Baseball: A look at Bergen Round of 16

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Hopefully the rain will blow out of here soon enough to leave the fields at  Emerson and Demarest High Schools in good shape Sunday morning. I’ll be at Emerson for the three games while Jim McConville will be at Demarest. For now, here’s an indepth look at the matchups, including starting pitchers:

At Lyndhurst

No. 11 Ridgefield Park vs. No. 6 Rutherford, 11:30 a.m.

Liam Connors (3-1) vs. Steve Kinzler (4-1)

RP coach Pete Kraljic might be raising an eyebrow or two by tabbing the junior right-hander Connors over his No. 2 starter Connor O’Grady, but there’s a good reason. Kraljic had to shuffle his entire infield after star senior first baseman Richie Espinal — a strong defensive player and an outstanding RBI man —- had his appendix removed. Keeping O’Grady at shortstop lends a little stability to the defense, a must on Lyndhurst’s quick surface. Third baseman Jordan Jackson moved to 1B in Friday’s 6-1 opening round win over Ridgefield while 2B Charles Heslin shifted to 3B and sophomore Tommy Ochoa stepped in at 2B. Alex Alberque stepped into Espinal’s No. 3 slot in the batting order, had a single and a triple against the Royals. Keep an eye on sophomore CF Tommy Visaggio, who had three hits Friday. Look for the Scarlets, who love to use their speed and play hit-and-run, to be aggressive right off the bat on the turf.

Kinzler, one of the premier pitchers in North Jersey, will get to pitch now that Rutherford’s game with NJIC Colonial Division leader PomptonLakes has been pushed back to Tuesday. He’s 4-1 with a 1.20 ERA, but the attention grabbing stats are his 41 strikeouts and just four walks in 35 innings. Don’t expect the Bulldogs to be rattled by RidgefieldPark’s base running skills and speed because one of their strengths is holding runners on. Keep an eye on senior CF Pat Landrigan (.540 batting average, .604 on base percentage, 34 hits, 34 runs), who is a serious candidate for The Record Player of the Year honors. The turf will play well for this team’s speed and defense. Junior 2B Ben Isola has been a nice complement for slick fielding SS Rex MacMillan, and the Bulldogs have turned 25 double plays this season. 

 

No. 12 Emerson vs. No. 5 Lyndhurst, 2 p.m.

Joe Fisco (5-1) vs. Max Hart (7-0)

The Cavos advanced with an eight-inning, 6-5 win over Garfield on Thursday. The game was played on Lyndhurst’s turf field because of the weather, and this is a venue that Emerson and its lineup crammed with gap hitters love. Fisco, a junior, is Emerson’s ace, but the best thing about him continues to be his bat. He’s hitting .444 and the bottom line is that teams are afraid to pitch to him right now. He singled, walked three times and was hit by a pitch against Garfield, and has reached base via walk (24) or hit by pitch (seven) 31 times this season. Coach Bob Carcich has moved him up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order to give him extra at bats, and that will mean plenty of RBI chances for the middle of the order duo of Nick Smith (three RBI vs. Garfield) and Matt Portales. The Cavos beat Lyndhurst on April 6, 7-6, the Golden Bears last loss before running off 17 straight wins.

Hart has been Lyndhurst’s most effective pitcher all season, but his last start was cut shirt because of some arm issues. He bears watching, although if he’s on, the Cavos will have their hands full. The Golden Bears were scheduled to play a game Saturday night against Bogota, but if that game isn’t played, coach Butch Servideo will be bidding for his 500th career win against Carcich, who is already in the exclusive 500-win club. The Golden Bears made four errors in the April 6 loss, so they know what happens when they give Emerson extra chances. It will be interesting to watch junior SS Franky DeLeva, hitting over .600 and in the running for The Record Player of the Year honors, on the big stage. Also watch Lyndhurst’s exciting pair of table-setters, LF Marcus Brandon (23 steals) and slick-fielding CF Sergio Turelli (24 stolen bases).

 

At Demarest

No. 9 Demarest vs. No. 8 Teaneck, 10:30

TBD vs. Alexi Ozoria (2-2)

Demarest coach Charlie Giachetti said he will wait until Sunday morning to decide between Justin Marko and Zach Davis. Don’t be surprised if Marko gets the call. Marko is coming off a huge game in Friday’s 10-1 opening round win against Waldwick where he had four hits, two home runs and five RBI. He now has six home runs, tabbing him as one of the underrated power sources in North Jersey. He’s going to Rhode Island and will try and walk-on to the baseball team, and Giachetti said he’s the best athlete on the team. These teams know each other well. They split the regular season series with Demarest winning 6-5 and Teaneck winning 13-10. The Norsemen have played very well leading into the tournament, and hope to take full advantage of playing on their home field. 

