DePaul tops Hills in 1st Round County Thriller
A year ago at Wayne Hills, the Patriots eliminated DePaul in the first round of the Passaic County baseball tournament in a game that symbolized the frustrations of the Spartans disappointing (7-16) season.
Last Saturday at DePaul in this tear’s first round, the roles were reversed. Senior Matt Emker’s three-run, walk off home run capped
A four run eighth inning and gave DePaul a come from behind 7-4 win over Hills. The dramatic win sends DePaul to Hawthorne for a quarterfinal game against the second-seeded Bears (15-5) on Saturday at 11 am.
Meanwhile, the heartbreaking loss in which the Patriots (9-12) could not hold a pair of one run leads in the final two innings left them wondering what happened to a
season that began with such promise. Just 19 hours earlier, Hills dropped a 5-1 decision at home to Old Tappan (16-4), marking the first time in head coach Chris Ianneillo’s six years that the Patriots will miss the State tournament. On this day, they were also eliminated after just one round of County play for the first time in Ianneillo’s tenure.
A jubilant Joe Lennon, DePaul’s head coach said, “We knew coming in that it would be a great game between two very good and evenly matched teams. Whoever made the big play or got the big hit in their last time up was going to win. Matt did, he hit it out!” Lennon was a bit surprised that Emker, who had two earlier hits that produced RBI, was not intentionally walked. “But I was confident that Eric (Titus, the next hitter) could get the job done too,” he added.
Lennon, looking to his next County foe said, “Hawthorne is a solid team with very good pitching, we’ll have to play another top flight game.” With a pair of regular season games this week, he said it was too early to name his pitcher but if Saturday’s choice was an indication, the Bears could face Titus. “I think Eric is our guy and I wanted him to have the ball,” he said of last Saturday’s game. Unfortunately, he re-aggravated a rib injury so he could only go three today. Our other guys (Emker and Bryan Gambuzza) kept us close and did a great job too.”
The Spartans will likely face either Hawthorne ace Josh Kabrel, who pitched them to a surprisingly close 4-3 first-round win over Kennedy or Matt Scarber. Asked which of the two tournaments he focuses on (DePaul will play in the upcoming Non-Public State tournament beginning May 26th), the veteran coach said, “all tournaments are important but in my 23 years in Passaic County, because of the closeness of the 17 schools, it’s an unbelievable honor to win the County title. We did it in 2001 over Wayne Hills and and it’s one of the greatest honors in my coaching career. These are great coaches and great teams.”
Ianneillo, clearly disappointed at his team’s brief playoff appearance, said, “This is a tough loss, a difficult loss. It’s been a frustrating season. The lack of getting a big hit, and not making a key play; it came back to haunt us. Five of their runs were unearned. We gave them extra outs, we let their leadoff guy get on too much; it’s typical of the way our entire season went. This was an indication of all twelve of our losses.”
We anticipated a battle, the kids know each other, and DePaul is always a fundamentally sound, well-coached team. They outplayed us today, “he continued. Emker and Tanis (a combined 7 for 10) battled our pitchers, made them come after them and then did what number three and four hitters are supposed to do.” Hills took their first lead in the sixth on Kyle Cavanaugh’s two run opposite field homer but missed a chance to add insurance runs in the seventh when they left two men in scoring position. Emker’s RBI single tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom half but Patriots starter Nick Russo bore down to get the next three in order, leaving the winning run at third and sending the game to extra innings. The Patriots again edged in front in the eighth on Antonio Imbimbo’s smash to third off the glove of Eric Hill to drive in Cavanaugh for a 4-3 lead. But the sophomore Gambuzza (5-1) who pitched the final 2 1/3 innings shut the door, retiring the next three including the last two on strikes, again denying Hills any insurance runs. A one-out infield error kept DePaul’s hopes in the bottom of the inning. After John Ihne, in relief of Russo to start the inning, got the second out, Hills was just one out away from the win but junior Doug Kalinowski’s double of the right field fence plated the tying run and Tanis’s infield single, his fourth hit of the day set the stage for Emker’s heroics. Ihne got two strikes with well-placed fastballs but the big right hander then threw a 2-2 pitch up in the zone. The lefty Emker sent it soaring over the 25 foot high right field fence to produce jubilation in one dugout and eerie silence in the other.
