Colts Neck Returns to the Shore Conference Tournament Finals
Jackson Township – There are three things teams have to do in order to make it to the Shore Conference Tournament final. They need to be flawless in the field, have strong pitching and timely hitting. Colts Neck has checked off all three of those boxes and will return to the SCT final for the second time since 2021 after defeating Marlboro 5-2 in the semifinal round.
One player who has raised the level of her play not just on the mound but also at the plate is junior pitcher Angela Sasso. Throughout the tournament, she has been dominant on the mound and hitting the ball hard at the plate. Sasso allowed only one earned run on three hits and struck out five batters against Marlboro. At the plate, she made an impact in the first inning, hitting a deep 2-run home run to left field to get Colts Neck out in front. Sasso, who is committed to the University of Connecticut for the 2026 school year, hit the ball hard every at-bat in the semifinal round.
Angela Sasso hitting against St. John Vianney on 4/22/25. Photo by Tom Smith
“She (Sasso) is our number one,”Colts Neck head coach Anthony Iachello said. “She is our leader and our captain. We named her captain at the beginning of the year, and I have not had a captain in the four years I have been here and that is due to her dedication and the type of person she is. She has great hand and eye coordination and she can put the bat on the ball.”
Sasso has allowed only three earned runs in Colts Neck’s three games in the SCT. In the second round against Jackson Memorial, she struck out 10 batters and had an RBI double. Sasso allowed only one hit and struck out seven batters in 8 shutout innings against Middletown North in the quarterfinal round. She also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple against one of the best pitchers in the state, Madilynn Boyce.
Another Cougar who raised the level of her play when the SCT started is junior Gabrielle Bryce. Bryce is currently one of the hottest hitters in the Shore Conference with four home runs in her last three games. After hitting the game winner in the 8th inning against the No. 4 seed Middletown North in the quarterfinal round, she hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 3rd to make it a 3-1 game against Marlboro.
Gabriella Bryce hits her first home run of the season against St. John Vianney on 4/22/25. Photo by Tom Smith
“She (Bryce) is our lead-off hitter because of what she can do,” Colts Neck coach Anthony Iachello said. “Contact and she can put it out, plus she can run. She has been very aggressive at the plate.”
Colts Neck added two insurance runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. After Marlboro made it a 3-2 game in the top of the 6th inning, Marlboro coach Nick Scalzo walked Bryce for the second straight at-bat. With a full count and two outs, freshman Jillian Heyser hit a line drive rocket to right/center field to bring in Bryce and her younger sister, Adrianna.
“I was struggling at the plate with striking out the last at-bat,” Heyser said. “She (Gaudio) has a really good rise ball and I needed to lay-off the high ones. I know if I can get something in my zone I was going to drive it and with a 3-2 count I focus on the pitch and I do not focus on anything else. I knew when she (Bryce) got on base that I needed to do my job and get her to score so we could take a bigger lead.”
Jillian Heyser hitting against St. John Vianney on 4/22/25. Photo by Tom Smith
The Cougars path to the SCT final was not an easy one. In the second round, the Cougars defeated Jackson Memorial, who won the Ocean County Tournament, 5-2. Colts Neck faced familiar foes in Middletown North in the quarterfinal round and Marlboro in the semifinal round. The Cougars split both regular season series against those two teams.
Marlboro, who was the No. 9 seed, knocked off top-seeded and previously undefeated Donovan Catholic 9-7 in 10 innings. This marked the second season in a row the Mustangs upset one of the top teams in the Shore Conference. Last year they defeated the No. 2 seed Red Bank Catholic in the second round, before beating Colts Neck in the quarterfinal round.
Colts Neck will be playing in their second SCT championship game since Covid and are one of two public schools to make the finals in that timeframe. The Cougars fell to Donovan Catholic in the 2021 title game 3-2 and in 2022 Donovan Catholic beat Freehold Township 9-1. During Colts Neck’s run to the title game in 2021, they defeated Red Bank Catholic in the second round 8-0. On Monday they will meet RBC in the final, which will be the first time the two teams will face each other in the SCT since 2021. During the regular season this year, the Caseys won both divisional games.
“I cannot wait to be under the lights,” Sasso said. “ We were at the game last year and we were like this can be us next year. This has been one of our goals and I feel everyone has really bought in right now. Everyone is pulling towards the same goal and everyone is locked in. We have nothing to lose. We are one of the most underrated teams in the state and I feel no one expected us to be in the finals so why can’t it be us.”
