Baseball Tuesday NJSIAA Scoreboard, 5/29/18

NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Semifinals

Central Jersey Group IV

(2) Manalapan 5, (3) East Brunswick 2

Anthony Naylor hit go-ahead run-scoring single in the bottom of the fifth and the Braves held off the Bears to reach the sectional final Friday at two-time defending Group IV champion and top-seeded Hunterdon Central.

With Manalapan trailing 2-1 and runners on first and second, Naylor hit a line drive to right-center field that scored Nick DiMiceli from second. The throw in from the outfield was mishandled, which allowed Dan DeBlasio to dash home from third on the play with what turned out to be the winning run.

DiMiceli and senior Rob Gargano each added an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to give Manalapan's bullpen some breathing room in the top of the seventh inning.

E.J. Melendez exited the game with two out in the top of the sixth after issuing his second walk of the game and after Ryan Crehan walked his only batter of the game, Anthony Jomo got out of the inning after issuing a walk of his own.

Jomo walked the leadoff man in the seventh and turned the ball over to junior Aaron Ayers, who gave up a single to Mike Sutton to bring the tying run to the plate. Ayers, however, dug in and recorded a strikeout, a ground out to second and another strikeout to shut the door and send Manalapan to the CJ IV final for the first time since 2012.

Pitching

Top Hitters

Central Jersey Group III

(1) Wall 3, (4) Hopewell Valley 1

Trey Dombroski turned in yet another sterling effort on the mound to pitch the Crimson Knights (22-4) past the Bulldogs (25-3) and into the sectional final Friday against No. 3 seed and defending champion Allentown.

Dombroski allowed one unearned run on five hits and two walks while striking out eight against a 25-win Hopewell team. The junior left-hander finished off his complete game just before reaching his single-game pitch limit, winding up with 105 for the game.

Wall struck in the first inning on a run-scoring error and extended its lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Dylan Richey singled home a run and Grant Shulman followed with an RBI double. Both juniors finished 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI and senior Mike Vita also went 1-for-2 with a run scored.

(3) Allentown 12, (2) Jackson Liberty 4

Shane Hickey and David Melfi hit back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the defending Group III champion Redbirds (20-6) scored four runs apiece in the third, sixth and seventh innings to roll through the Lions (20-5) and into the sectional final Friday at top-seeded Wall.

Hickey and Charlie Rudderow each finished 2-for-4 and Daniel Sofield was 2-for-3 with an RBI for Jackson Liberty.

Central Jersey Group II

(7) Raritan 3, (3) Voorhees 1

Dan Fiore walked a two-out walk with the bases loaded after falling behind 0-2 to force in the winning run and make a winner out of Zack Johnston in the Rockets' sectional semifinal win over Voorhees. Dan Vanmeerbeke was hit by a pitch to add to the lead.

Raritan will travel to play No. 4 Metuchen in the sectional final on Friday after the Bulldogs upset top-seeded Governor Livingston on Tuesday.

Pitching

Top Hitters

Central Jersey Group I

(1) Middlesex 2, (5) Point Beach 0

Senior right-hander Chris Russo pitched a complete-game four-hitter, but fell victim to two unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning as the Garnet Gulls (16-9) fell to the defending Group I champion Blue Jays (21-4).

Russo did not walk a batter and struck out three but was outdone by Tyler Dymond, who fired a two-hit shutout with one walk and eight strikeouts. Josh Yates was 2-for-3 with both Point Beach hits.

(3) Riverside 3, (7) Shore 2

Pitching

Top Hitters

South Jersey Group IV

(3) Jackson Memorial 8, (7) Vineland 7

Down to their final out, the Jaguars mounted a two-out rally and scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to shock the Fighting Clan and reach the sectional final Friday, when Jackson Memorial will host No. 9 Shawnee.

Vineland took a 7-5 lead in the top of the seventh on a two-run home run by Jose Mateo - who hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth Thursday against Howell - and was one out away from securing a spot in the sectional final with no one on base when the Jaguars made their move.