Patriots Eliminated From State Playoff Contention5/13/05: Wayne Hills (9-11) was eliminated from State Playoff contention after a 5-1 loss to Old Tappan. Teams needed to be at .500 or better by May 13. The Patriots will now have to focus entirely on the Passaic County Tournament. Hills plays DePaul in today's opening round game (11 p.m., DePaul). Kyle Cavanaugh's home run in the first inning proved to be Wayne lone-run.
Patriots play for State berth Friday
After Wednesday’s 17-6 romp over Indian Hills, head coach Chris Ianneillo told his team, “you just earned the right to fight another day. Friday’s game (versus Old Tappan) is our first State game.”
The Patriots (9-10) actually need to win their fourth straight on Friday to reach the .500 mark required to qualify for the State tournament. Having suffered through a horrendous mid-season slump, they have
played since last Friday with their backs against the wall, needing to win four in a row to qualify for state play, as all five of Ianneillo’s Hills’ squads have done.
The Patriots face a major challenge to complete this dramatic comeback as the opponent at home on Friday is Old Tappan, which defeated them 6-4 last month. The Golden Knights, (15-4) the defending Bergen County champs, and current NBIL Division Two leaders, are solid at all positions and feature a very deep pitching staff.
Hills appears to be getting a break since Old Tappan’s two aces, Nick Vallillo and lefty Eric Katzman, both (5-2), pitched earlier this week. However, they may face Brian McLaughlin, a tough righty who shut them down and got the win in the earlier game. Ianneillo has tapped junior Sean Colligan (2-0) to take the hill in his team’s most important game so far this season. The junior pitched brilliantly last Friday in the 3-32 victory over Northern Highlands that began the critical winning streak.
The Patriots have received three consecutive strong performances from their starters and will likely need a similar effort from Colligan against the potent Golden Knights lineup that features power hitting sophomore Nick Pulsonetti, stand out catcher Angelo Ponte, and the Segedin brothers, Rob and Tom.
On Wednesday at Indian Hills, the Patriots avenged an earlier 13-6 which was one of their poorest performances of the year. Both starters looked strong in the first two innings but Hills broke through in the third when Junaid Chowdry singled home Steve LaCasse who had tripled. The Braves responded with four runs off lefty Dave Ogden in the bottom of the frame and Hills supporters were left to wonder if the recently anemic offense could overcome the early deficit.
The answer came quickly as the Patriots bats came alive scoring five in the third and three in the fourth to take command, 9-4. They added another eight in the final two innings and held the Braves to two meaningless runs the rest of the way. Ogden battled through a solid five innings and senior Antonio Imbimbo pitched the final two. Because the Patriots have had few save opportunities this season, Ianneillo has had little chance to use the hard throwing right-hander in the relief role. With Friday’s battle looming and Saturday marking the opener of the County tournament, this was the perfect opportunity to get Imbimbo some much needed work. He fanned four and walked two while yielding two unearned runs in his stint.
Hills set season highs in runs scored and with 18 hits. Every starter had at least one hit, highlighted by first baseman John Ihne’s four hit, three RBI performance, including a long two run homer in the sixth. Other batting highlights included Steve LaCasse’s slump-breaking three hits and three RBIs and Justin Donnarumma’s pair of doubles and three RBIs in his first game back after suffering an upper back injury against Fair Lawn two weeks ago.
Game times are 4:15 Friday at home and 11 am Saturday at DePaul (12-9) in the first round Passaic County game.
Two down, two to go
By Rich Stamboulian, 5/11/05
The Patriots combined Nick Russo’s outstanding pitching performance with RBI doubles by Antonio Imbimbo and John Ihne to defeat Mahwah (8-11) to eliminate the Thunderbirds from State tournament contention and to keep their own hopes alive.
Russo, a senior, fanned nine and allowed only three hits, including a pair of two-out singles in the top of the seventh en route to Hills’ second straight dominating, complete game pitching performance. Last Friday,
junior Sean Colligan (2-0) also struck out nine in his own three-hitter over Northern Highlands. Mahwah lefty Jeff Stein (1-2) kept the Patriot hitters off balance with an assortment of off speed stuff through the first five innings, allowing just three hits and stranding runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings. In the fifth however, the patriots finally broke through.
Senior Kyle Cavanaugh led off by drawing a walk. One out later, fellow senior Imbimbo drilled a long RBI double for the second game in a row, this one to right center, to drive home Cavanaugh. After left-fielder Steve LeCasse popped out, Ihne’s second double of the game, to right field, brought in Imbimbo.
Russo made it stand up by retiring the side in order in the sixth and ending the seventh inning threat by snaring Paul Scherer’s liner back to the box for the game’s final out. The lanky righty had the Thunderbirds off balance and lunging all day at his sharp-breaking curve. He did not walk a batter and needed only 89 pitches.