This is a big moment for a Teaneck team full of seniors who have never played a county game before. Coach Ed Klimek said his players are pumped up for this matchup, and there will be a nice representation of former Teaneck greats, in town for this weekend’s school athletic Hall of Fame festivities, planning to stay over for the game. Ozoria, a senior, earned headlines recently with a no-hitter against Tenafly and also pitched a strong game, allowing one run in a win over PascackValley. He throws strikes, and Klimek said the Highwaymen tend to play well behind him. The offense has been consistently solid all season, thanks to the strong work of table-setters Dmitri Rueger and Kwestin Smith. Senior C Harrison Preschel has over 30 RBI, but keep an eye on LF Josh Duster. Twenty five of his 28 hits have been singles, but he has a .551 batting average and has been a major offense spark.   

 

No. 20 Glen Rock vs. No. 4 Old Tappan, 1 p.m.

Greg Warner (2-2) vs. Lucas Mazurek (5-0)

Warner’s a good choice for the Panther’s in a big game setting because he has shown nice poise in these type of games before. Remember his four innings of one-hit relief against Ramapo in last year’s tournament? He also pitched well against PomptonLakes and Rutherford this season, two teams that might be a little more dangerous offensively than the Golden Knights. Glen Rock advanced with a 6-4 victory over New Milford on Friday, rallying with three runs in the top of the sixth. Keep an eye on SS Tyler Roldan (two doubles and two RBI), who has been a consistent threat in the middle of the order all season. Look for this to be a tight game. The pressure will be on the Glen Rock defense to play a flawless game because Old Tappan is the sort of team that knows how to take advantage of any extra outs that come its way. The ability to lay down a sacrifice bunt or take an extra base could be a deciding factor in this battle of fundamentals.

The Golden Knights are on a pretty nice roll, winning nine straight with the always unbeatable combination of good pitching and timely hitting. Coach Tim Byron said that the best thing about the current streak is that contributions are coming from all quarters. Keep an eye on senior John Trainor, who has a 16-game hitting streak. When he gets on base, he makes the Old Tappan offense go. The Golden Knights will be without P/1B Brandon Issa, who is still nursing a sore ankle. They’ll miss his bat in the heart of the lineup, but OT is getting a boost from the return of Harris Osterman. He had six hits in his first six at-bats this season before being sidelined with appendicitis, so his return helps fill the Issa void. 

 

No. 17 St. Mary vs. No. 1 St. Joseph, 3:30 p.m.

JR Hilcher (1-1) vs. Rob Kaminsky (6-0)

The Gaels have gone out of their way to challenge themselves this season, but this date with the premier pitcher in the state is the biggest challenge yet. Coach Dennis Hulse thought long and hard about holding his ace Willie Krajnik —- who tossed a complete game shutout in Friday’s 1-0, opening round win over Indian Hills — back for this one, but decided not to gamble. In hindsight, good move, although it would have been nice to see a Krajnik-Kaminsky duel in from of what should be a huge crowd. Hilcher is a left-hander who doesn’t throw hard, so perhaps he can keep the St. Joseph bats off balance. The biggest problem facing the Gaels is offense. They’ve been struggling for runs, so it will be interesting to see if they can be creative against Kaminsky. Sophomore C Mike Valentine was the offensive hero against Hills with two hits, including a single that drove in the deciding run.

Kaminsky hasn’t pitched since May 4 against Gloucester Catholic, so the senior left-hander is certainly rested and ready. In 39 innings this season, he has allowed one earned run, 16 hits and struck out 77. The Green Knights, No. 1 in The Record Top 25 and the JerseySports.com state Top 10, have won 18 straight to start the season, but haven’t played since beating PascackValley on Monday. Will rust be a factor, at least early in game? Maybe. The Green Knights did play an intrasquad game Friday against their JV pitching staff to get used to live hitting again, but soft-tossing lefty like Hilcher could give them some trouble early on. LF Mike Gallo has been swinging a hot bat, but watch senior 3B Matt Kozuch, who has been getting some big hits from the No. 2 spot in the batting order. P.S. Big game on tap Monday at WilliamPatersonUniversity as St. Joseph faces second seed and No. 2 in North Jersey Bergen Catholic.

 

At Emerson

No. 10 River Dell vs. No. 7 Park Ridge, 10 a.m.

Mark Wittkamp (3-1) vs. Troy Taber (7-0)

The Golden Hawks weren’t particularly sharp in Friday’s opening round 5-3 win over Fair Lawn (only six hits), but they did do a good job of grinding out runs. That’s what good teams do in these type of games. Five different players had RBI against the Cutters, including Tim Barnes, Evan Drummond, Mike Watson, Brett Lubben and Joey Schwartz. Wittkamp, a junior lefty, has thrown a couple of nice games this season, one-hitting RidgefieldPark and two-hitting Bergenfield. Coach Brandon Flanagan said Wittkamp is ready for this type of game. The Golden Hawks are a pitching/defense team, and Park Ridge, one of the most productive offensive teams in North Jersey, will provide an interesting challenge. The Golden Hawks have some All-Bergen caliber bats like Barnes and senior OF Brandon Martinez, but they can’t let this become a slugfest.

