5/28/06: Section I, Group III Quarterfinals: Old Tappan 7, Wayne Valley 0: Wayne Valley (No. 9, 14-12) committed five errors in its season ending loss to Old Tappan (No. 1, 25-0).
5/23/06: Section I, Group III Playoffs: Wayne Valley 4, Sparta 3: Charlie Rigoglioso delivered a two-run single and Mike DiCenso added a run-scoring single to lead Wayne Valley (No. 9, 14-11) past Sparta (No. 8, 14-10).
5/19/06: Newark Academy 7, Wayne Valley 0: Singles by John Kruse and Tony Marino represented the the only hits for Wayne Valley (13-11).
5/16/06: Verona 15, Wayne Valley 8: Mike Palumbo and Charlie Rigoglioso knocked in two runs apiece for Wayne Valley (13-10).
Passaic County Tournament: PV 5, WV 2
By Skiffo Drake
John Mazzo speaks so glowingly about the Wayne Valley baseball team that it is sometimes difficult to remember that he coaches arch rival, Passaic Valley.
Mazzo’s feelings stem from the fact that he coached Jeff Hoover, the Wayne Valley coach, as a freshman at Northern Highlands in the early 1980’s.
“Jeff’s done a great job,” Mazzo said. “They’re one of the top teams in the county again.”
That said, Mazzo didn’t exactly complain when his Passaic Valley Hornets (No. 12) drew Hoover’s powerful Wayne Valley Indians (No. 5) in the first round of the Passaic County Tournament. PV entered the game confident, even though they had already lost to WV twice this season (5-4, 7-5).
“Wayne Valley has a great team,” Mazzo said. “But it’s very difficult to beat a team three times in one season. They beat us in two very close games. We knew that we could play with them.”
Sure enough, PV prevailed in the third and, by far, most important meeting, 5-2. The win propels the Hornets into the Passaic County quarterfinals, where they will meet Paterson Catholic (No. 4). The Cougars beat Paterson Eastside in Saturday’s first rounder, 4-0.
Passaic Valley (12-11) beat Wayne Valley (13-9) by scoring four runs to the seventh inning. Adam Christopher's three-run blast highlighted the comeback surge.
John Kruse hit a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth to give Wayne Valley a 2-1 advantage going into the seventh. Kruse also tripled and scored in the fourth inning. Charlie Rigoglioso knocked him home.
“Our backs were to the wall,” Mazzo said. “Everyone was a little down after John’s homerun. Adam answered with huge homerun. That was as clutch a hit as it gets.”
The Indians put two men on base in the bottom of the seventh, but could not score. The game ended on a fake pickoff move by Tom Coyle, PV’s pitcher.
Coyle faked a pickoff move to second base. PV’s second basemen and shortstop frantically lunged for the ball and then began to chase the bogus throw into the outfield. The Wayne Valley runners tried to advance before catching on. Coyle simply tossed the ball to Jesse Santo, who slapped a tag on the Wayne runner.
“We’ve used that play several times this year,” Mazzo said. “It’s worked every time. Tom’s really perfected it. He was terrific for us all game. He pitched well against Wayne Valley earlier in the year, but we still lost a close one. We were confident that that he could beat them.”
Coyle gave up just five hits in this one. Ray Puluse and Jon Coral supported the cause with RBI’s.
“We didn’t hit,” Hoover said. “We had only two hits through six innings and John Kruse had both of them. That’s not good enough against a power-hitting team like Passaic Valley.”
PV’s bats have indeed been powerful. The Hornets have clubbed 27 home runs this year. After starting off at 0-6, the squad has rebounded to qualify for the State Tournament, which starts next week.
“We’re very young,” Mazzo said. “I knew that we’d start slow. Most of those losses were close. We were playing well, but not getting it done. I figured that it was only a matter of time before we click. The concern with a young team is that maybe we’ll click too late. That didn’t happen, though. We’re peaking at the right time.”
Wayne Valley’s Brendan Kalinowski did hold PV in check for six innings, then struggled in the seventh.
“Brendan threw for us today,” Hoover said. “He’s a sophomore, but has been pitching well. He gave up one run and then tired out in the last inning. It was great, big game experience for him."
