hot at the right time and winning the Garden State Athletic Conference Championship. By beating Gloucester in a doubleheader Sunday, 8-2 and 11-6, the Blues defended their GSAC championship completing the schedule with a perfect 14- 0 record. The title earned the Blues the top seed for the Region XIX Tournament that will be held May 3-4 at Atlantic Cape College. With the top seed, the Blues earned a first-round bye. "We've been playing well," said Scannapieco, whose team has won 16 of its last 20 games. "We've always hit the ball well, but, now, we're hot." Scannapieco called this team his best offensive squad since the 2005 national championship team. It can beat teams with power or speed. The Blues' team batting average is a sizzling .374. "It's our best line-up since '05," Scannapieco noted. "We have a deep enough bench. Allyson Melia is batting .443 with 49 runs scored, 30 RBI and 62 hits (11 for doubles). Booy Erbig leads the team with 37 RBIs. She's batting .402 with 33 runs scored. Of her 47 hits, 15 have been for doubles and three, home runs. Skye Rubel has three round trippers with 29 RBIs and 20 runs scored while batting .344. Amy Bankos is at .377 with 28 RBIs and 32 runs scores. The gaudy numbers continue with Samantha Wagner at .336 with 33 RBIs and 28 runs scored. Danielle Davenport has 21 RBIs and 25 runs scored to go with her .387 batting average. Danielle Smith is batting .397 with 28 RBIs and 21 runs scored. Stephanie Horne punches in at .438 with 17 RBIs and 24 runs scored. Melia has sparked the running attack with her 24 stolen bases. Brookdale's hot streak has taken it to No. 8 in the country in the most recent Division III fast-pitch poll. No matter how impressive hitting statistics may be, pitching and defense are never far below the surface of any championship team. The Blues defense has been solid all year Scannapieco while pitching, has been the big turnaround. Bankos has grown into a bona fide No.1 starter. She's 11-5 with an earned run average under 2.75. She's authored two no-hitters and five shutouts during the season. JessicaAssip is 8-5 and Rebecca Sloan, 7-5. "We've been getting consistency from our pitchers," said Scannapieco. "That's what we were looking for from them. They've cut down on the walks." Early in the season, Scannapieco saw his team lose a number of games in a bizarre way, and the thought had crossed his mind that maybe it was going to be one of those seasons where it just doesn't' click. Then his team got a break against Division II power Orange (N.Y.) and pulled out a 10-9 victory. "We finally got a break and it turned us around," he recalled. Since that win, the Blues have been winning the close games and with the pitching surfacing as a strength to go with its big line-up, Brookdale is poised to regain the Region title it lost in '07. Scannapieco heads into the Region XIX tournament with the starting pitching depth required of a double-elimination tournament.