The game plan has been pretty simple for the Owls. Score of a ton of runs (170 in 20 games), get five strong innings from Taber (41 strikeouts in 39 innings) and turn the ball over to ace closer Pete Masterton (three wins, six saves, 54 strikeouts in 28 innings). The Owls are strong up and down the batting order. Senior CF Ryan Fallon has 25 RBI, senior 1B Jason Smith is hitting .484 with 30 hits and 21 RBI and junior SS Eric Luther is hitting .432 with 32 hits, three homers and 18 RBI. Keep an eye on senior C Andy sosa who is hitting .387 with four homers and 19 RBI. The Owls haven’t lost to a team in New Jersey this season, winning all 19 games against in-state opponents heading into the tournament.

 

No. 15 Paramus vs. No. 2 Bergen Catholic, 12:30 p.m.

Domonic Caporelli (3-3) vs. Jeff Granger (4-1)

Fortune seems to be smiling on the Spartans in this tournament so far. They got in with an 8-8 record —- I think deservedly so — thanks to the new power point/strength of schedule formula employed by the committee, and opened with a 10-6 win over Paramus Catholic on Friday. Then two days of rain turned out to be a blessing for the pitching staff because coach Jonathan Morrisette was able to use No. 2 starter J.R. Chinchar against the Paladins and save his ace Caporelli for BC. Caporelli hit a home run on Friday, so his bat can be just as important as his arm for a team that has been rather inconsistent at the plate for most of the season. Paramus lost to the Crusaders, 13-3, earlier this season, thanks mainly to a defensive meltdown that the Spartans can’t afford to be repeat in a tournament setting. If the Spartans make the plays behind him this time, Caporelli has the stuff to keep them in the game. The 10 runs against PC was encouraging for a team that needs to start producing runs, but they are going to have be a little creative to manufacture runs against Granger. DH Anthony DeCeeglie contimues to wield a hot bat, driving in two runs against Paramus Catholic.

Granger hasn’t pitched since May 3. His signature win came against St. Augustine, and he’s 4-1 with an 0.39 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 11 walks in 33 innings. The rain and subsequent days off have been a boon to the Crusaders, who were a little banged up heading into this week. The player to watch is senior C Zach Cerbo, a top candidate for The Record Player of the Year honors. But the Crusaders have also been getting a lot of mileage out of the middle of their batting order, and they can easily turn this into another romp if the Spartans are sloppy in the field. Keep an eye on one the one-two punch of Alec DeMattheis (two homers, 27 RBI) and Ray Maresca (two homers, 26 RBI).  

 

No. 19 Ridgewood vs. No. 3 Mahwah, 3 p.m.

Kevin Skettini (0-0) vs. Chris Baldi (8-0)

This is a pitching matchup between two postseason stars of last year. Skettini, 8-2 as a junior, is coming back from an injury that has limited him to six innings this season. He has a save against Old Tappan, and coach Kurt Hommen said he has worked hard to get in position for this start. Skettini, who doubles as Ridgewood’s first baseman and top RBI threat, won a county game last season, and his presence on the mound should be a huge emotional boost for the Maroons. Ridgewood pulled off the biggest upset of the first round, stopping No. 13 Hasbrouck Heights, 7-3, in only game played on Wednesday. SS Nico Symington had three hits, part of a week that saw him get eight hits in 11 at bats, stealing seven bases. OF Kengo Kawahara had a double and two RBI against Heights, and Mawah has to be wary of the speed he and Symington provide at the top of the order.

Baldi has established a reputation as one of the premier big game pitchers in the state. His eight wins are tied with Ray Espinosa of HasbrouckHeights for the most in North Jersey, and he’s won 13 straight going back to last season’s remarkable postseason run. Baldi is the perfect pitcher for this outstanding defensive team because he throws strikes, doesn’t walk many and makes his opponent put the ball in play. The Thunderbirds are 19-1, winning five straight since their 20-game winning streak was snapped. Senior SS Cole Fabio, a defensive whiz, recently picked up his 100th career hit. Keep an eye on 1B Eric Kaplan, who has emerged as one of the top clutch hitters in North Jersey. Coach Jeff Remo said Kaplan has been at his best with two out and runners in scoring position. He’s hitting .446 with five home runs, and he has 34 RBI on 29 hits. Mahwah scrimmaged Ridgewood twice earlier this spring, and Remo said the games were “a flip of the coin.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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