Saturday, June 2, 2012

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Pompton Lakes celebrated its first state sectional title since 1969 after beating Midland Park, 7-0, in the North 1, Group 1 final on Friday.

POMPTON LAKES – It was so long ago that the last time it happened Joe Namath was the starting quarterback for the New York Jets and they would go on to win a Super Bowl numbered in the single digits. It was 1969 and it was the last time that a baseball team from Pompton Lakes win a state sectional championship. And when the drought finally ended it did so both literally and figuratively as after the Cardinals beat Midland Park, 7-0, on Friday at Herschfield Park, long-time head coach Paul Tanis was doused by the Gatorade bucket.

“I just got off the phone with Dennis Arnold was the baseball coach here before me and the man was in tears,” said Tanis, a former assistant to Arnold who is now in his 15th season as the Pompton Lakes skipper. “He knows how tough it is when you play in the this county and try to win both tournaments. It's virtually impossible and, as I told the kids after we lost the DePaul game [in the Passaic County Tournament], maybe it was a blessing because maybe we were meant to win this [North 1, Group 1 state sectional] tournament and sure enough everything went our way.”

That was true right from the get-go when sophomore Mike Coss got out of a two-on, two-out situation in the top of the first inning and Pompton Lakes strung three hits together to open the bottom of the frame. Even though the Cardinals had a runner thrown out at the plate by Midland Park leftfielder Paul Lowry, they got an RBI ground out by Larry Gelok to take the lead for good.

Dennis Kieselback had one of the three hits for Midland Park.

Pompton Lakes gave Coss more of a cushion than he would turn out to need in the bottom of the second, using the bottom of the order to break the game open. Jose Arroyo's lead off single and steal of second base set up Coss to come through with an RBI single to make it 2-0. Ryan Kazanowski then singled and Jon Steele drove in the third run of the game with a ground ball to the shortstop with the Midland Park defense still playing back.

“We are always looking for early runs here to give our pitchers some room to breath,” said Steele, Pompton's starting catcher and lead off hitter who finished 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. “Mike didn't need it today, but I am sure he felt a little more comfortable with the early lead.”

Coss didn't need anything except his usual array of breaking pitches that he can throw in any count and which make his fastball look all that much more intimidating. The left-hander allowed just three hits and four walks in the game and struck out seven in six innings of work. He struck out the side in the second inning and then got a brilliant defensive play in the outfield to keep the shutout in tact in the top of the third.

Sophomore Mike Coss allowed just three hits in six inning and picked up the win for Pompton Lakes.

A lead off single by Shane Eldridge, a error that allowed Mike Lipuma to reach safely and a ground ball by Michael Formicda that pushed the runners to second and third with one out. Tom Felice than lifted a short fly ball toward leftfield that had a chance to get Midland Park back in the game, especially when Pompton's Jose Arroyo decided against playing it safe and left his feet on a headlong dive. If Arroyo missed and the ball bounded away, both runs might have scored and even if Arroyo completed the circus catch, the Panthers' courtesy runner would at least be able to tag up and score.

Neither happened as Arroyo got his glove under the ball just before it hit the ground for the second out of the inning then scrambled to his feet and threw a strike to Steele, who tagged the sliding runner a step or two up the line for a 7-2 double play. Right there it was obvious that everything was going Pompton's way.

Coss worked around two walks in the top of the fourth and the top-seeded Cardinals removed any doubt in the bottom of the inning when they scored three more runs. Dan Foote drove in a run with a single and Sean Lindberg then added a two-run single to make it 6-0.

After three close games leading up the to the section final with one-run victories in the the quarterfinals and the semifinals, Pompton (21-3) left little doubt this time. Steele added an RBI double in the sixth and Coss retired eight of the final nine batters he faced before turning the ball over to Brian Piccininni, who closed the door when he got a comeback for the clinching out in the Cardinals' historic victory and the trophy will look nice right next to the one the football team won back in December.

Pompton Lakes' catcher and leadoff hitter Jon Steele had three hits, two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base.

”Coach [Tanis] said he was only five years old the last time [Pompton won a section title],” said Coss, who is now a perfect 6-0 on the season and 11-1-1 on his two-year varsity career. “We have a lot of football players on this team and they were hungry for a second state championship this year and they went out and got it.”

And now that they have it they will march on to the Group 1 state semifinals where they will play Ridgefield, the North 2 champion that beat Dunellen, 6-4, on Friday. The semifinal will be played at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Kean University.

“We are definitely happy with this win today. We were disappointed over the county [tournament] loss, but winning a state [sectional] title was our other goal coming into this season,” said Steele. “But we are not content with this. We think we have the kind of team that could win the whole group championship and I am confident that we have a good chance.”

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