Baseball: Legacies will be on the line in Passaic County final

After being held at Passaic Tech for more than two decades, the Passaic County baseball tournament final is headed to historic Hinchliffe Stadium this year.

Perhaps, then, it is fitting that two of the county’s “legacy” programs will clash in the title game that is scheduled to take place in Paterson at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

No. 4 Lakeland knocked off top seed DePaul in Saturday’s semifinals, 8-2, and No. 3 Pompton Lakes handled No. 7 Wayne Valley in five innings, 12-1.

Lakeland, which improved to 15-5, is in its first season under coach Ron Etzkorn – who is only the fifth head coach in the history of a program that began varsity play in 1959.

“The fact that I’ve been here and blessed to have been part of this program for almost 20 years… it’s not about me,” said Etzkorn, who succeeded Rick Capozzi after serving as an assistant. “It’s about continuing on what the Capozzis and everyone have done.”

In roughly the same span of time, Pompton Lakes (16-2 after semis) has employed just four coaches, with Mike Riordan succeeding Paul Tanis (300-plus wins, 1998-2019), who succeeded Dennis Arnold (400-plus wins, 1972-97).

“I’m the supervisor of the history department… so our guys get a lot more history than they probably want,” Riordan said with a chuckle. “They’re reminded about it all the time. And in Pompton Lakes, the kids buy into the tradition and everything.”

This will be the 25th combined championship-game appearance for both schools. Pompton Lakes has six titles all time, with the last coming in 2017. The Lancers have earned four titles, most recently in 2006 – when Rick Capozzi was in his first season following brother Mike Capozzi’s 16-year tenure.

Source of inspiration

Earlier this season, Lakeland held a tribute to longtime coach Dick Shutte, who died in July 2023. Shutte was a player on the Wanaque school’s first team before returning to lead the Lancers from 1970-89.

On April 20, Lakeland re-dedicated its baseball field in his memory.

“If you saw the back of our hats [Saturday], they have Coach Shutte’s name on them,” Etzkorn said. “When you’re playing for the program and playing for something bigger, it’s very special. I told them from the beginning of the year, they’re a very special group, and they can do special things if they stay within themselves.”

The Lancers followed that edict early, as the first four batters reached base at DePaul’s Joe Lennon Field. No. 2 hitter Mickey Gilligan launched a two-run homer, and Anthony Degiglio later added a two-run single.

That was more than enough support for senior Matt Nicholson (7 IP, 3 H, 7 K), who won Lakeland’s first two county games but will be ineligible to start the final.

“It was good getting a 4-spot in the first and then just kind of holding it down,” the right-hander from Ringwood said. “I have a great defense behind me, and it’s a great team win.”

Delightful dozen

Pompton Lakes’ semifinal victory was its 12th straight, and the Cardinals got to 12 runs quickly against Wayne Valley. They scored 10 times in the second and twice in the third, thanks in part to their two star pitchers.

Starter Vinnie Stigliano went 3-for-3 at the plate and threw just 52 pitches before giving way to lefty Tyler Benway. In two county games, Benway leads the team in hits (4) and runs batted in (3) and also earned a save against Passaic Valley in the quarterfinals.

However, due to rainouts and rescheduled games, the Cardinals’ last two games were a week apart.

“We went a whole week without playing, which I was not happy about,” Riordan said. “So Tyler needed at least an inning [Saturday]. He’ll get the start against Lakeland.”

Both Pompton Lakes hurlers will be eligible to throw in the Passaic final, with Stigliano (6-1) able to go a max of 98 pitches and Benway (4-1) able to go a full 110 if necessary.

Lakeland likely will turn to No. 2 starter Ken Manning (3-2), though righty Tyler Harris (3-1) and lefty Anthony Iasiello (3-0) are options as well.

This will be the neighboring schools’ third meeting in the Passaic County final. Pompton Lakes prevailed in 1996, 9-3, and again in 2013, 8-6, which marked the Lancers’ last trip to the title game before this year.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Baseball: Legacies will be on the line in 2024 Passaic County final