5/13/06: Lakeland 6, Wayne Valley 4: C.J. Gormleys grand slam homer helped Lakeland (17-3) storm out with a five-run first inning. Dave Soucy was 3-for-4 for Wayne Valley (13-8).
5/11/06: Wayne Valley 10, Orange 0: Orange (0-12) had just two hits off four Wayne Valley pitchers. Tory Marino singled and had three RBI for the Indians (13-7). Greg Sciametta tripled, singled, scored twice and knocked home a run.
5/6/06: Wayne Valley 5, West Milford 3: Wayne Valley (12-7) snapped a 3-3 tie when Charlie Rigoglioso ripped an RBI single with two out in the top of the seventh. Rigolioso then came around to score on Tory Marino's doubel. West Milford (9-6) had previously tied the game when Matt Lovendusky and Bryce Warden each singled home a run in the sixth. Rigolioso, Mike Palumbo and Evan O'Connor accounted for Wayne's first three RBI. Bobby LaMarco had West Milford's first RBI. Brendan Kalinowski earned the win the Valley.
5/4/06: Wayne Valley 11, Newark West Side 1: Charlie Rigoglioso brought in three runs with a triple and a single for Wayne Valley (11-7). Evan O’Connor also knocked in three runs. Pat McHugh and Brandon Greco knocked in two runs apiece.
5/2/06: Wayne Valley 6, Passaic Tech 1: John Kruse and Dave Soucy homered to lead Wayne Valley (10-7). Soucy finished the game with three hits and two RBI. Mike DiCenso also batted in a run for the Indians. Brendan Kalinowski earned the victory. Luciano Alvarez had the lone RBI for Tech (7-8).
4/29/06: Wayne Valley 7, Passaic Valley 5: John Kruse and Dave Soucy clubbed in two runs apiece to lift Wayne Valley (9-7) past Passaic Valley (5-9). Mike Palumbo picked up the win. Ray Puluse, Matt Coral, Jon Coral and Jim Camb had runs batted in for the Hornets.
4/28/06: DePaul 5, Wayne Valley 1: Eric Titus drove in three runs for DePaul (10-2). Mark Tanis (4-1) limited visting Wayne Valley (8-7) to four hits. Tory Marino had Wayne’s RBI.
4/27/06: Wayne Valley 6, West Orange 5: Mike Palumbo drove in two runs with a double in the fourth inning to help Wayne Valley (8-6) nip West Orange. Palumbo finished with three RBI. Charlie Rigoglioso had two hits, an RBI and scored twice for Wayne Valley. Brendan Kalinowski came on in the second inning and gave the Indians 5 2/3 innings of shutout relief.
4/22/06: Wayne Valley 9, Lakeland 4: John Kruse hit a home run and had four RBI to lead Valley (7-6). Charlie Rigoglioso and Dave Soucy also knocked in runs for the winners. Mike Palumbo earned the win. Ryan Burke had two RBI for the Lancers.
4/20/06: Wayne Valley 14, Orange 0: Derrick Bligh homered, knocked in three runs and earned the win as Wayne (6-6) ripped Orange . Tory Marino also smacked in three runs. Mike Palumbo and Brett Nedick had two RBI apiece.
4/18/06: Butler 11, Wayne Valley 9: Jeff Haselman had a two-run single for Butler (1-6). Dave Soucy led Valley (5-6) with three RBI.
4/16/06: Greater Wayne Tournament: First Round: Passaic Tech 6, Wayne Valley 5, Hawthorne 6, Wayne Hills 5; Championship: Hawthorne 6, Passaic Tech 5; Consolation: Wayne Hills 15, Wayne Valley 12: Hawthorne sauntered into town and prevailed in the Greater Wayne Baseball Tournament.The undefeated Bears (8-0) edged both Wayne Hills (3-4) and Passaic Tech (5-2). Mike Oneglia led Hawthorne past Hills with two RBI. John Ihne, Frank Franco, Eric White and Matt Ferreralla slapped in runs for the Patriots.
Nick DeSena and Allen Ambrogio knocked in two runs apiece in the championship game with Tech. Onix Oritz had two RBI for the Bulldogs.
