Emily Gaudio Leads Marlboro Past Hillsborough for Third Sectional Title in Four Years

HILLSBOROUGH —Every once in a while, a player comes along who can elevate a program to another level — the level of competing for sectional and state championships. For the past four years, Emily Gaudio has been that player for Marlboro.

Behind another dominant performance from the senior ace, the Mustangs captured their third sectional championship in four years with a 4-0 victory over Hillsborough in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game on Friday to advance to the state semifinals against Kingsway on Monday.

Marlboro checked every box needed to win a championship. The Mustangs received strong pitching, timely hitting, solid defense, and capitalized on Hillsborough’s mistakes to bring home another trophy.

Gaudio wasted little time helping her own cause. After Marlboro took advantage of a Hillsborough error to put a runner aboard in the first inning, the senior delivered an RBI single to left-center field to give the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead before stepping into the circle.

From there, she did what she has done throughout her decorated career — shut down opposing hitters.

“It is a magical feeling to know I am one of the select few to do it [win three sectional titles],” Gaudio said. “At the end of the day it is an indescribable feeling. I wish everybody can experience what this feels like. It’s a blessing to be able to close out this way.”

Marlboro’s first run began with a bit of fortune. Leadoff hitter Isabella Wuelfing reached base when a throw from the third baseman pulled the first baseman off the bag. Wuelfing later came around to score on Gaudio’s RBI single.

The Mustangs again took advantage of a Hillsborough miscue in the sixth inning. Wuelfing was hit by a pitch to begin the frame and scored from first base one batter later when junior Alyssa Abadiatokis dropped down a bunt that resulted in an errant throw.

“That girl Emma Anderson [Hillsborough pitcher], she did a great job,” Marlboro head coach Nick Scalzo said. “We were not getting that timely hit, so it was lets just put the ball on the ground and hopefully they make a mistake. We have some speed and speed makes them rush and they throw the ball away. That is the name of the game in softball. It is fortunate and it is unfortunate, but you need to capitalize on that.”

Runs were difficult to come by with Gaudio and Anderson in the circle. Anderson capped an impressive freshman campaign with 270 strikeouts and a 0.87 ERA. All four Marlboro runs were unearned.

Gaudio continued her postseason dominance, striking out 10 and allowing just three hits. Through the state tournament, she has surrendered only one earned run.

“She [Gaudio] is going to be missed heavily next year,” Scalzo said. “Not just in the circle, but overall what a teammate. Once in a while you get a special player, she is special. We knew when she was a freshman. She battled through that injury as a sophomore, and we came back and won another title. Sometimes it’s like, man, she is good. She wants it and she wants to do good and it’s not for her, it’s for everybody else and that’s the beauty of it.”

Marlboro finally created some separation in the sixth inning. With two outs, junior Reese Grinberg delivered her second double of the game, driving in Abadiatokis and junior Ashlee Chen to extend the lead to 4-0.

“See ball, hit ball,” Grinberg said. “I try not to think as much at the plate because when I overthink I get in my head so I just try to stay calm at the plate.”

Having stars does not necessarily equal success. The players need to buy into the team’s philosophy and support each other. Players spend hours together on the field to perfect their craft, but it goes beyond that to reach the levels that the Mustangs have the last four years. 

“We have a very tight knit team,” Gaudio said. “He [Scalzo] is very big on paying attention to the details and not being selfish. I think that is a testament to the way we played today. It was very unselfish. It didn’t matter who got the big hit or who had the big play. We all did it and we were all in it together and everybody did their job, which is something he enforces in both our practices and even off the field.”

Gaudio will look to end her high school career the way she started it, with a state title. In 2023, she pitched 10 innings to beat Hillsborough 1-0 in the Group 4 championship game. 

“This doesn’t happen much [winning three sectional titles],” Scalzo said. “We are fortunate. It took 15 years to get to this point. I keep trying to preach to the young kids to enjoy this moment. We don’t know if we’re going to get back here.”

Marlboro will travel to Kingsway on Monday to play in the Group 4 semifinal. In 2023, they defeated Kingsway 6-2 in the Group 4 semifinal to advance to the state championship.