Hills (8-10), which had its’ backs to the wall after last week’s pair of shutout losses to Pascack Valley and Pascack Hills, went into Friday’s game needing to win their final four games before the state cut off this Friday. Having edged Northern Highlands and Mahwah, the Patriots travel to Indian Hills (4-12) on Wednesday, seeking to make amends for one of their poorest performances this season, a 13-6 loss to the Braves on April 15 that started Hills’ tailspin that led to eight losses in nine games. Sophomore lefty Dave Ogden will take the hill for the biggest start in his young varsity career.
With his dormant offense having now scored a total of only five runs in the last four games, head coach Chris Ianneillo is looking for continued strong pitching and defense in the next two games to nail down the sixth straight State berth in his years at Wayne Hills. “We may have to get that kind of performance again if we don’t start hitting like we’re capable of,” Ianneillo said after Monday’s win.
Thursday’s pitcher against Old Tappan (15-3) with the playoff spot on the line, should the Patriots win Wednesday, could be either Ihne or Colligan, according to Ianneillo.
Russo is scheduled to pitch Saturday’s first round County game versus DePaul (12-8) at 11 am at DePaul.
County Tournament Preview: DePaul vs. Wayne Hills
By Rich Stamboulian, 5/9/05
5/9/05: With an eye towards the State tournament later this month, the area teams are preparing for the Passaic County tournament which begins play in earnest this week.
The DePaul Spartans (12-7) won three of their four games last week, bouncing back from a 6-0 loss to Pequannock (13-4) Friday in which they managed only two hits, to defeat league and county rival Lakeland, 7-6 on Saturday.
Eric Titus connected for two home runs, including a game tying shot in the bottom of
the seventh and Ryan Powell added another in the Spartans’ three-run third inning that gave them a 5-4 lead. Right fielder Bob Weir’s double drove home Zach D’Andrea with the game-winning run just moments after Titus’s home run. Bryan Gambuzza (4-1), pitching in relief of starter Eric Hill, got the win.
DePaul, the seventh seed, will host Wayne Hills, seeded tenth, on Saturday morning at 11 am in a first round County game. These two teams met in last year’s first round with Hills winning in a game played on the Patriots’ home field. Their history in County play goes back farther however. In 2000, Ianneillo’s first year at the Hills’ helm, the Patriots defeated DePaul. The following year, veteran coach Joe Lennon’s squad turned the tables to take the title.
This year, the Patriots have struggled through the toughest stretch in head coach’s Chris Ianneillo’s six years as head coach. They hope they have righted the ship with their tight 3-2 win over NBIL foe Northern Highlands (6-11) last Friday. Prior to the win, they had lost eight of their nine previous games, all in NBIL play. With their (7-10) record, the Patriots needed to sweep their three games this week before the State cutoff, concluding with today’s home tilt against Old Tappan (14-3) in order to qualify for State tournament play.
Ianneillo is guardedly optimistic about his team’s chances in the County tournament. “We always feel that the strong schedule we play in our league prepares us for tournament games, both in the Counties and the States,” said Ianneillo. “Right now, our pitching has come around but at the plate, we need to be more productive.”
On Friday, Ianneillo urged his players to “attack the baseball” at the plate. The results were not spectacular, but having been shut out by a combined 14-0 by Pascack Valley and Pascack Hills in the two previous games, the three run rally in the fourth inning qualifies as an eruption.
Antonio Imbimbo’s ringing double down the left field line brought home Kyle Cavanaugh with the Patriots’ first run in three games. They tied the score three batters later as Imbimbo slid home when John Ihne’s attempt to force Highlanders’ pitcher Tim Hannes (2-4) to balk resulted in a successful double steal. Mike Martinez then ended his slump with a sharp double to right field scoring Ihne with what proved to be the winning run.
Sean Colligan (2-0) went the distance on a three-hitter in his first start of the year. Colligan struck out nine and allowed only one hit after the first inning when Highlands scored its two runs. “Sean had earned a start with his performance this year and with Justin Donnarumma (injured) not able to pitch this week, this was the perfect time for him. Sean really stepped us for us today in a must-win game,” said Ianneillo.
5/1/05: A five game losing streak was halted when Hills beat Fair Lawn, 7-1. John Ihne hit a three-run homer for Wayne. Nick Russo (2-1) threw a three-hitter with six strikeouts and two walks.
