Winners of six straight in Bergen County girls’ leagueMarcos Quintanilla got his first taste of coaching softball last summer, when he was an assistant coach for the North Bergen UGALS 12-and-under team. He liked it so much that he wanted to continue this year.
There was only one problem. There wasn’t a team for Quintanilla to coach, especially if he wanted to keep his two daughters, pitcher Melanie and second baseman Natalie, on the same team with him.
So Quintanilla had a novel approach – start his own team.
“Melanie just turned nine and needed a team to play for,” Quintanilla said. “So I approached some people to see if we could start a 10-and-under UGALS team, which is what we did.”
Thus, the birth of the North Bergen Storm, the newest entrant in the Bergen County UGALS U-10 softball league.
Considering it was a brand new team, Quintanilla didn’t have any high hopes or expectations with the Storm. He just wanted to organize them, give the girls a chance to play all summer, enable them to develop like the countless other North Bergen UGAL products in the past.
“However, I soon found out that these little girls are as good as the boys,” Quintanilla said.
There is something that the youngsters from North Bergen are very proficient at – raising money. The entire cost for the team, from uniforms and equipment bags right on down to bats and balls, was raised by the members of the team, via canning, asking for sponsorships, any venue possible. In the end, they collected more than $3,000.
“These little girls did all the fundraising themselves,” Quintanilla said. “They did it all on their own. We have 13 girls on the team and they got $3,000. That’s pretty impressive.”
When the season began, the Storm lost their first two games. But since then, they’ve, pardon the pun, stormed back to win six straight games and catapult themselves right into the middle of the playoff race.
The Storm has 10 games to play over a 12-day stretch, and how well they do during that stretch of games will determine their playoff standing. But there are no rookie jitters, no first-year expansion blues with the Storm. These girls can play and play to win.
Everyone knows that girls’ softball begins and ends on the mound. With solid pitching, you have a chance to win every game. Without pitching, you might as well go home. The Storm is fortunate enough to have two quality hurlers in Melanie Quintanilla and Kayla Muniz.
“Melanie has pitched against older girls before, so she’s used to it,” her proud father said. “She’s already throwing a change-up and she’s only nine years old. Kayla throws a little harder than Melanie, but both are effective.”
The first baseman is Victoria Roukas, who was born in Greece and didn’t learn how to play softball until recently.
“But she moved to our area and has already become our cleanup hitter,” Quintanilla said.
Quintanilla’s other daughter, Natalie, is the second baseman and No. 2 hitter. She owns a .400 batting average.
The shortstop is Victoria Mornhineway, the cousin of first baseman Roukas. She already has three homers and nine RBI in eight games, including a grand slam.
The third baseman is nine-year-old Natalie Rodriguez, who is the team’s resident bunt expert.
“She’s always on base,” Quintanilla said of Rodriguez.
The catcher is Sabrina Reyes, who is also a power hitter and good defender.
“She’s a good player who I used in six different positions before settling at catcher,” Quintanilla said.
The outfield consists of right fielder Jessica Feria, who is the team’s lone left-hander and who has thrown out six runners at first base on singles to right field. The centerfielder is Kayla Klein, who bats fifth or sixth in the lineup and is a solid contact hitter. The left fielder is Kimberly Roman, who is also a good contact hitter and has a lot of versatility, playing four different positions.
Priscilla Quiceno and Alaysia Mitchell are valuable reserve outfielders, while Sara Ramirez plays a utility role.
Needless to say, Quintanilla is enjoying himself. His new team is on a roll and he’s enjoying the success with his two little girls.
“I’m having the time of my life,” Quintanilla said. “I’m so proud of all the girls, because they’ve been doing it on their own. They’re working extra hard, willing to go the extra mile, and it shows.”
The Storm continues to make their way toward the Bergen County UGALS playoffs, which begin July 28 at Bergenfield High School.
“I think they’re ready for the challenge and we’re all real excited,” Quintanilla said. “It’s a real special group.”
The EXTRA INNINGS feature focuses on the best stories that come from local baseball and softball leagues throughout the area. If you have any noteworthy information to contribute to the EXTRA INNINGS, feel free to contact Jim Hague by voice mail at 201-798-7800, ext. 751, by general mail at 1400 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ 07030, or via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com. Please include a telephone contact name and number, in order to secure further information for a possible story.
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