Baseball: Highlights from the opening round of the state tournament in North Jersey
Due to several weather postponements, the opening round of the NJSIAA baseball tournament now wraps up on Friday.
Here is a group-by-group look at which teams prevailed to reach the sectional quarterfinals, which will be held Tuesday for Non-Public schools and Wednesday for the public groups.
Check back throughout the first round for updated highlights.
North 1, Group 1
GAME OF THE DAY: (8) New Milford def. (9) Lenape Valley, 5-2 (Thursday) — The Knights broke a 2-all tie with a three-run sixth to earn a quarterfinal trip to top-seeded Pompton Lakes. Liam Block had a 4-for-4 day with an RBI and a run scored, and Derek Deleon tossed a three-hitter.
TOP PERFORMERS:
► Senior lefty Tyler Benway fired a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts and drove in two runs to boost Pompton Lakes past No. 16 Butler, 5-1.
► Senior 3B Rocco D’Amico finished 2-for-3 with a homer and four runs batted in to key No. 6 Hasbrouck Heights’ 7-4 victory over Park Ridge. The Aviators will visit No. 3 Pequannock, the defending sectional champ, in the quarterfinals.
► Pequannock will have plenty of Morris County company, after two of the top four seeds were eliminated by Morris squads Friday. No. 15 Mountain Lakes stunned No. 2 Emerson, 6-4, using a three-run top of the seventh, while No. 13 Kinnelon edged No. 4 Midland Park, 3-2.
Baseball state tournament: Live brackets from every section in North Jersey
North 2, Group 1
TOP PERFORMERS: No. 3 Wood-Ridge was the lone North Jersey team to survive this bracket's opening round, and it did so thanks in part to the bats of Jake Wall (1-for-3, double) and Lucas Mendoza (2-for-4, 2 runs), each of whom drove in three during Wednesday's 10-0 victory over Belvidere. The Blue Devils host No. 6 Jonathan Dayton of Springfield next.
North 1, Group 2
GAME OF THE DAY: (1) Glen Rock def. (16) West Milford, 5-4 (Thursday) — The Panthers survived a major upset by walking it off with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Junior Nick Atme (7 IP, 3 ER, 2 K) improved to 7-0 with his fourth complete game of the season and went 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of runs scored.
TOP PERFORMERS:
► Senior Nick Sendrowski finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three driven in to help No. 6 Indian Hills dispatch Vernon, 8-1, on Friday. That sets up a fourth meeting of the season between the Braves and No. 3 Westwood, which won two of the first three. The Cardinals opened the playoffs with a five-inning, 13-3 rout of River Dell behind Joe Klein's 4-for-4 outing.
► Senior Matt Tortora finished with two hits and four runs batted in to power No. 3 Pascack Hills past Demarest, 13-1 in five innings, and set up a home quarterfinal against No. 6 High Point.
► Junior lefty JT Deriso allowed one unearned run over 6⅓ to lead No. 8 Pascack Valley past Parsippany Hills on Wednesday, 5-1, and set up a quarterfinal trip to Glen Rock.
► Lakeland senior RHP Matt Nicholson (5-2) worked around six walks to fire a two-hit shutout against Jefferson Township, 6-0. The No. 7 Lancers visit No. 2 Ramsey next.
North 2, Group 2
GAME OF THE DAY: (10) Rutherford def. (7) Bernards, 6-4 (9 innings; Wednesday) — Last year’s sectional runner-up found itself in an unfamiliar spot having to go on the road in the first round Wednesday. The Bulldogs pulled through anyway, tying the game at 4 in the top of the seventh before scoring two in the ninth.
Junior Chris Gioia pitched 4⅔ innings of one-hit relief to help send Rutherford into the quarterfinals at No. 2 Madison. It will be the teams’ fourth playoff meeting in six years.
TOP PERFORMERS:
► Becton’s Justin Diez drove in three runs, and Owen DeKoyer did not allow an earned run in a complete-game victory, 10-2, over McNair Academic on Thursday. The No. 4 Wildcats will host neighbor Lyndhurst in the quarterfinals.
► Max Gonzalez and Matteo Morelli each drove in two during a four-run first that sent No. 5 Lyndhurst past No. 12 Parsippany, 4-1
► No. 6 Leonia advanced thanks in part to a four-run sixth in a 4-3 win over Voorhees. Senior Yutaka Uchida pitched the first 6⅓ innings for the win, with Ryan Calderaro getting the final two outs for the save.
► Junior Jake Delaney threw a five-inning no-hitter with 11 strikeouts in No. 1 Passaic Valley’s 11-0 win over Ridgefield/Palisades Park on Wednesday. The Hornets host their namesakes from Hanover Park in the quarterfinals.
