Best game of the day, hands down. Ryan Duran was a difference-maker on the mound, but the seventh inning rally that won the game was fun to watch (unless, of course, you are a BC rooter):
River Dell junior second baseman Brett Lubben opened the seventh inning with a walk off BC ace Jeff Granger, who throwing a pretty solid game. Christian Estevez laid down a sharp bunt in front of the plate, and Lubben beat the one hop throw to second to leave runners on first and second.
Tim Barnes — another guy back from a serious football injury — then beat out a bunt down the third base line for his third hit to load the bases. The ball went straight down the basepath before catcher Zach Cerbo grabbed it, and the crowd was going crazy.
The Crusaders seemed to let a little air out of the rally when second baseman Joe Esposito snagged a Evan Drummond line drive and fired to first for a double play. Granger intentionally walked Duran, who had two hits and an RBI, to reload the bases, but Brandon Martinez, one of the top hitters in North Jersey, worked out a walk to force in the go-ahead run.
“It was about staying calm and pretty much keeping the line moving,†said Martinez, who also singled home the tying run in the third inning.
The rally had to share the spotlight with Duran, who, along with Barnes, was featured in Saturday’s Record. He’s in the midst of an impressive comeback from December knee surgery, and he has the mound presence to match just about any pitcher in North Jersey not named Kaminsky.
“How good is that kid on the mound?†River Dell coach Flanagan said. “Once we tied it [in the third inning], I knew I had my guy out there. That’s the guy I wanted out there.â€
Duran limited the Crusaders to three hits. He struck out six, and allowed only one baserunner over the last four innings.
BC scored two runs off him in the first inning, but likely would have walked away with nothing if it weren’t for a pair of infield errors. Duran only walked one and BC only hit four balls out of the infield after the first inning.
“[Duran] got stronger as the game went on,†said BC coach Mark DeMenna. “He was throwing his curve for strikes, and he made big pitches when he had to.â€
River Dell is back in the county semifinals for the first time since 2002. They climbed to No. 7 in The Record baseball Top 25 after last week’s win over Park Ridge, so stay tuned for where they wind up in the latest poll that comes out Monday.
“We’ve been flying under the radar a little, but we know we’re legit,†said coach Brandon Flanagan, whose team is ranked No. 7 in The Record baseball Top 25. “This really shakes it up.â€
 The Golden Hawks (22-5) face No.6 Rutherford in Saturday’s semifinal at Demarest. The other semifinal features No. 4 Old Tappan against No. 1 St. Joseph.