PCT defeated Wayne Valley (5-5) in 11 innings. Ortiz led with two RB. Benji Meija picked up the win. Tory Marino homered and knocked in three runs for the Indians. Mike Palumbo also batted in a run.
Hills beat Valley in the consolation game. Valley led 10-4, but could not hold on. Franco led the Patriots with four RBI. Ihne, Matt Fermalia, Jason Evans and Dave Ogden knocked in two runs each. Ogden earned the win. Marino homered again and knocked in six runs. Palumbo had two RBI.
4/14/06: Wayne Valley 11, Newark West Side 0: Brandon Greco had two hits and four RBI as Wayne Valley (5-3) crushed West Side. John Kruse pitched a five-inning one-hitter. Pat McHugh knocked in three runs.
4/13/06: Wayne Valley 11, Newark Westside 0: Brandon Greco had two hits and four RBI 's to lead Wayne (5-3). John Kruse pitched a five-inning one-hitter for the Indians.
4/13/06: Wayne Valley 13, Montville 3: Greg Sciametta knocked in three runs to lead Valley (4-3) to an easy win. John Kruse, Derrick Bligh and Mike Palumbo added two RBI's apiece. Bligh earned his second win of the season.
Bulldog rally nips Valley
By Rich Stamboulian, 4/11/06
It took ten innings to decide but PCT and Wayne Valley finally finished their first meeting of the Northern Hills Conference season on Monday with the Bulldogs emerging victorious, 6-4.
PCT broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the tenth when an infield error on Jon Marichal’s two-out grounder allowed Pete Ross, who had singled leading off the inning, to score from second base. Kevin Scully followed with a double plating winning pitcher Benady Meija and Marichal trotted home moments later on a passed ball third strike against Kervin Rivera to make it 6-3.
Valley got a homerun from senior Tory Marino in the bottom of the inning to close to within 6-4. Brendan Kalinowski pitched the final two innings in relief of Mike Palumbo for Valley and took the loss.
After Valley took a first inning 1-0 lead, PCT scored to tie it in the second and edged ahead in the fourth, 2-1. The Indians retook the lead on Dave Soucy’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth after having tied it an inning earlier on Palumbo’s two out double that brought John Kruse home.
The Bulldogs played small ball to knot it in the seventh against Palumbo who started and pitched into the ninth inning. Scully led off with a walk and pinch runner Luciano Alvarez stole second. One out later, Will Garcia’s double to the left field gap brought Alvarez home. Palumbo then got the next two batters to give Valley a chance to end it in the bottom half but Meija, who struck out seven in his five innings in relief of Anthony Collazo, retired the side in order, a feat he duplicated in the eighth. Meija walked Mike DiCenso leading off the ninth but he was stranded at third as Meija retired the next three batters before giving way to Onix Ortiz who pitched the tenth.
The story of the day at the outset was the season Collazo’s season debut. His first mound outing had been delayed due to an off-season arm injury. The junior lefty did not disappoint, throwing sixty pitches in a four inning outing and surrendering only two hits and the first inning run which was unearned.
Collazo struck out six and hit two batters along with one walk as he had a bit of difficulty with his control early on. Overall, Coach Jim Lentine seemed pleased with the outcome and his prize pitcher’s performance. “We needed a win against a quality team and this was it. We feel good about ourselves. We made a ton of mistakes but bottom line was we came back when we had to and won the ballgame.”
“I couldn’t be happier with Anthony’s outing. He came though without incident; no pain, no injury. His velocity wasn’t there but I didn’t expect it to be. But he kicked it up a notch every now and then which was nice. He threw his changeup fantastic. He was tired though. He’ll ice it down tonight and throw a bit tomorrow.”
“He’ll start the first game against them on Saturday; we’ll come back with him and Benny. They saw them both today; there’s nothing new to show them because they saw them both.”
The teams meet again on Saturday morning at 10:30 in the opening round of the Greater Wayne tournament at PCT. At 2 pm at PCT, the winner will face the winner of the Hawthorne vs. Wayne Hills contest which also starts at 10:30 at Wayne Hills.
