Baseball Friday NJSIAA Scoreboard, 5/26/17

Tweets by @Matt_Manley

NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Quarterfinals

North Jersey 2, Group III

(15) Red Bank 3, (7) Middletown North 2 (15 Innings)

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Jack Povey drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 15th inning and the Bucs outlasted the Lions to advance to the sectional semifinals as a No. 15 seed. Red Bank will travel to play No. 3 Cranford in the sectional semifinals on Tuesday.

Povey was one of four pitchers who appeared in the game and all four threw the equivalent of a complete game or more. Povey pitched the first seven innings before giving way to Josh Horowitz.

Chris Price took over for Garrett French in the top of the eighth inning and held Red Bank scoreless until the Bucs broke through in the 15th. Price picked up a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the inning and squash a Red Bank threat in the top of the 13th.

(4) Middletown South 3, (12) Mendham 2

John Martin struck out 10 and plated the winning run with a suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the sixth to lead the Eagles (14-10) past the Minutemen (8-14) and into the sectional semifinals on Tuesday against top-seeded Chatham.

Martin scattered eight hits and walked one while throwing 100 pitches in his complete-game effort.

Scott Benigno and Ben Kinsella each delivered an RBI single in the fifth inning and Aurellio Licata finished 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored for Middletown South.

Central Jersey Group IV

(4) Freehold Boro 5, (5) Freehold Twp. 2

Senior left-hander Dan Chiusano tossed a five-hitter with nine strikeouts and the Colonials (17-8) scored four times in the second inning to turn back the Patriots (12-12) and advance to the sectional semifinals Tuesday at top-seeded Montgomery.

Chiusano allowed one earned run and walked one while throwing 101 pitches and improving to 6-2 on the season. Phil Marcantonio and Matt Granato each went 2-for-3 with a double, with Marcantonio scoring two runs and Granto crossin the plate once.

Mike Belka had the only official RBI for Freehold Boro, which benefitted from three Freehold Township errors.

(10) Colts Neck at (2) Manalapan - PPD, Saturday, Noon, at Marlboro H.S.

Central Jersey Group III

(14) Neptune 4, (6) Northern Burlington 3

Starting pitcher Dylan Taliaferro hit a clutch, two-out, two-run double in the top of the sixth inning to make himself a winner and push the Scarlet Fliers (9-12) past the Greyhounds (12-10) and into the sectional semifinals Tuesday at No. 7 Jackson Liberty.

Taliaferro worked the first five innings and allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts on 84 pitches. Sophomore Ron Cole saved the game with two scoreless innings while giving up two hits.

Cole also helped the cause on offense by going 2-for-3 and driving in each of the first two Neptune runs - one with a double in the top of the first inning and another on a fielder's choice ground out in the fifth that trimmed the Northern Burlington lead to 3-2.

Justin Tucker, Sebastian Jno Baptiste and Rocco Richard all finished 1-for-3 at the plate for Neptune. Tucker also walked and scored two runs, Jno Baptiste doubled and walked and Richard scored on the double by Taliaferro, who finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Ben Jones went 2-for-2 with a home run for Northern Burlington.

(1) Toms River South 2, (9) Brick 1

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Senior second baseman Matt Shiffer made a stop up the middle and threw behind the potential winning runner at third base, which led to a play at the plate ended the Indians' third win over the Green Dragons this season. Toms River South will host No. 4 Allentown on Tuesday in the sectional semifinals.

With Kenny Bala on second base representing the potential tying run, Brick senior A.J. Serrino hit a soft line drive past Toms River South pitcher T.J. Scuderi. Shiffer made the back-handed stop moving toward the second base bag, but lost his footing long enough to put the out at first in serious doubt. Instead of throwing to first base, he immediately fired the ball to third base as Bala raced around the bag and headed toward home.

Third baseman Ben Montenegro then relayed the ball to the plate and catcher Connor Leatherman tagged out a diving Bala well in front of home plate to end the game.

Shiffer scored the game's first run in the bottom of the first inning after reaching on an error and moving to third base on a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch. Scuderi delivered the RBI hit to score Shiffer, an infield single that Brick senior Matt Stadelberger kept in front of him with a sliding block, but not quickly enough to throw out Scuderi and prevent the run from scoring.

Toms River South added a crucial insurance run in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out rally. Senior center fielder Dylan Danelson ripped a two-out single to center, stole second base and, after an intentional walk of Shiffer, scored on a bloop single to shallow left field by designated hitter Justin Fall.

Brick nearly rallied in the seventh behind a pair of doubles by Stadelberger and Bala. Stadelberger ripped a line drive up the left-centerfield alley with one out and only reached third on Bala's doubled to right-center while making sure the ball dropped. Mike Brunner then delivered a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Bala, but did not advance Bala to third base.

Scuderi fired a four-hit complete game and faced little trouble at all before the seventh inning. Prior to the last frame, he allowed one hit and one walk for the only two Brick baserunners over the first six innings.

