Sunday, May 30, 2010

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Chris Carroll threw 142 pitches and hit a key two-run single, emptying the tank and leading Westwood to an 8-5 win over Hackensack in the Bergen County Baseball Tournament semifinals.

DEMAREST – Hackensack has an intimidating top of its batting order. Its first three hitters – Andrew Kendel, Vincent Troisi and Timothy Swatek -- are all seniors, they are all left handed and they are all good hitters. And, as they proved last week in the quarterfinals of the Bergen County Baseball Tournament, they can all hit in the clutch when they got three straight hits in the seventh inning, the last a Swatek home run, in a comeback victory over Paramus.

Westwood head coach Joe Yurko knew that, he was there scouting the game, and he was faced with almost the same prospect yesterday in the semifinals. His Cardinals had a tiring left-handed pitcher on the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning and the tying run coming to the plate in the person of Kendel, who already had three hits in the game.

While Paramus chose to got to the bullpen, Westwood held fast and let Carroll sink or swim with a pitch count creeping toward 140.

Raul Reyes' two-run single in the bottom of the seventh got Hackensack an at bat with the tying run at the plate.

“Hey, he battled. When I went out to see him the second time [before Kendel’s at bat], he was more determined than ever,” said Yurko. “I knew he would get through it.”

And Carroll did get through it, getting a groundball to shortstop Geoff Perez with his 142nd pitch to finally close out Westwood’s 8-5 win that puts the Cardinals in the county championship game for the first time since 2006 and one win from their first Bergen County title since 1980.

“[Yurko] asked me how my arm was feeling and I said ‘Fine,” said Carroll, who battled not only a talented Hackensack lineup, but also a tight strike zone that, if nothing else, was consistently small for both teams all game long. “I wasn’t coming out, not in that situation.”

Westwood’s battery might have been tired after the game, but not while it was going on as both ends were instrumental both offensively and defensively. Pierce Hans, the Cardinals’ catcher and leadoff hitter, hit the second pitch of the game for a home run that gave his team a jumpstart.

Pierce Hans hitting a 3-run homer in the top of the sixth that gave Westwood an 8-3 lead.

Hackensack quickly tied the game on an RBI double by Frank Pinto and took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second with back-to-back run scoring singles from Kendel and Troisi. Single runs in the fourth and fifth, the first on an RBI single by Mike Reidel and the second with a run scoring double by Donnie Cimino, knotted the game at 3 and heading into the decisive sixth inning where Westwood scored five runs with two outs.

Like Carroll, Hackensack starter Jack Morgan is a crafty left-hander who throws very few straight pitches and he too had to throw a lot of them at a tight strike zone. Morgan got the first out of the sixth inning before walking Tom Vorvolakos. His next pitch produced a flyball to right field for the second out and he was nearly out of the inning on a bang-bang play at third base.

Vorvolakos stole second and when the throw down went into centerfield, he took off for third and barely beat the play, although Pinto, Hackensack’s third baseman, thought otherwise. Joe Bates then drew a walk and Carroll came through with a shot to right centerfield. Vorvolakos scored, as did Marty O'Neill, the pinch runner for Bates, all the way from first base, but Carroll stayed put at first with a two-run single rather than risk making the last out at third base.

Andrew Kendel had 3 hits, scored 3 times had an RBI and stole a base for Hackensack.

Like so many others he made in the game, it turned out to be a good decision because, after Alex Fox beat out and infield single as the last hitter that Morgan faced, Hans delivered his second home run of the game, a shot over the left field fence that put the Cardinals up 8-3.

“I wasn't expecting that [ball to go out]. I was expecting a double off the wall, but it worked. It went over and helped us win,” said Hans, the rare catcher with the ability to hit leadoff. “The second home run I got jammed on a little bit. That is why I didn’t think I got all of it, but I guess I did.”

All that was left was for Carroll to protect a five-run lead and he worked around a leadoff single in the sixth by retiring the next three hitters. He made it five in a row when he got a line drive that Vorvolakos climbed the ladder to grab in centerfield for the first out of the seventh and then got the last of his three strikeouts to move within one out of the win, but that is when it got interesting.

RJ Pita walked, Josh Colon singled to put runners on the corners and Colon moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Raul Reyes then stroked a two-run single and Morgan drew a walk to bring up Kendel as the tying run before Carroll found the strength to get the final out.

Donnie Cimino had a double and an RBI for Westwood, which will play Pascack Valley for the county championship on Sunday.

Carroll ended up with the complete game, allowing five runs on nine hits and six walks to go along with three strikeouts in finishing his work on the mound this season with a 9-2 record. Hans finished 2-for-3 with the two home runs and four RBI for the Cardinals, who had all nine hitters in their lineup reach base at leas once.

Morgan, who got the start over Swatek, the Comets’ ace, went 5 2/3 giving up six hits and seven walks with two strikeouts. After the game, Hackensack skipper Gerard Carroll knew the question was coming and was ready to explain why he gave the ball to Morgan.

“That’s how we have been doing it all year long, keeping a certain rotation and have the kids stick to it. Some people said ‘Hey, throw Timmy [Swatek] today for four innings and then use him again tomorrow, but I am not going to do that,” said Carroll. “I am not going to do that. I am not going to hurt a kid’s arm just for the sake of winning a championship. It’s just not right. They are young men, they have futures ahead of them. Our rotation has been solid all year long, it was Jack’s turn to pitch and that is who we gave the ball to.”

Westwood will give the ball to Bates on Sunday in the county final and the No. 11 seed has a chance to win it all.

“These kids are unbelievable. Who would have thunk it?,” asked Yurko, who had one more cliché in his pocket. “We are living the dream and playing for a county championship tomorrow.”

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