North 1, Group 3
GAME OF THE DAY: (4) Wayne Hills def. (13) Paramus, 5-1: Junior Casey Baratta had three hits and an RBI and the Patriots (16-10) pulled away with a three-run fifth. Junior Chris Pellegrino had two hits and an RBI, and senior Sal Cifalino had two hits and a run to snap a five-game losing streak. Senior Dean Qira allowed four hits, two walks, struck out 12 and did not allow an earned run over six innings. They host No. 5 Roxbury in Wednesday's quarterfinals.
TOP PERFORMERS:
► Sophomore Max Garcia had two hits, three runs and two RBIs and No. 9 Old Tappan (14-12) avenged two regular-season losses with a 10-3 win over No. 8 Bergenfield. Sophomore Anthony Onnembo added two hits and three RBIs for the Golden Knights (14-12). They play Wednesday’s quarterfinal at top-seeded Morris Knolls.
North 1, Group 4
GAME OF THE DAY: (10) Fair Lawn def. (7) Union City, 2-0 (Thursday) — Senior Josh Feuerstein threw a 72-pitch complete game shutout, allowing only four baserunners and three hits while inducing two double plays. Matt Dunn drove in Ryan Perry with two outs in the top of the sixth for the first run, and Tyler Tsai plated Travis Colaianni with an insurance run in the 7th.
TOP PERFORMERS:
► Senior Vincent Luther tossed a two-hitter with one walk and eight strikeouts, leading No. 1 Ridgewood to a five-inning shutout of Memorial (West New York). Senior Owen Laffey had two hits, two runs scored and three RBI in the Maroons' 10-0 win, which punched their ticket to host No. 8 North Bergen in the quarterfinals.
► Senior Alex Bulger tossed a two-hitter with no walks and nine strikeouts to lead No. 2 Hackensack (18-10) to a 4-0 win over No. 15 Bloomfield. Senior Joe Farrington homered for the Comets, who next host No. 10 Fair Lawn.
North Non-Public A
LYNDHURST – Bergen Catholic’s dramatic turnaround now features a state tournament win, significant for a program whose disappointing first month prevented a bid to the Bergen County tournament.
The Crusaders opened the North Non-Public A baseball tournament with a 9-6 victory over St. Peter’s Prep on Wednesday at Breslin Field, and they advance to Tuesday’s quarterfinal at top-seeded rival St. Joseph.
Junior Jamie Zee’s three-run triple propelled eighth-seeded Bergen Catholic (15-10-1). Zee’s first-pitch smash to right-center came with two outs and gave the Crusaders a 6-3 lead in the middle of an eight-run rally that provided a 9-3 advantage.
“You always love to be in moments like that,” said Zee, who flied out to left in his first at-bat. “So I just put a smile on my face and I was thinking, ‘It’s the same bat, the same ball, just go swing it.’ And I got my pitch and I didn’t miss it.”
Bergen Catholic’s front of the order was stellar. Zee, batting second, was 3 for 4, with a run and three RBIs. Sophomore leadoff hitter Petros Rouggeris had three hits and scored twice. Junior cleanup hitter Tyler Yoo had three hits, including two in the fourth, and he scored two of his three runs during that eight-run rally.
“We had a chance to put our tail between our legs, or we had a chance to turn it around,” Bergen Catholic coach Bob Muggeo said, referring to a 6-9-1 start. “And I’m so proud of our guys. We’ve won 11 of our last 13 games and we’ve turned our season around.”
Bergen Catholic, playing its third game in three days, needed every last run, because it ran out of pitchers. Senior Daniel Spierer, making his season debut on the mound, earned the save with a bases-loaded, game-ending strikeout. Spierer replaced sophomore reliever Joaquin Rivera, who replaced senior starter and winner Luke Dellentash.
“Never take anything for granted,” said Muggeo, whose Crusaders lost back-to-back games to St. Joseph last month. “I like the inning where we put a bunch of crooked numbers on the board. Jamie came up with the bases-loaded triple, and we were able to extend it a little. And at the end, we were just hanging on.”
GAME OF THE DAY(S): (6) Dwight-Englewood 3, (11) Paramus Catholic 2 (13 innings) — This clash started on Wednesday and went 12 before being suspended due to darkness. Dwight-Englewood used both of its aces, starting lefty Rhys Bowie (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 17 K) before bringing in right-hander Everett Garber (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K).
Noah Fisher singled home the tying run in the bottom of the ninth after Paramus Catholic had taken a 2-1 lead in the top half. When the game resumed Thursday, Matthew Civan pitched a hitless top of the 13th to set up the Bulldogs for a literal walk-off win ‐ Austin Kim scored on a bases-loaded walk to end it.
TOP PERFORMERS:
► Five different DePaul players homered in the No. 5 Spartan's five-inning, 15-1 win over Newark Academy: Jason Amalbert (3 RBI), J.C. Pacheco (3), Derek Brand (2), Christopher Marano (2) and Liam Riley (2). DePaul visits No. 4 Delbarton on Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ baseball: Highlights from opening round of state tournament
