Baseball – Shore Offense Stays Red Hot, Pushes Into Carpenter Cup Semis

PHILADELPHIA - Last season, the Jersey Shore Carpenter Cup team overwhelmed the field with its endless supply of pitching arms on the way to a Carpenter Cup title. The Shore is once again two wins away from becoming only the second team to ever repeat as Cup champions, and this time, it's the bats that are carrying them.

Wall catcher Dan Wondrack blasted a two-run home run and a double off the center field fence to key another double-digit output as the Shore took down Tri-Cape, 13-5, Saturday at FDR Park to advance to Monday's semifinal against Delaware County at 1 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park.

In two games during the Carpenter Cup, the Shore has scored a total of 31 runs on 42 hits. After racking up 18 runs on 23 hits in a first-round shutout on Wednesday, the Shore pounded out 19 more hits on Saturday.

Wondrack's two-run shot in the bottom of the first opened the scoring and he later made it 6-1 with his double that scored Rumson-Fair Haven shortstop Max Goione - who also scored on Wondrack's homer - from first.

Tri-Cape plated four runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull within 6-5, but the Shore answered with four of their own in the bottom of the frame. Ocean's Brian Kochenash, Manalapan's Chris Rodriguez and Middletown South's Austin Markmann strung together consecutive RBI hits to plate the first three runs, and Red Bank Catholic sophomore Anthony DeRosa followed with a sacrifice fly. Kochenash plated St. Rose's Kyle Missry with an RBI single before Rodriguez ripped a double down the left-field line to score Howell's Connor Boyle. Markmann then delivered an RBI single to score Kochenash.

Missry and Boyle started the rally with back-to-back one-out singles and again started a three-run rally in the eighth that capped the scoring. Missry walked, moved to second on a single by Boyle and scored on an infield hit by Kochenash. After an infield hit by Rodriguez loaded the bases, Markmann drew a walk to force in a run and DeRosa followed with an RBI single to make it 13-5.

Toms River South outfielder Jake Ryan gave the Shore a 5-1 lead with a two-run single in the fourth after Ryan Orender's RBI single made it 3-1 in the second. Manalapan first baseman Jake Sadowitz came around to score on both of those hits, reaching on a double in the second and a walk in the fourth.

Wondrack's three RBI led five Shore players who had multiple RBI. Kochenash, Markmann, Ryan and DeRosa each finished with two.

Seven Shore players logged at least one hit without making an out at the plate. Missry (1-for-1), Boyle (2-for-2), Kochenash (2-for-2), Sadowitz (1-for-1), Rodriguez (3-for-3) and Markmann (2-for-2) combined to go 11-for-11 in the win.

Manasquan left-hander Tom Sheehan and Shore Regional right-hander James Kelly split the first six innings on the mound. Sheehan allowed one unearned run on two hits and two walks while striking out four over the first three innings, while Kelly struck out three in retiring all nine batters he faced.