Senior Tom Pellone reached on a hard-hit infield single to keep the game alive and junior Troy Bathmann followed with a single to center. Sophomore Carmine Petosa kept the line moving with a single to center that scored Pellone and advanced pinch-runner Kyle Thaiss to third.

Sophomore catcher Andrew Sefick fell behind 0-2 but shot a 1-2 pitch into right field for an RBI single that scored Thaiss with the tying run. Senior shortstop Mike Dimino extended the inning with an infield single and Jake Wendell was hit by a pitch to force Petosa home with the winning run.

Jackson's three-run seventh ended a five-inning scoreless spell after the Jaguars erupted for five runs in the bottom of the first inning to go up 5-0. Sefick and Wendell were at the center of that rally as well, with Sefick picking up a two-run single and Wendell clearing the bases with a three-run triple.

Pitching

Top Hitters

South Jersey Group II

(5) Point Boro 5, (1) West Deptford 4

Junior Trent LiVolsi came through with a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the sixth inning and the Panthers (18-8) hung on to knock off the Eagles (18-8) and advance to the sectional final Friday at No. 2 Haddonfield. LiVolsi finished the game 2-for-3 and also scored a run.

Sophomore Nick Guzzi got the scoring started with an RBI double in the top of the first and junior Christian Aurin broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run single in the top of the second. sophomore Nick Zbikowski extended the Point Boro lead to 4-1 with an RBI single in the top of the third before West Deptford rallied with three runs in the bottom of the third to tie the score.

Junior Sam Collins picked up the win in relief and did not allow a run over the final four innings. He surrendered the second of back-to-back home runs by Jack Murphy and Ben Smith in the bottom of the third that pulled West Deptford even. Collins also finished 2-for-3 with a run scored at the plate.

Sectional Quarterfinals

South Jersey Non-Public A

(9) Notre Dame 4, (1) CBA 1

(5) Red Bank Catholic 7, (4) St. Joseph Metuchen 2

Senior Jon Michael Rotando went 4-for-4 in his first game back since early April and the Caseys clocked the Falcons to reach the sectional semifinals Friday. RBC will host No. 9 Notre Dame after the Irish upset top-seeded CBA on Tuesday.

Rotando suffered a left hand injury in the second game of the season and had not played since until returning in perfect fashion on Tuesday.

Pitching

Top Hitters

(2) Bishop Eustace 10, (7) St. John Vianney 4

Sky Duff pitched three-hit ball with eight strikeouts over six innings and went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to lead the Crusaders (22-4) over the Lancers (11-8) and into the sectional semifinals Friday against No. 3 St. Augustine. Ryan Colbert also doubled and homered while finishing 3-for-3 with four RBI for Bishop Eustace.

Luciano Fabrizzi was 1-for-3 with two RBI and Jack Owens and Anthony Altomonte each went 2-for-3 for St. John Vianney, with Owens scoring two runs and Altomonte driving one in.

South Jersey Non-Public B

(3) St. Rose 3, (6) Holy Cross 0

Riley Maypother threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings on 79 pitches and went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored at the plate to lead the Purple Roses (20-6) past the Crusaders (15-9) and into the sectional semifinals Friday against defending champion Gloucester Catholic. St. Rose lost to Gloucester Catholic in last year's sectional final, 9-4.

Maypother allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six before giving way to Will Gannon. In 2 2/3 scoreless innings, Gannon did not allow a hit or a walk and struck out one.

John Crowley was 1-for-1 with an RBI and Mario Bove finished 1-for-2 with an RBI for St. Rose.

(2) Gloucester Catholic 14, (7) Mater Dei Prep 0 (5 Innings)

University of Florida commit Evan Giordano homered twice and drove in four runs and University of Maryland commit Andrew Vail struck out 13 with one walk on a five-inning one-hitter to pace the Rams (17-8) to a win over the Seraphs (12-10). Gloucester Catholic will host No. 3 St. Rose in the sectional semifinals on Friday.

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