Sunday, April 28, 2013

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Junior Jared Lieberman threw a complete-game seven hitter for Tenafly, which picked up its third win of the season, 8-6, over Ridgefield on Saturday.

TENAFLY – It is almost a month into the season and the Tenafly baseball team is not exactly where it wanted to be with just two wins to show for their efforts in 14 April games heading into Saturday's independent matchup against Ridgefield, a formidable Group 1 opponent which was, as usual, punching above its weight with a visit to a Group 3 opponent. Confidence, as much as anything else, has been a a problem for Tenafly, as has late game clutch hitting. Both of those would be addressed and Tenafly turned what could have been another demoralizing defeat into what could be a turning point in its season.

By getting two runs in the bottom of the first inning, Tenafly got to settle into a game and be the aggressor rather than having to go base by base in full catch-up mode. By stringing some hits together, running the bases hard and putting pressure on the defense in the bottom of the sixth inning, Tenafly put up a five-spot and was able to pick up its third win of the season with an 8-6 victory that has the Tigers believing that better days are ahead.

“When we scored two runs in the first inning that really got us going because we haven't been able to do that too many times this season. Getting that two to start off with was really big for us because a lot of times we have fallen behind and gotten down on ourselves, but not today,” said Lou Bertolotti, Tenafly's starting catcher and a senior captain. “Everybody loves a Cinderella story. We are 3-12 right now, but maybe we can be that. We've got a lot of spirit in that dugout and I think we have a lot more wins in us. We are going to try to make a run for the states, but even if not we can be the kind of team that nobody wants to play down the stretch.”

Ridgefield's Randy Rueda roping and RBI double in the top of the fourth.

A lead off walk and a two-out walk to Dan Silverman and Patrick Burdy set up the good start for Tenafly and the combination of David Azria's bad hop basehit that bounced over the shoulder of Ridgefield third baseman Matt Mattera and an outfield error put Tenafly up 2-0. That was the equivalent of a windfall of run support for Tiger left-hander Jared Lieberman, who got to pitch with a lead.

Even when he ran into trouble in the top of the third, it was not of his own doing as Ridgefield scored three unearned runs to go ahead. With runners on the corners and one out, Jordan Neira swung at a curveball in the dirt for strike three and then the basepaths exploded. Because first and third base were occupied, Bertolotti did not have to throw down to first to complete the out, but Neira taking off down the line baited him into a throw that got away. Mattera scored from third, Robert Rueda moved up to second and both of them scored on an error on a ground ball hit by Eamon Catherina with two outs. Without the benefit of a big hit, Ridgefield had a 3-2 lead.

Sophomore Chris Martucci, Ridgefield's left-handed starting pitcher, got into a groove after his rocky first inning and, after giving up a leadoff triple to Kenny Small leading off the second, he struck out four of the next six hitters he faced and retired 10 in a row overall. Randy Rueda smoked an RBI double and Wilson Mateo added a run scoring single in the top of the fourth and it looked like Ridgefield had regain control with a 5-2 lead after four innings.

Tenafly's Dan Silverman had an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Tenafly got one run back in the bottom of the fifth when Dan Silverman blooped a two-out double down the rightfield line to scored Chris Hamersma, who had drawn a one out walk and stolen second base and Tenafly was showing some fight, a welcome sigh for its head coach.

“We come out and we expect to win every game, we really do. It hasn't gone our way as much as we would have liked it to this season, but we have tried to stay aggressive and try to win games,” said Tenafly skipper Matt Kougasian, a 2004 graduate of St. Joseph Regional where he won two Bergen County championships as a player. “We are working on our program, we are building it up and we had some young guys step up and help us today. That is a good sign.”

One of those young guys is sophomore David Azria and he ad a clutch single that drove in the first run of the game-deciding fifth inning. Jacob McGowan walked leading off, Burdy followed with a double and Azria (2-for-2m 2 RBI) got the Tigers to within 5-4 with a single to left field. Tenafly applied the pressure and Ridgefield's defense broke as two errors mixed in with a Hamersma RBI single and Elan Wilkenfeld's RBI ground out opened the door to the five-run frame and an 8-5 lead.

None of the final three runs that the Tigers scored in the fifth were earned, but they did do the trick as Lieberman went out for the seventh inning to finish what he started. A sacrifice fly by Eamon Catherina got Ridgefield to within two runs and the Royals did bring the tying run to the plate in their final at bat, but Lieberman got a flyball to centerfield to close out his complete-game seven-hitter in which he struck out two and walked just one.

Ridgefield's Wilson Mateo had two hits, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base.

“I used everything I had, four-seam [fastball], two-seam [fastball] and when my change up wasn't really there I went to my curveball. I tried to throws strikes and rely on my fielding. I am not a big strikeout pitcher, so I need my defense and they played great today,” said Lieberman, who is now 1-1 on the season. “I think the biggest thing for me and for the whole team today was that we kept our composure. If something went wrong we were able to keep our heads up and find a way to get the next out.”

Martucci (5+ IP, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 H, 7 K, 5 BB) was dominant at times, but wild at others as four of the five hitters he walked came around to score as he dropped his first decision of the season. Matteo and Robert Rueda each had two hits for Ridgefield, the defending North 2, Group 1 state sectional champion, fell to 9-5 on the season. The Royals are still in good shape for a county tournament berth and for a high state tournament seed as they are piling up power points with the tough out of league schedule they pursue.

It may be too late for Tenafly, but then again maybe not. There is no way to predict the game of baseball and teams, properly coached, can make huge strides as a season moves along.

“Our conference is tough and our schedule is tough, but we are a Group 3 school and we have to play up to that level. We are building and we are working towards being a better ball club,” said Kougasian. “The goal for me is that I want to this program to be a Ramapo, I really do. If we can get that drive, if we can get our younger guys adapted to our style of baseball, we can be good in the future and win a few more games along the way this year.

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