5/27/06, Non-Public, North A, First Round: Delbarton 6, DePaul 2: Andrew Kolmar's two-run homer in the top of the seventh capped a four-run inning as Delbarton (No.9, 18-7) beat DePaul (No. 8, 17-11). Zach Andrea's had an RBI single for the Spartans.
Passaic County Tournament, Quarterfinals, Passaic Tech 4, DePaul
By Skiffo Drake, 5/21/06
Wayne – In a stunning reversal of fortune, the DePaul Catholic baseball team was sent packing in the Passaic County Tournament.
Two weeks ago, the Spartans were considered the clear-cut favorite in the county. They earned the tournament’s top seed by roaring out to a 15-5 record. Since then, the Spartans (16-9) have lost four of its next six games. The most recent setback came in the Passaic County quarterfinals, when they were upset by ninth-seeded Passaic Tech (14-11). It was DePaul’s second loss to PCT this week.
The 4-3 elimination loss has left the Spartan-faithful wondering how a season with such promise to seemingly unravel so quickly. The Wayne-based parochial school had been dominant for almost two months. The list of victories included a win over Pequannock, the Morris County champs. They had also beaten highly regarded Wayne Valley, Montville, Caldwell and Passaic Valley.
The impressive start put them atop the county. Unfortunately, they picked the wrong week to slump.
“It’s anyone’s tournament,” DePaul coach Joe Lennon said. “We knew that going in.”
Lennon, of course, was well aware that the top seeds rarely succeed in this tournament. The No. 1 seed hasn’t won the tournament since 1997. Sure enough, most of the top seeds have struggled this year. The final four will include Lakeland (No. 2), Paterson Catholic (No. 4), PCT (No. 9) and Clifton (No. 11).
DePaul struggled at the plate in the tournament game with Tech. Anthony Collazo came out of the bullpen for Tech and allowed just one Spartan run over the final four innings. He fanned five batters and surrendered just five hits.
"Once we got out in front, they put me on the mound,” Collazo said. “I had to get the job done. I felt strong in relief, but even stronger because we had the lead,"
Jaun Padilla and Pete Ross knocked in two runs apiece for the winners. Onix Ortiz had an infield hit and scored the first run.
Bryan Gambuzza led the way for DePaul with a home run and three singles. Mark Tanis and Ryan Powell batted in runs for the Spartans.
The Wayne based Technical Institute now finds itself in the opposite position as DePaul. The usually powerful Bulldogs stammered early and were widely considered an afterthought this year. They entered the tournament with a losing record (10-11) and, in fact, did not even qualify for the State Tournament.
Since then, they have been on a tear. The team’s recent surge includes not only two wins over DePaul, but an impressive win over powerhouse Pequannock.
"Suddenly, we're hitting with guys on base,” Passaic Tech coach Jim Lentine said.
“That’s the biggest difference. We're more relaxed, for some reason.
“Maybe we're starting to mature as a team. So many kids are starting to meet expectations. It's exciting to beat teams the caliber of DePaul and Pequannock. "
For the Spartans, meanwhile, there is still time to right the ship. They host Delbarton Friday in the Non-Public, North A State Tournament. DePaul (No. 8) lost to Delbarton (No. 9) earlier this season on a seventh inning double. The winner draws top-seeded Don Bosco Prep.
5/19/06: St. Mary's 6, DePaul 4: Eric Titus had two doubles and two RBI for DePaul (16-8). The Spartans led 3-1, but could not hold on.
5/16/06: Passaic Tech 4, DePaul 3: Jonathan Marichal singled home Carlos Duarte and scored on Anthony Collazo's double in the bottom of the seventh to lift Passaic Tech (11-11). Duarte went 2-for-4 and scored three runs. DePaul (16-7) was led by Bryan Gambuzza, who doubled twice, and Doug Kalinowski, who was 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. The same teams play on Saturday in the Passaic County tournament quarterfinal round at DePaul.
5/14/06: Passaic County Tournament, First Round: DePaul 8, Manchester 0: Bryan Gambuzza went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI for top-seeded DePaul (16-6). Zach Dandrea and Doug Kalinowski also drove in two runs apiece. Mark Tanis (7-1) allowed just five hits and fanned nine.
5/14/06: Passaic County Tournament, First Round: DePaul 8, Manchester 0: Bryan Gambuzza went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI for top-seeded DePaul (16-6). Zach Dandrea and Doug Kalinowski also drove in two runs apiece. Mark Tanis (7-1) allowed just five hits and fanned nine.
5/14/06: Passaic County Tournament, First Round: DePaul 8, Manchester 0: Bryan Gambuzza went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI for top-seeded DePaul (16-6). Zach Dandrea and Doug Kalinowski also drove in two runs apiece. Mark Tanis (7-1) allowed just five hits and fanned nine.
