Romano pitches Donovan Catholic past St. Thomas Aquinas in South, Non-Public A final

It has been two years in the making for Adriana Romano.

After two years at Barnegat, Romano transferred to Donovan Catholic for her junior year. She had to wait much longer than expected to make her debut for the Griffins because the 2020 season was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I wanted a competitive program and I love the environment. I love the girls here. This is exactly why I came here,” Romano said.

Julia Apostolakos picked up the win on the mound when Donovan Catholic defeated Colts Neck in the Shore Conference Tournament final, but in the title game of the NJSIAA South Jersey, Non-Public A tournament yesterday, the ball was given to Romano.

The Siena commit tossed a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts and three walks to lead top-seeded Donovan Catholic, No. 1 in NJ.com’s Top 20, to a 2-0 victory over third-seeded and No. 19-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas in Toms River.

The Griffins will face No. 8 Immaculate Heart, who handed the Griffins their only loss of the season, on Friday in the Non-Public A group championship.

Apostolakos did not start on the mound but she made a huge impact at the plate. She sent a two-run home run over the right centerfield fence in the bottom of the first inning. This would be the only runs of the game, and she was responsible for both of Donovan Catholic’s hits.

“It was Adriana’s turn today,” Donovan Catholic coach Debbie Schwartz said. “It’s just that simple. They always have each other’s back and are ready to go if somebody is struggling. It’s such a great opportunity for a coach to have two studs on the mound.”

Romano struck out the side in the top of the seventh inning. After recording the final out of the game, the Griffins celebrated in the middle of the diamond but the top team in the state is hoping for a bigger celebration in the future.

Donovan Catholic (26-1) won the Tournament of Champions back in 2019. The Griffins return just four players from that championship team and are getting major contributions from some newcomers.

“There’s a lot of new faces in our lineup,” Schwartz said. “We’re young. Just the evolution of this team throughout the season has been incredible to watch. It was a bumpy road, but we’re in a really good place and playing good softball. I think they came in and took an approach of working hard and getting better everyday. That is something you can see now. It’s very exciting.”

St. Thomas Aquinas (22-3) put together a threat in the top of the sixth inning after Kaitlyn O’Neill reached on an error to get things started. But the Griffins would get a defensive gem from center fielder Jenna Giattino after Paige Tidaback sent a line drive over her head for a hit.

Giattino came up firing to get O’Neill at third base for the first out of the inning.

Mary-Kate Murray worked out a walk to put runners on first and second with one out. This is where Romano would lock in. She was able to get two fly balls to end the inning and keep St. Thomas Aquinas off the scoreboard.

“That is the key to the game,” St. Thomas Aquinas coach Missy Collazo said. “We could not get that timely hit. We hit it hard but right at people unfortunately. We tried to make some minor adjustments in approach but credit to their pitcher.”

Both pitchers settled in early in this one. Tidaback got the start on the mound for the Trojans and delivered a two-hitter, striking out eight and walking two.

“I felt like their pitcher kept us off balance at the plate,” Schwartz said. “We’re a disciplined team and so are they, but it just really quieted our bats. Kudos to their pitcher. She pitched a gem.”

“Paige is a beast,” Collazo said. “Offensively and pitching-wise. She’s such a work horse and has confidence in herself. She does everything that we need her to do. I’m glad she’s on our team.”

The Trojans had a number of new faces this year and were able to put it together as the season went on, but they will have plenty of experience heading into next season.

“We’re losing one starter from this group,” Collazo said. “We have a lot of experience coming back next year, so I think it will help us, especially at the beginning of the year where we can get off to a quicker start. We were young at the beginning of the season and we’ve come a long way from those early games.”

Donovan Catholic will have a chance at revenge on Friday against Immaculate Heart. This is a Griffin team that stays even-keeled, which could help it avenge its only loss of the season.

“We’re just staying positive and staying up,” Romano said. “We have a lot of energy in our dugout. Whether we’re up big or losing big, we’re positive and we’re always trying our hardest to push through and come up with a win.”

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