May
3, 2006
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| Todd Crispino went five innings to pick up the win and went 2 for 2, scored three runs, drove in two and had two stolen bases as New Milford got back in the league title race. | |
NEW MILFORD – For a span of two years, not one team within the BCSL-Olympic Division was able to knock off New Milford. That carried over into this year, until Emerson snapped the Knights' 39-game league winning streak less than a month ago.
When the two teams met yesterday on New Milford’s home turf, the Knights were fighting to keep a different hope alive, that of retaining their league title. A game and a half back of the Cavos with Palisades Park and Bergen Tech also in the mix, a loss would have all but dash any chances NM had of staying in the race. Facing an early three-run deficit, Todd Crispino and Korrey Sanjek refused to let this game, and their title hopes get away.
Crispino settled down on the mound after a rocky first inning and Sanjek picked him up at the plate. His two-run single broke open a close game and the Knights never looked back in recording their biggest win of the season, 9-3, at Gibbs Elementary School.
“No two ways about it, we needed this win to stay in the hunt for the league (title),” said New Milford head coach Joe Sutera. “There are some little things we need to work on, but I’m pleased with our effort today. They key was that we stayed aggressive both at the plate and on the bases. When they made mistakes, we were able to capitalize on them and turn them into runs.”
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| Joe Mazzo crushed a three-run homer in the first inning to give Emerson the early lead. |
Emerson senior Joe Mazzo got the best of Crispino when the teams first met this season. His single off of Crispino in the bottom of the eighth was the game-winner to snap the streak. Once again, Mazzo got the best of Crispino in a battle between two of the league’s best players. With two on in the top of the first inning, Mazzo crushed a Crispino over the fence in left-center and onto the roof of the school to give the Cavos a 3-0 lead.
“He’s a great hitter and he has definitely had my number this year,” said Crispino, who will play catcher next year at William Paterson. “I just got too much of the plate and he crushed it. With the way (Emerson starter Nick) Ramagli can pitch, it was important to get those runs back quickly because he usually doesn’t give up too many. It was huge that we were able to get the lead back and settle down.”
Despite getting just one hit in the bottom half of the opening inning, the Knights pulled into the lead by the time it was all over. Will Walsh led off with a walk and came around to score on a double by Crispino. Then the Cavos’ defense, which has been solid all year, completely fell apart. Three errors and a wild pitch later, New Milford grabbed a 4-3 lead.
“You can’t commit three errors in an inning and six in a game and expect to win,” said Emerson head coach Bob Carcich. “This is the worst game we’ve had all year and it came at the worst time. After Mazzo’s homerun, everything just fell apart for us. We made mistakes and New Milford outplayed us in every aspect of the game. We just have to put this one behind us and move forward.”
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| Stephen Brunelli was a part of New Milford's three-run rally that gave the Knights some breathing room. |
Crispino settled into rhythm, retiring eight batters in a row. His teammates rewarded him in the bottom of the fourth with three insurance runs.
After a leadoff single by Dave Hellreigel, Will Walsh followed with an infield single. A double steal and a walk to Steve Brunelli loaded the bases for Crispino. The senior helped his own cause by taking a pitch to the forearm, plating a run for a two-run lead. Ramagli then snared a hotshot back to the box off the bat Kevin Hill to start a 1-2-3 double play. He dodged a bullet, but it was only temporary.
Sanjek has been one of the league’s most consistent hitters and came through again yesterday. He poked a single, scoring Brunelli and Crispino to make it a 7-3 game.
“The homerun (Joe) Mazzo hit in the first inning was probably the best thing that could have happened to us in the end,” said Sanjek. “It forced us to take more aggressive swings at the plate. (Ramagli) was around the strike zone all day and I just tried to get a good swing on anything over the plate.”
The four-run cushion was enough for Crispino and reliever Pete Eckert to close out the game and move New Milford within a half-game of first place in the BCSL-Olympic race.
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| Emerson starter Matt Ramagli was done in by his defense, which made six errors behind him. |
Crispino
did a little bit of everything for New Milford (10-5-1, 9-2-1 BCSL-Olympic).
At the plate, he reached base in all four of his plate appearances. He went
2 for 2, scored three runs, drove in two runs, and had two stolen bases. On
the mound, he went five innings, allowing four hits, with three walks and
three Ks. Sanjek went
2 for 3 with a team-high 3 RBIs. Walsh also had two hits and two runs scored
for the Knights.
Ramagli (3-1) took his first loss of the season for Emerson (11-3, 10-2 BCSL-Olympic). Mazzo did all the damage offensively with his three-run homer. Greg Stanton and Mark Sommerhalter each chipped with two hits.
The four-way race for the league title will go right down to the wire. It just a matter of who plays the most fundamental baseball and who can carry the momentum the down the backstretch of the league schedule.
“Anybody can beat anybody on any given day in this league,” added Sutera. “Our problem is putting the ball in play in clutch situations. We did a good job of that today and we will have to continue doing that if we want a shot of winning the league again. If we lose this game today, we’re out of it. This was a big win and it put us right back in the hunt. Now we’ll look to build off of this win and play even better as the season goes on.”
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