Tuesday, April 9, 2013

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Tim Barnes pitched two innings of scoreless relief to pick up a save for River Dell, which improved to 4-1 onm the season with a 6-4 win over Pascack Hills on Monday afternoon.

ORADELL – There is plain old interference and then there is interference with 'malicious intent' and the distinction between the two as judged by the home plate umpire loomed large in the top of the sixth inning of Monday's game between River Dell and visiting Pascack Hills. Trailing by three runs, Pascack Hills loaded the bases with three straight singles by Max Spelling, John Mollinelli and Jimmy Zurich. The tying runs were on base with nobody out and the foundation for a big inning had been laid when David Levine strode to the plate for his at bat against Tim Barnes, who took over in relief one batter earlier.

Levine topped a grounder right back at Barnes, who knocked it down. When he picked it up and threw home, the whole complexion of the inning and of the game changed. River Dell catcher George Psihoules reached for the throw and had it in plenty of time to force out Spelling, who, instead of sliding, made contact with Psihoules on his way by.

Whether Psihoules would have tried to complete to double play with a throw to first base only he knows and Levine probably would have beaten the play anyway, but it never came to it natural conclusion. In the home plate umpire's opinion, Spelling interfered with malicious intent and was not only ruled out at the plate, but was also ejected and now faces a two-game suspension. Then the umpires conferred and decided that Spelling also impeded a prospective double play, so Levine called out at first base and the two other runners were forced to retreat.

Jimmy Zurich was a perfect 3-for-3 with a run scored for Pascack Hills.

Instead of the bases loaded and one out, Pascack Hills had first and second with two outs, a situation made to sting a bit more when Justin Cireico doubled out of the No. 9 spot to score just one run instead of two.

Barnes got a groundball to end the sixth inning and then worked around an error and an infield single to strikeout the side in the seventh as River Dell won its fourth game in five tries this season, 6-4, in Oradell.

“The umpire said it was malicious intent and I did not think that it was malicious. Was it a slide-and-avoid situation? Yes, and I understand it, but [Spelling] did nothing to deserve a two-game suspension. He did not knock anybody over and he did not run through anybody. He tapped [Psihoules] on the shoulder,” said Pascack Hills head coach Kevin Kirkby. “The next kid hits a double in the sixth and then in the seventh, [Spelling] would have been up with two on and one out, but because he was gone we had to put up a pinch hitter that had not taken a swing all day instead of our No. 5 hitter who already had two hits.”

With two losses in its first three games, Pascack Hills was looking to avoid digging a bigger hole for itself just one week into the season. The Cowboys put up two first inning runs with a Corey Pic sacrifice fly plating Tyler Messinger, who had led off the game with a walk, and Spelling's two-out single that drove in Mike Poleway and made it 2-0. River Dell had three at bats with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, but had to settle for just a single run as, after Evan Drummond's RBI grounder, Pascack Hills starter Mike Berducci (5 IP, 6 R, 6 ER, 7 H, 5 K, 2 BB) struck out two straight hitters to limit the damage.

Evan Drummond 3 three hits and 3 RBI for River Dell.

Pascack Hills took a 3-1 lead in the top of the second on a Texas League chopper by Messinger (1-for-2, RBI, SB, R) that scored Jimmy Zurich (3-for-3, R), but then Corey Martinez (5+ IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 H, 4 K, 3 BB), a junior making his first varsity start for River Dell, settled down. He threw three straight scoreless frames to keep his team in position to build a comeback.

“What we have seen so far this year is that when we walk guys, they usually come around to score. We have been making it harder on ourselves by putting too many guys on base. We are trying to focus on throwing strikes and making plays in the field,” said River Dell head coach Brandon Flanagan. “We know we are going to be able to score some runs, but for us it is about trying to put the pitching together and that is why I was happy with what [Martinez] did after a couple of rough innings at the start. He's a junior, it's his first year on varsity and his first appearance game in freezing conditions last week against Mahwah. I decided to give him another shot today and, overall, I am happy with the way he threw the ball and the way he battled.”

River Dell got a run back in the bottom of the third with a trio of opposite-field singles. Barnes and Mike Watson, two left-handed hitters, stroked back-to-back singles to left field lead off before Drummond (2-for-3, 3 RBI), who drove in a run in all three of his plate appearances, slapped on into right field with one out to make it 3-2.

Pascack Hills' Justin Cireico doubled in a run in the whacky top of the sixth inning.

Berducci, Pascack Hills' left-handed starter, was forced to throw a lot of pitches early in the game and the pitch count might have caught up with him in the fourth when Pat McPartland singled with one out to start the decisive rally. Christian Estevez (2-for-4, 2 R) singled and so did Barnes, who pulled one into right field to scored McPartland and tie the game. Watson drive in a run with an RBI fielder's choice and then Brandon Martinez, the senior centerfielder who hit for the cycle on Friday against Westwood, roped a two-out double to left center to give River Dell a 5-3 lead. Drummond followed with his second RBI single in as many innings to give the Hawks the 6-3 lead they carried into the sixth inning, the one with the 'malicious intent.'

Martinez threw to the first two batters of the inning and gave up singles to Spelling and Mollinelli before Barnes, normally a one-inning closer, was brought on to get six outs. He gave up a single to Zurich, the first hitter he faced to load the bases, but then fielded the come-backer that led to Spelling's ill-fated dash down the third base line.

“I am not an umpire and it is not my call to make, but I was happy that they called a double play and they sent the runners back. That was the best that could have happened,” said Barnes, who did not give up a run in his two innings of work that saved Martinez's first varsity win.”Normally I only come in for the seventh [inning] to get three outs, I think this is only the second time I have been brought in to throw two innings, but I pitch from the stretch, so I am always ready no matter what the situation is.”

The situation now is that River Dell is 4-1 on the season with its lone loss coming to defending Group 2 state champion Mahwah and it may have found a third starter to slot in behind Alex D'Esposito and Mark Wittkamp. On the other side, Pascack Hills is a better team than its 1-3 record suggests for whatever that is worth.

“Our conference is tough for baseball. River Dell is good, they are in the Top 25, Mahwah was No. 2, Ridgefield Park was ranked when we played them, so it's been a tough early schedule,” said Kirkby, who is in his first season as Pascack Hills' baseball coach, adding that responsibility to the head boys basketball coaching gig he has held for the last three years. “We have Westwood on Wednesday, that is not going to be anything easy, but we are going to have to try to regroup and see if we can get this going in the right direction.”

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