5/13/06: Montville 13, DePaul 1: Eric Titus had the lone RBI for DePaul (15-6).
5/11/06: Delbarton 6, DePaul 5: Mike Eschman doubled home D.J. Anderson in the bottom of the seventh inning to end a 5-5 tie for Delbarton (12-6). DePaul (15-5) tied the game 5-5 in the top of the inning when Doug Kalinowski singled in Eric Titus.
5/9/06: DePaul 8, Pequannock 7: Zach DAndrea hit a two-run homer as DePaul (15-4) cruised to a 7-2 lead through three innings. Eric Titus hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to give DePaul its critical eighth run. Pequannock (15-5) struck for four runs in the seventh to pull within a run. Martin Kelly paced the Golden Panthers by driving in three runs on a home run and a double.
Lakeland 5, DePaul 4
5/5/06: Lakeland (13-3) scored three times in the ninth inning to beat DePaul (14-3). The Lancers trailed, 4-2, before Matt Tomczyk started the rally with a sacrifice fly that brought home Sam Rose, who had doubled. Dan Vuksanic then walked with the bases loaded to bring in Brian Depree with the tying run. Jim Economou then walked in Ryan Burke with the winning run.
"It was a pitch I'd usually swing at," Economou said of the belt high fast ball from Shaun Murray. "I'm just glad I thought better of it."
Eric Hill and Ryan Powell each singled in a run in the top of the ninth to give DePaul the 4-2 cushion. Lakeland, the defending County champion, is seeded second for this year's tournament behind DePaul.
"Baseball’s a game of inches,” DePaul coach Joe Lennon said. "We were in position for the win and we just couldn't close the door. It was a great game. Unfortunately it comes down to a walk.”
Lakeland’s Brad Smith earned the win with eight strike outs.
5/4/06: DePaul 18, Morris Catholic 0: Zach DAndrea hit a grand slam in the fourth inning and finished with seven RBI for DePaul (14-2). Bryan Gambuzza started the game with a leadoff homer and finished with four RBI. Eric Hill and Eric Titus had two RBI apiece. Mark Tanis improved to 5-1.
5/2/06: DePaul 8, Montville 1: Junior pitcher Eric Hill allowed 4 hits and fanned 8 to lead DePaul (13-2). Millburn (8-5) batters were kept off balance all game by the hard throwing right-hander. Hill (3-0) had excellent control of his two-seam fastball and sharp breaking curve. Eric Titus and Brian Gambuzza homered for the Spartans. This win propelled DePaul to the top seed in the Passaic County Tournament.
4/30/06: DePaul 5, Eastern Christian 1: Mike Pesci had two RBI and earned the win for DePaul.
4/29/06: DePaul 15, Caldwell 5: Mark Tanis batted in four runs to lead DePaul (11-2). Eric Titus and Doug Kalinowski smacked in three runs each. Ryan Powell added two. Ryan Scully earned the victory.
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.
DePaul 13, Madison 3
4/27/06: Defense, pitching and timely hitting have been DePaul’s strong points so far in 2006. The Spartans won their ninth game by defeating Madison in 5 innings.
The defense was keyed by a sparkling double play started by Mark Tanis. The third basemen fielded a hard hit ball, tagged a runner and threw to first for a double play.S econd baseman Zach D,Andrea also produced a gem by diving to his left to field a ball and flipping it from his glove to SS Bryan Gambuzza for a force out.
Pitcher Eric Hill (2-0) limited Madison to 3 hits while striking out 9. The junior constantly mixed up breaking balls, change-ups and fastballs.
The offense was bolstered by Gambuzza’s 3 run homer and by Doug Kalinowski’s three RBI.
DePaul 7, Montville 4
4/22/06, Wayne – Bryan Gambuzza has been in one of those grooves that players and coaches hope last forever. The DePaul junior is among state leaders with a .600-plus batting average.
Joe Lennon, the team’s coach, strongly believes that Gambuzza will “keep it up.” The coach, now in this 19th year at DePaul (1982-to-1988; 1995-to-present), has had his fair-share of strong hitters.
“I guess I should no better by now,” he said. “I’ve had some good ones over the years. They all slump at one point or another. That’s part of the game.
“Bryan, though, just started off strong and hasn’t cooled off yet. You wonder how long he can keep it up. So far, there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight. He’s not just getting on base. He’s hitting the ball hard every time.”
Opponents, meanwhile, can't afford to simply pitch around Gambuzza because he's surrounded by good hitters. Four seniors, Ryan Powell, Doug Kalinowski, Eric Titus and Kevin O’Boyle have also been hitting the ball hard.
A month into the season, this group has helped position DePaul (8-2) for potential high seeding in both the Passaic County and Parochial State Tournaments. As a team, the Spartans are averaging over 11 runs per game.