Dragons senior center fielder John Prato led off the game with a double to left-centerfield and reached third with one out on a sacrifice bunt, but Scuderi escaped the threat by notching a strikeout and a fly out to escape.

Scuderi retired 15 straight after Prato's double before walking sophomore Cole Groschel to lead off the sixth. Prato dragged Scuderi through a 12-pitch at-bat later in the inning, but Scuderi won the battle by inducing a ground out to second base for the second out. Scuderi then struck out Chris Salsano to strand Groschel at second and end his 27-pitch sixth inning.

(7) Jackson Liberty 4, (2) Steinert 3

Conner Keenan hit a go-ahead two-run double to cap a four-run third inning for Jackson Liberty and the Lions (17-9) held on to knock off the Spartans (22-6) and advance to the Central Jersey Group III semifinals Tuesday, when they will host No. 14 Neptune.

David Melfi cut Steinert's lead to 3-1 with an RBI single in the third and Rich Dordas followed with an RBI double to set the stage for Keenan's hit that flipped the score.

Kevin Ritz gave up three runs in the top of the first inning - only one of them earned - and settled into the game from there. He pitched Jackson Liberty into the bottom of the sixth inning, when he handed the ball over the Matt Pickus with two on and one out. Pickus pitched out of the jam and retired the side in the seventh with two strikeouts to finish off the five-out save.

Central Jersey Group II

(5) Bernards 6, (4) Monmouth 4

Central Jersey Group I

(3) Riverside 5, (11) Keyport 3

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Shane Chandler doubled home a run and Roan Maxwell followed with a two-run home run in a three-run Keyport first inning, but the Rams came back with three in the bottom half of the inning and plated two in the bottom of the fifth to advance to the sectional semifinals.

(13) Florence 9, (12) Keansburg 3

Justin Alessi and Liam Meyer both went 2-for-4 with an RBI, but the Titans (8-14) fell to the Flashes (8-11) in the sectional quarterfinals.

South Jersey Group IV

(11) Southern 4, (14) Jackson Memorial 2

Senior Joey Robertson was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI and seniors Zach Oddo and Vaughn Walker each went 2-for-3 with an RBI to help lead the Rams (16-8) to a win over the Jaguars (10-13) and into the sectional semifinals Tuesday against No. 2 Egg Harbor.

Senior Nolan Watson also drove in a run in a 1-for-4 game at the plate and Garret Lange was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Robertson and Walker also scored a run each.

Nick Simone worked five innings to pick up the win before Zach Fillmore finished off the game with two innings. Each Rams pitcher game up an earned run, with Simone allowing three hits and three walks to go along with three strikeouts on 70 pitches. Fillmore struck out four with no walks in his two innings of work to pick up the save.

Kyle Thaiss was 2-for-3 with an RBI single and Alex Iadisernia was 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored to lead Jackson Memorial. Connor Takacs took the loss on the mound, giving up two runs in two innings. After Mike Dimino pitched the third, Nick Sefick worked the final three innings without allowing a run while striking out five.

South Jersey Group III

(9) Central 1, (16) Timber Creek 0

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Mike Bickford drove in Jack Sudia with the game's lone run on an RBI ground out in the fifth and that was all A.J. Smith needed to pitch the Golden Eagles past the Chargers and into Tuesday's sectional semifinal against No. 4 Deptford.

(3) Lacey 3, (6) Mainland 1

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Justin Thompson delivered a go-ahead two-run single in the bottom of the third inning and Anthony Tobia tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single in the sixth as the Lions upended the Mustangs to reach the sectional semifinals Tuesday against No. 2 Highland Regional.

Jarrett Dial went 3-for-3 and doubled in the sixth before scoring on Tobia's single.

South Jersey Group II

(4) Manasquan 3, (5) Bordentown 2

Tommy Sheehan hit a one-out triple in a tie game in the fifth and scored the go-ahead run on James Harmstead's second RBI hit of the game as the Warriors (12-10) rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to upend the Scotties (16-9) and reach the South Jersey Group II semifinals. Manasquan will play the winner of Saturday's game between No. 1 Delran and No. 8 Cedar Creek.

Harmstead tied the game in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI single and finished 2-for-3. Senior catcher Adam Schreck cut a two-run deficit in half with a solo home run to left field.

Bordentown jumped out to a 2-0 lead on starter Connor Muly on a two-run homer by Dillon Drew. Muly then settled in and did not allow a run the rest of the way. He allowed four hits and a walk, struck out 11 and threw 110 pitches.

Alex Galvan also went 2-for-3 for Manasquan.

(3) West Deptford 6, (11) Barnegat 5

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Opening Round

South Jersey Non-Public A

(10) St. John Vianney 10, (7) Donovan Catholic 1

South Jersey Non-Public B

(6) Rutgers Prep 4, (11) Mater Dei Prep 3

Regular Season

Non-Conference

Red Bank Catholic 9, South Plainfield 0