Baseball – Dalatri’s 2-Hitter Lifts CBA to SCT Semis

MIDDLETOWN – Central Regional right-handed ace Andrew DiPiazza did not get the ball for his team’s Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal game against Christian Brothers Academy on Wednesday and it was hard to tell who was more disappointed: his own teammates or CBA sophomore ace Luca Dalatri and the Colts' hitters.

Looking forward to facing the University of Alabama recruit, No. 4 seed CBA wore down Central’s pitching and rode a two-hit shutout from Dalatri to an 8-0 win over the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles in a meeting between the Monmouth and Ocean County Tournament champions. The Colts now advance to the SCT semifinals Wednesday against No. 9 Red Bank Catholic at Count Basie Park.

The Colts were prepared to face DiPiazza, who last pitched on May 11 in a win over Toms River North, but the 6-foot-7 right-hander was diagnosed with bone spurs in his pitching elbow over the weekend and shut down by the team for the season, according to Golden Eagles coach John Scran.

The shutout was the fourth of the season for Dalatri, who ran his record to 9-0 in nine appearances, eight of which have been starts. He had his worst outing of the season Saturday in 3 1/3 relief innings against Shore Regional, an 11-1 CBA win in six innings. In the win, Dalatri allowed an inherited runner to score on a single, walked three and hit a batter while striking out three. Dalatri had not walked more than two in any of his starts prior to Saturday and despite his relative lapse in control, he still did not allow a run.

“I would say Saturday was my worst outing so far,” Dalatri said. “It was the first time coming out of the bullpen and I had to get ready quickly, which might have thrown me off. But the bottom line is, I needed to pitch better. Today, I got back into my usual routine and got back to attacking the zone the way I want to every time I go out there.”

Coming off that appearance, Dalatri struck out two batters in the first inning and struck out only three the rest of the game to finish with five strikeouts, a season-low among his eight starts. His command, however, was back on point as he walked just one and he induced 10 groundball outs while recording three on flyballs to the outfield.

Luca Dalatri K ends the 1st from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

One of the Central hits against Dalatri was a bloop single by left fielder Javon Hardy on a 1-2 fastball in the first inning, while the other was a ringing double by right fielder Christian Bearden over the head of center fielder Ryan Ramiz in the fourth inning.

“By now, teams know I’m going to pound the zone and I know that they are going to be ready to hit, especially early in the count,” Dalatri said. “It’s been an adjustment for me to recognize that teams are going to make more contact, and I just have to make sure I’m doing what I can to keep the ball on the ground.”

Mark Mancuso charging play to end the 4th from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

CBA gave Dalatri enough support in the first two innings, during which the Colts scored a run in each frame. Senior first baseman John Moschella ripped a sharp ground ball off the glove of diving second baseman Matt Ehrnhardt and into shallow right field to score catcher Brandon Martorano from second after the sophomore stole second base. Moschella hustled into second for an RBI double.

John Moscella RBI 2B from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

Second baseman Andrew Buccellato singled and scored on a two-out error to make it 2-0 in the second and Martorano added to the lead with a ground ball through the right side for an RBI single in the fifth. CBA finished off Central with five runs in the fifth, capped by a two-run home run by Moschella. Martorano also had an RBI double and right fielder Will Morgan a two-run single in the rally.

“We came in thinking we might face DiPiazza and we were pretty pumped up about that possibility,” said Martorano, who finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. “Their other guys (Jake Dominguez and Rich Galati) threw pretty well and we had to bring the same approach and focus that we would have if DiPiazza was pitching.”

Moschella finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and nearly homered in his first at-bat when he hooked a line drive over the fence to the right of the right-field foul pole before settling for the RBI double.

“After the foul ball, I didn’t want to change anything, but I figured they wouldn’t throw the ball in that spot anymore,” Moschella said. “They really didn’t pitch me any differently, though, and the next time I got one middle-in, I was able to keep it fair.”

John Moscella RBI 2B from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

While he is unable to pitch, DiPiazza can still swing a bat and has continued to serve as Central’s designated hitter. He went 0-for-2 Wednesday and drew the lone walk against Dalatri.

His injury will require surgery and a two-month recovery period, and although DiPiazza said he was told by his doctor that he could pitch through the injury as long as he could tolerate any resulting pain and lobbied his coaches to do so, the collective decision was to end his season. DiPiazza said he informed all major league scouts with whom he has had discussions, as well as the University of Alabama coaching staff.

As a matter of reference, a number of Major League pitchers – C.J. Wilson of the Angels, Mat Latos of the Reds, Josh Johnson of the Padres and Matt Cain of the Giants among them – have dealt with the injury, and in all four cases, pitched through it for a period of time. On either extreme, Cain never had surgery and is pitching this season, while Johnson recently developed further elbow problems that required Tommy John surgery. Wilson and Latos both had offseason surgery, with Wilson returning for spring training in 2013 after late-2012 surgery and Latos returning to throw this past February only to suffer setbacks in the form of knee and elbow injuries.

DiPiazza – the 2013 Shore Sports Network Pitcher of the Year – finished the season with a 0.94 earned-run average and 61 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings. He was named the most valuable player of the Ocean County Tournament, during which he beat both Toms River South and Toms River North, saved a first-round game against Point Pleasant Boro with a scoreless seventh inning and also went 5-for-10 with a home run and five RBI at the plate. His performance helped Central win its first OCT title since 1986.

Christian Bearden 2B to deep CF from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

CBA will now renew its rivalry with Red Bank Catholic, which will be the away team in the semifinals despite playing the game on its home field. The Colts play Pingry Thursday in the NJSIAA South Jersey, Non-Public A first round and a win would make Dalatri eligible for either a potential state tournament start or his first career start against CBA’s local non-public rival.

“If it were up to me, I’d take the ball every game,” Dalatri said. “I know that’s not going to happen though and whenever coach (Marty Kenney) gives me the ball I’m happy to take it, and when he doesn’t, I know we have the pitching to give us a chance to win.”

Box Score

CBA 8, Central 0

2B: Bearden

2B: Mancuso, Martorano, Papcun
HR: Moschella (6th inning off Galati, 1 on, 2 out)
SB: Martorano, Buccellato, Moschella, Ramiz

Dominguez pitched to two batters in the fifth inning.
Pitches-Strikes: Dominguez 67-43, Galati 59-36, Dalatri 75-60
Groundouts-Flyouts: Dominguez 4-6, Galati 1-2, Dalatri 10-3