Despite the offensive firepower, DePaul has recently stumbled. After starting the season with seven consecutive wins, Spartans dropped two. First they lost to Pequannock, 7-4. Next they lost to Delbarton, 8-4.
Gambuzza knocked in three runs against Pequannock and had three hits against Delbarton. Titus had two RBI in the Delbarton game.
“Those are two great teams,” Lennon said. “We knew it was going to be a tough week. We were hoping to at least get a split.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. Our bats weren’t the problem. Our gloves let us down against Delbarton. We led 3-1 then made some costly errors. Against Pequannock, we had eight hits and nine walks. We just couldn’t come up with hits in key situations.”
With the two setbacks in mind, DePaul had to face Montville. It might not have been a must-win game, but it was important nonetheless. The Spartans got back on the winning track with, once again, strong hitting.
Gambuzza and Eric Hill had two RBI apiece to give DePaul an early 4-0 advantage. With two outs in the fifth inning, Powell doubled in three runs to give DePaul a 7-0 lead. Montville scored late to make the final, 7-4. Mark Tanis earned the win.
“Powell gave us a nice cushion with his bases-clearing hit,” Lennon said. “He’s come up big for us several times this year. We’re very comfortable when he’s at the plate.”
It was the second time this week that Powell helped lead the Spartans to victory. Powell and Kalinowski homered in a 6-2 win over Montclair Kimberly.
“I’m very pleased with the way we’re playing,” Lennon said. “We’re looking forward to the post season. If we keep hitting like this, we’ll be in good shape.”
WAYNE VALLEY at DEPAUL, Thursday, 4/27, 4 p.m.
DePaul will host cross-town Wayne Valley in the Northern Hills Conference crossover game this Thursday.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Lennon said. “We don’t get an opportunity to play them every year.”
The two schools used to regularly play each other in the All Wayne Tournament and occasionally meet up in the County Tournament.
“The All Wayne Tournament was on Holy weekend last year, so we had to back out of it,” Lennon said. “Hawthorne took our place. This will give us an opportunity to get back on the field with Valley.”
Like DePaul, Wayne Valley (7-6) is coming off of a big win. On Friday afternoon, they derailed Lakeland, 9-4.
John Kruse hit a home run and had four RBI to lead the Indians. 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: Delbarton 8, DePaul 4: Bryan Gambuzza went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Eric Titus had a two-run single for DePaul (7-2).
4/19/06: DePaul 6, Montclair Kimberley 2: Doug Kalinowski and Ryan Powell homered and knocked in two runs apiece to lift the Spartans (7-1).
4/18/06: Pequannock 7, DePaul 4: Doug Jennings struck out 11 batters and tossed a three-hitter as Pequannock (6-2) halted DePaul’s (8-1) unbeaten streak. From the plate, Jennings tripled twice and singled once. Justin Benscko slapped in two runs. Bryan Gambuzza knocked in three run for the Spartans.
4/14/06: DePaul 13, Butler 3: Mark Tanis had four RBI and Eric Hill had three as DePaul (6-0) beat Butler (0-5). Zach D’Andrea and Steve Rodriguez chipped in with two RBI apiece. Ryan Sully earned the win. Steve Baller batted in two runs bor the Bulldogs.
4/13/06: DePaul 13, Morris Catholic 9: Eric Titus and Ryan Powell homered and combined for seven RBI's as DePauil (5-0) won. Bryan Gambuzza went 5-for-6, scored three runs and registered three RBI's.
4/11/06: DePaul 8, Millburn 0: Ryan Powell and Eric Hill knocked in two runs each for DePaul (4-0). Mark Tanis allowed just four hits.
4/8/06: DePaul 7, Caldwell 4: Bryan Gambuzza went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored for the Spartans. Eric Titus added a solo home run and run-scoring single for DePaul (3-0). Mark Tanis also batted in a run. Rob Duva earned the win.
4/7/06: DePaul 16, Madison 9: Bryan Gambuzza had a double, three singles, two RBI and four runs and pitcher Eric Hill had a double, single and three RBI for DePaul (2-0) in Madison. Depaul jumped out to 12-1 then 14-3 going into the 5th inning. Winning pitcher Eric hill allowed 2 earned runs and scattered 6 hits.
4/4/06: DePaul 13, Passaic Valley 7: Mark Tanis hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the sixth inning to propel DePaul(1-0) past Passaic Valley (0-2). Doug Kalinowski followed with a grand slam to put the game out of reach.
Bryan Gambuzza finished the game with two hits, three RBI and two runs scored. Zack D'Andrea had an RBI double. Jesse Santo and Adam Christopher smacked home runs for PV. They 10-runned us last year on opening day," Tanis recalled. "It was an awful way to start the season. Werefused to let that happen again."
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