4/8/06: Wayne Valley 5, PassaicValley 4: Charlie Rigoglioso homered, tripled and knocked in two runs to lead the Indians (3-2). Evan O'Connor and Pat McHugh also had RBI. John Kruse earned the win by allowing just five hits and fanning eight. Jesse Santo had two RBI for the Hornets (0-4).
4/7/06: Pequannock 15, Wayne Valley 5: Justin Benscko and Brian Kirn homered to lead Pequannock (2-1). Both finished with two RBI. Frank Van Duyne led with 3 RBI. Sean Early and Doug Jennings also knocked in two runs each. Benscko earned the win. John Kruse went 3-for-4 for Wayne Valley with a double and run scored. Mike Palumbo had two hits and drove in three runs. Kruse, Tory Marino, Mike DiCenso and Greg Sciametta slapped doubles. John Tolerico banged out a triple.
4/6/06: Wayne Valley 2, West Orange 0: Charlie Rigoglioso had an RBI and Mike Palumbo threw for the win. The Indians improved to 2-1.
4/5/06: Wayne Valley 13, Caldwell 8: John Kruse, Mike DiCenso and Derrick Bligh had two RBI's apiece to lead Valley (1-1). Bligh earned the win.
4/02/06: West Milford 7, Wayne Valley 4: John Kruse, Mike Palumbo, Greg Sciametta and Evan Connor knocked in runs, but it was not enough as Valley lost its opener with West Milford. Kevin Schneider, Chris Thomas and Marc Asmus had two RBI's apiece for the Highlanders. Bobby LaMarco added another. Bryce Warder struck out five and recorded to the win for West Milford.
Preview
By Skiffo Drake, 3/23/06
Wayne - Jeff Hoover admits now that he wasn't terribly optimistic at the start of his first season as the Wayne Valley baseball coach. Hoover, the school's freshmen coach for eight years (1997-2004), got the varsity job prior to the 2005 campaign. He was inheriting a team that suffered through a dreadful 7-16 season in 2004.
"We had almost everybody back from 2004," he said. "I was honestly hoping that we would finish .500. That would have been a major improvement. I really didn't expect them to do much better than that."
Hoover was never so happy to be wrong. With the rookie head coach in charge, the Indians put together an incredible about-face and finished with a 16-9 record. They also earned a bid to the Section I, Group III playoffs and reached the Passaic County quarterfinals.
"That was a very nice surprise," the coach said. "Now we're looking for another surprise this year." Again, expectations are not sky-high. Wayne Valley's 2006 team has to endure the loss of 11 players to graduation.
"We're younger than we were last year," Hoover said. "But our goals are higher. Last year, we had the luxury of knowing we only had to win eight games to improve. This year, the barometer is a lot higher. “
Our goal last year was to re-establish our program. Now that it’s established, we don’t want to slip again. Things are going to be difficult at first, since we're so young. But it's a hungry group. They want to keep this thing going in the right direction.”
Senior Tory Marino will lead an otherwise young team. The first basemen/three-hitter batted .375 last year. "He has a lot of power," Hoover said. "He should knock in quite a few runs for us." The team's only other senior, Brandon Greco (pitcher/outfielder), is also expected to have a large role. "It's an extremely small senior class," Hoover said. "Other than them, we're all juniors."
John Kruse (pitcher/centerfielder) and Mike Palumbo (pitcher/shortstop) highlight the stellar class. Kruse earned second team all-conference honors by hitting .418 with 33 hits and 15 RBI's. Palumbo batted .327 while finishing with .394 ERA. Dave Soucy, another junior, will also pitch and start at third base. "
I coached the juniors when they were freshmen," Hoover said. "We had a good team, but we only went 10-10. That's very misleading, though. Kruse and Palumbo weren't with us. Kruse made the varsity that year. Palumbo was at Seton Hall Prep and didn't transfer in until the next year. "
The junior class is very strong. They have a chance to be just as good as last year's senior class. When you add Tory to the mix, we should be even stronger. Some of the guys just have to learn to play at the varsity level. We should get better and better as the season goes on."
The season kicks off with a home game against West Milford on Saturday, April 1 (2:00 p.m.).
No comments:
Post a Comment