Hills baseball struggling
By Rich Stamboulian
4/26/05: A four game losing streak and it’s not getting easier for the Wayne Hills baseball team this week. The week began against Demarest (9-1) and Fair Lawn (7-3) and concludes with tomorrow’s rematch with Ramsey (5-4) at home and Saturday morning’s 11 am visit by Kearny (9-1) in a non-league tilt.
The Patriots need to play more consistently in the field and produce more runs (14 in the last four games) in order to get back on track. Last Friday’s tough 3-2 loss against ace pitcher Shooter Hunt (4-0, 0.58 ERA) and his Ramapo teammates may have provided a confidence boost. But after the game, head coach Chris Ianneillo and assistant Fran Rella reminded the players that they have no time for moral victories.
“We played hard today but we have to win some baseball games,” said Rella. Ianneillo echoed Rella’s comments and added, “We have to concentrate on execution and making plays and not worry so much about who we’re playing. We were intense today because it was Ramapo and we faced Shooter but we need to have that effort every game to get better results, “Ianneillo said.
Hunt, arguably North Jersey’s best pitcher, came as advertised on Friday, striking out the side, all looking, on a mere ten pitches to begin the game. He wound up with 15 strikeouts on the day, fanning every Patriot except centerfielder Kyle Cavanaugh. Hunt stumbled only when Cavanaugh sent a fastball far over the left field fence to tie the game at 2-2 in the sixth. The blast was set up by Kevin Dunn when the sophomore, making his first varsity start at second base, worked out a walk against Hunt, who will likely be selected in the June baseball draft.
Meanwhile, Justin Donnarumma (1-2), who had lost to Hunt here last year in an 11-1 Ramapo romp, was nearly as stingy. The Hills junior hurler struck out a career-high eight, and yielded only two runs before Ramapo’s Kevin Ascolese stroked a double on a 3-1 hanging curveball to drive home the game winner in the seventh. “I knew I had to keep us close because we didn’t figure to score many against Shooter,” he said. “I just stayed focused on the target and tried to make my pitches, “he added, with disappointment etched on his face. We all just came up short today.”
Patriots win fifth straight
By Rich Stamboulian
4/13/05: Although Antonio Imbimbo had gone 3 for 4 with a pair of RBI at the plate through the first six innings on Monday, his mind was more likely on the two errors he committed earlier at third base. Those miscues played a big part in Mahwah scoring five unearned runs to overcome an early 5-0 Patriots lead. His thoughts changed dramatically as he blasted a two out, seventh inning walk off grand slam to lift Hills (5-2) to a wild 13-10 comeback win.
Mahwah (2-4) led 10-8 at Hills on Monday and seemed on the verge of ending the Patriots’ four game winning streak with the home team down to their last out. But Cody Cruschiel’s grounder scooted between the legs of the Mahwah second baseman to keep the inning alive. James Furey, the regular Mahwah second baseman had been forced to take over behind the plate after catcher Dan Malundrucolo had been ejected the previous inning for unsportsmanlike play and had been replaced by an inexperienced player at his spot.
The Patriots immediately made the Thunderbirds pay for the untimely miscue. Steve LaCasse’s single loaded the bases moving the tying runs into scoring position. Center fielder Kyle Cavanaugh, who had two infield singles to his credit, lined a sharp single to left scoring Junad Chowdry but Mike Peischl, pinch running for Cruschiel had to hold at third.
Imbimbo, who had narrowly missed a grand slam in the third when his blast to center bounced over the fence for a grounds rule double, stepped into the box. With a 1-1 count, he drilled the next pitch to almost the identical spot but this one easily cleared the fence bringing his teammates streaming out of the dugout to greet him at home plate. The celebration continued as Imbimbo, who had another commitment, turned it into a “run-off” grand slam as he gathered his gear and dashed off the field smiling broadly.
The late inning heroics made head coach Chris Ianneillo feel a lot better than he had just moments earlier when his squad surrendered an 8-7 edge as Mahwah scored three in the sixth against Sean Colligan to retake the lead. “It was an ugly win for us but it would have been an even uglier loss,” Ianneillo quipped. “We came out flat today possibly because of a hangover from the Saturday tournament and the kids may have taken Mahwah a bit lightly. They had trouble scoring runs last week (three consecutive shutout losses) but they took advantage of our errors. I give them credit, they kept battling,” he added.
