Lakeland strikes quickly, wins Passaic County baseball title for first time in 18 years

PATERSON — Mickey Gilligan and his Lakeland baseball team seemed to be stuck on repeat in the latter stages of the Passaic County Tournament.

Two batters into Tuesday night’s championship game at Hinchliffe Stadium, the sophomore catcher hit a two-run homer to ignite a four-run first inning. He had done the exact same thing in the semifinals three days earlier.

His “do-over” led the No. 4 seed Lancers to a 4-1 victory over No. 3 Pompton Lakes, which brought the Wanaque squad its first Passaic title in 18 years.

Gilligan then accepted the Bill Vacca MVP Award that his cousin Jace had earned last season with Passaic Tech – and which Jace’s twin Jonny took home in 2022.

“I think they’re here right now,” Mickey said as he scanned the crowd in the Hinchliffe stands. “They’ll probably be happy that I carried it on – that’s three in a row for our family.”

The Gilligan twins are currently freshmen at Saint Peter’s. Mickey has given a verbal commitment to play baseball at another New Jersey university, Rutgers.

What it means

History also repeated for the Lakeland coach. Ron Etzkorn took over for longtime skipper Rick Capozzi this season, though the latter has returned to the staff as an assistant.

Capozzi also coached the Lancers to a county title in his first season as head coach, 2006, after succeeding his brother Mike.

“And I believe Mike was [Rick’s] first base coach that year,” Etzkorn recalled.

This was the fifth Passaic championship all-time for Lakeland (17-5), while Pompton Lakes (17-3) dropped to 6-3 all-time in county finals.

Coaching ties, Part II

The Lancers dedicated their victory to longtime coach Dick Shutte, who died last July. Shutte guided the program from 1970-89, winning state championships in 1974 and 1976.

“Dick Shutte never won one of these,” Etzkorn said, referring to the county trophy. “But we have that picture of him in the dugout. So, we brought him with us today.

“And this commemorates Rick Capozzi’s 50th anniversary of being with Lakeland baseball, since 1974. It was a very special day.”

Key plays

Lancers second baseman Rowan Conway bounced a single up the middle on Hinchliffe’s turf to set the stage for Gilligan’s home run.

With two outs in the first and Anthony Nyhuis aboard after an error, Anthony Degiglio clocked a two-run blast over the left-field fence.

That was more than enough support for senior lefty Ken Manning, who allowed just one hit over the first four frames in his first appearance of the tournament. After Pompton Lakes' Tyler Benway chased him with an RBI double in the sixth, sophomore Anthony Iasiello came on to get the final five outs for the save.

“It was a really good opportunity,” Manning said of his chance to start. “We’ve been working on this for a while, and to actually come through, it’s really rewarding.

By the numbers

.500: Gilligan’s batting average for the tournament (4-for-8). He also walked three times, scored three runs and drove in five.

6: Strikeouts for each starting pitcher. Manning (5⅓ IP, 5 H, 1 ER) and Benway (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER) both emerged with 4-2 records.

3: Lakeland/Pompton Lakes meetings all-time in the Passaic final. Pompton had prevailed in 1996 and 2013.

50: Years of service to the tournament given by former Don Bosco Tech coach Bob O’Brien, who was honored with a plaque and threw out the first pitch.

They said it

“The last out of our last game in states last year, we felt like we had more in us. And the last thing we said to the players, as a coaching staff, was, ‘Remember this feeling. Because next year, the idea is that we want to go further. We want to win something.’ And it’s kind of a special moment for the program as a whole.” —Etzkorn

“These kids [from Lakeland and Pompton Lakes] play together in the summer. Sometimes kids who know each other can play against each other, and there’s a tense atmosphere. These kids really like each other, actually. … Sometimes, that makes it even tougher, though.” —Pompton Lakes coach Mike Riordan

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ baseball: Lakeland strikes quickly, wins Passaic County title