CBA, Southern Shore Conference Baseball Tournament final is a matchup of the old and new

RED BANK - It will be a matchup of the old and the new Wednesday night at 7 in the Shore Conference Tournament championship game at ShoreTown Ballpark, Lakewood.

Christian Brothers Academy, which shares the record for most SCT championships with Toms River South of seven, will meet Southern, which will be in the championship game for the first time.

CBA (16-5) advanced to the final for the first time since it won its third title in a row in 2016, dethroned four-time defending champion Red Bank Catholic 5-4 Monday night at Count Basie Park when Will Fahey scored on a wild pitch with one out in the bottom of the seventh.

"It's long overdue,'' Fahey, a senior center fielder, said. "Coming into the year, I knew we could do it and we're finally proving people wrong.''

Southern, the No. 1 seed, advanced earlier Monday at Count Basie Park with an 8-0 win over Wall.

"It means a lot to us,'' Southern senior third baseman/pitcher Brady Lesiak, who had two hits and two RBI, said. "We worked hard all offseason and during the season just to get here. We play as a team and we pick up each other. We hit. We play defense and pitch. It means a lot to the school and to us.''

Fahey's daring base running

Fahey took a calculated risk with his decision to try and score when the first pitcher Red Bank Catholic reliever Brandon Hendrickson got by catcher Aiden Funk and to the backstop.

However, there is not a lot of room behind home plate at Count Basie and the ball bounced back to Funk. However, Fahey got his hand on home plate before the tag of the diving Funk as the two collided.

"As as I saw passed ball (wild pitch). I was like, 'Let's end this here, right now.' '' Fahey said.

It was a bang-bang play at the plate. The Red Bank Catholic contingent thought Fahey did not touch the plate with his hand.

"I sprowled and my left hand got in there and then I hit him (Funk),'' Fahey said. "I was safe. I know I was safe.''

CBA head coach Marty Kenney Jr., whose father Marty Kenney Sr., was CBA's head coach for all seven of the Colts' SCT titles, said he and Fahey talked while Red Bank Catholic was replacing starter Ryan Prior with Hendrickson.

"I said, 'If you get the opportunity, give it a chance,'' Kenney Jr.. said. "He's probably the fastest kid on our team. It wasn't ideal with the ball bouncing right back to the catcher, but he (Fahey) got a great job.''

Fahey, who had led off the seventh with a walk and then stole second and advanced to third on Danny Tsimbinos fly out to right, ended Red Bank Catholic's 18-game SCT winning streak with his daring base running.

The Caseys last SCT defeat was to Toms River East in 2018.

"That's a great run that they had. I don't know if it will ever be duplicated. I know how hard it is,'' Kenney Jr. said. "Hats off to Buddy (Red Bank Catholic head coach Buddy Hausmann) and all the guys over there.''

Averting a major disaster

CBA sophomore left-hander Danny DiTullio got himself into major trouble in the top of the seventh with his control and his fielding.

A leadoff hits batman and two consecutive errors by DiTullio on sacrifice bunts enabled Red Bank Catholic (16-8) to tie the game 4-4. The Caseys had runners at first and third with nobody out with the No. 2-4 hitters coming up.

However, DiTullio bore down and got Matt Brunner to ground out to third, with the runner at third holding and the runner at first advancing to second.

He then struck out senior third baseman and Alabama recruit Sean Griggs got junior first baseman and Notre Dame recruit Dylan Passo to ground out to second to keep the game tied.

"What I really like about Danny is he just goes and competes,'' Kenney Jr. said. "He doesn't pitch like a sophomore. He attacks the zone, stays on top of guys and is just going to keep attacking, He's not going to give in. He's just going to battle you and battle you.''

"Dan showed how gritty he is in that last inning,'' Fahey said.

CBA had built a 4-1 lead on a solo home run by Jaxon Sevilla and a three-run homer by Tsimbinos in the third. RBC had pulled within 4-3 on a run-scoring ground out by Charlie Stumberger and an RBI single Jake Frankel in the fourth.

Southern is playing with a lot of confidence

The Rams took command right away against Wall. Lesiak had a run-scoring single in the first and an RBI double in the second. Gabe Tomei had an RBI triple in the fifth and Logan Zeitler had a two-run single in the sixth.

Pitchers Roger Dreher (4 2/3 innings), Matt Desiderio (1/3rd of an inning and Tyler McLeod (2 innings) combined on a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts. Dreher had eight of the strikeouts.

"Definitely to get here was a goal. It was always in the back of our minds,'' Lesiak said.

Who has the pitching advantage Wednesday night?

Southern would appear to have that edge because Lesiak, its ace, is available to throw 77 pitches under the NJSIAA's 150 pitches in five days pitching rule.

The Rams also have the hard-throwing McLeod available for 110 pitches after he threw 28 pitches Monday.

"I want to win that championship,'' Lesiak, who said he wants the ball Wednesday night.

CBA ace Chris Levonas, who threw 96 pitches Saturday against Colts Neck and DiTullio, who threw 96 pitches Monday night, are both unavaiable.

Kenney Jr. said it will likely be pitching by committee Wednesday night. Dylan Iwanyk and Shane Langan are both eligible to pitch and could be the arms Kenney Jr. and his staff turn to.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ Baseball: CBA,Southern to meet in SCT final