“This is how it is in our league where anybody can beat anyone else.” Reinforcing Ianneillo’s thoughts were two slugfests that produced upsets in other NBIL action Monday as previously undefeated Old Tappan (4-1) and ace pitcher Eric Katzman was nipped by surprising Ramsey (also now 4-1) in a 9-8 battle at Ramsey and Indian Hills (2-3) scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to hand rival Ramapo (4-1) their first loss as well, 10-9.
The Patriots host Indian Hills on Friday at 4:15 pm.
Patriots repeat in Greater Wayne Diamond tournament
The Wayne Today, 4/11/05
By Rich Stamboulian
Winning the Greater Wayne tournament has become a habit for the Wayne Hills Patriots under Chris Ianneillo.
“In my six years here, it was postponed twice and we’ve won it the other four times,” said Ianneillo. “It has been a good tournament for us. We have the opportunity to play other Passaic County teams which we don’t see during the regular season and it’s also a chance for us to show them our skills.
These wins should help our confidence level when we get into the County tournament later in the year. Playing in the NBIL which Ithink is as tough as any in the state, helps us feel that we can play with any team in the county,” he added.
The Patriots showed plenty of skills Saturday in defeating Wayne Valley 7-3 at Valley in the first game before trouncing Hawthorne, the pre-season county favorite, 8-4 in the final played at Hills on a sun-drenched afternoon.
Hills took advantage of two infield errors in the bottom of the first inning to jump out to a 2-0 lead on back-to-back RBI singles by senior Antonio Imbimbo and sophomore Dave Ogden off Kevin Orlofski (1-2). The Indians, playing as the visitors on their home field, answered with a run in the second on Jason Dulhagen’s RBI fielder’s choice but missed an opportunity for a big inning when the Patriots’ Justin Donnarumma and Junad Chowdry turned a neat inning-ending double play on Matt Rigoglioso’s grounder.
Single runs in their next three at bats stretched the Hills lead to 5-1. In the sixth, the Indians strung together four singles scoring two on Matt Lenhard’s hit with only one out and seemed to have Ogden (1-1) on the ropes but the lefty escaped further damage when second baseman Donnarumma snared Mark Muzer’s liner and flipped to Chowdry to double off Muzer. Junior Sean Colligan pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game after the Patriots added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth.
While pleased with the offensive output for the second day in a row, (Hills defeated Northern Highlands 9-8 on Friday), Ianneillo was most pleased with the defense and pitching. “Our defense has been improved the past two games, we’ve been making the routine plays and turning DPs when we have to. That’s what I expect the kids to do.”
Talking about the pitching, he continued, “Ogden (who earned his first varsity win) had a real gutty performance for us today coming back on three days. He threw some nice changeups behind in the count to keep them off balance. He’s a tough lefty, he’s going to be good. Colligan has been a key for us in these four wins. He’s been throwing well; he has a herky-jerky motion with movement on his ball. He can be that middle guy for us and there will be some starts for him too. Sean worked hard in the off-season and he has a lot of confidence right now. He can be a key to us having a real good staff.”
Nick Russo continued the Patriots’ strong pitching against Hawthorne in the final at Hills. The Bears rapped out 13 hits in their 8-3 morning win over PCT at Hills but could manage only a single hit against Russo through the first six innings. The lanky senior, who had struggled in his season opening start at Ramsey, faced only two batters over the minimum through six and was cruising with an 8-0 lead until he tired in the seventh. Hawthorne parlayed a pair of walks, a hit batsman and an error with only two hits to score four and bring the tying run to the plate with only one out. But Russo (1-0) bore down to throw strikes and got the last two outs and when Rich Watts’ fly ball settled into Ogden’s glove in right field, the Patriots could claim Wayne supremacy again.
Russo summarized the Patriots’ feeling and the importance of the tournament. “We started out the season uptight and you can’t play baseball that way. But we talked about it, and now we’re more relaxed and having fun. We couldn’t get outside for a month but now everyone is hot, we’re hitting the ball and fielding great so we’re right where we want to be. We all think winning this tournament is very important because it can be a preview of the County tournament so we take it very seriously. But we beat PCT in it last year and then lost to them in the Counties so we’re not taking anything for granted.”
After last week’s five game schedule, the Patriots (4-2) return to NBIL play with a pair of home games, including tomorrow afternoon against Indian Hills (1-3).
Hills begins season with high hopes
By Rich Stamboulian
Chris Ianniello likes the fast starts his Wayne Hills baseball teams have had in recent years. This season however, he’d like to see his squad maintain that level of play throughout the regular season and deep into the Passaic County
tournament and State Sectional play.
In 2004, the Patriots began the season (8-1) including an impressive sweep in the Greater Wayne tournament with
victories over eventual County champ Passaic County Tech, and Wayne Valley. But Ianniello’s squad faltered in the second half as their bats went cold and the pitching struggled with consistency and they finished (16-13). Hills lost a rematch with PCT in the county semis and dropped a first round Group Three game at Paramus (20-9) in the state tournament.
“We began last season hitting strongly, but once we faced our league’s (NBIL) better pitchers, we could not maintain that level,” said Ianniello who begins his sixth year in the Patriots dugout. “Most of our best hitters are back so they have experience facing those top pitchers, most of whom are returning. We’re a more experienced team all around this year so we expect more offensive consistency. We especially need to be more productive at the plate in crucial situations. Defensively, we have to play more solidly to limit the big innings which hurt us last year,” he continued.
The veteran Hills lineup features seven seniors after losing just four players to graduation from last year’s team. Cody Cruschiel takes over behind the plate from Chris Hughes and will handle a deep pitching staff. Junior Alex Gibson will see playing time behind the plate once he recovers from a pre-season injury. The left side of the infield returns intact with seniors Antonio Imbimbo at third and Junad Chowdry, who earned Honorable Mention All NBIL at shortstop. The hard throwing Imbimbo will also be the closer to start the season and may be called on to start games later in the year.
Senior Ed Taragano and junior Justin Donnarumma will share the second base duties. Donnarumma, who saw significant time on the mound last year, is one of five hurlers expected to be starters. First base will be handled by two more starters, senior Nick Russo and John Ihne, a strapping 6’4”, 225 pound junior who will succeed the graduated Joe Liguori. Russo, who features a nasty curveball, will lead the staff coming off a year in which he was named First Team All Passaic County and Second Team All League. Ihne had a strong season and is coming off shoulder surgery to his non-throwing arm after a football injury.
Outfield should be a strong point for Hills both offensively and defensively with senior Kyle Cavanaugh (Second Team All NBIL and Honorable Mention All County) anchoring in center and another senior, Steve LaCasse returning in left. Dave Ogden, the lone sophomore to make the squad appears to have the edge in a battle for the right field position largely because of a strong bat. Ogden will also get starting pitching assignments. Senior Steve Barbara, who saw limited varsity duty last year as a utility player and also worked on a knuckleball while pitching for the JV team, is competing with juniors Matt Ferrarella and Mike Peischl for playing time in right.
Ianniello expects the improved hitting to be led by the outfielders and Imbimbo who showed good power last season. Cruschiel showed a knack for getting the timely hit and although his primary responsibility will be working with the pitchers, the coaches expect him to contribute with the bat as well. “We’re not a fast team top to bottom,” offered Ianniello, “but Cavanaugh and LaCasse run well so we’ll look to take advantage of that.”
Fran Rella, who begins his fourth year as an assistant coach in charge of pitching, has the deepest staff of arms he has had. Although the Patriots lost Ryan Hourihan, last season’s top pitcher, Rella has eight boys to call on. The top three starters should be Russo, Ihne, and Donnarumma, with Ogden and junior Sean Colligan, who is also 6’4” in line to start games. “Sean can be the key for us,” said Rella. When he develops confidence and throws strikes, he can be nasty out there.” The other pitchers, including Imbimbo, Barbera and Peischl comprise the bullpen.
Looking at the season ahead, Ianniello said “Our goals are to win the County title, compete in our league which will be very strong again with Old Tappan the favorite, and hopefully be in the running for a State Sectional crown.”
Poor weather throughout March prevented the Patriots from playing a single scrimmage. “It has been tough to judge hitters’ abilities and the outfielders’ defensive play with only two intra-squad scrimmages” said Ianniello “but our pitchers are definitely ahead of the hitters.”
The Patriots suffered a tough 8-5 loss on Friday in their opener at Ramsey when their four run rally in the top of the seventh to go ahead was wiped away when the game was called on account of darkness before the Rams could complete their at bat in the bottom half.
Hills had earlier overcome a 4-0 deficit capped by Imbimbo’s grand slam in the fifth. Russo pitched valiantly but took the loss as he struggled with many deep counts. Cruschiel and Ihne had key hits in the ill fated seventh inning rally.
The Patriots play five games this week. After a pair on Monday and Wednesday, they travel to Northern Highlands tomorrow and face Wayne Valley at 10 30 am on Saturday morning in the opener of the Greater Wayne tournament. The second game opponent and site depends on the first round outcomes.
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