Sunday,
May 11, 2014
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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John O'Reilly threw a complete game 6-hitter and struck out 7 for Old Tappan, scored two runs in the first inning and made the lead stand up in a 2-1 win over Mahwah in the Round of 16 of the Bergen County Tournament on Saturday. |
EMERSON – Until the game is over there is really no way to know which particular at bat in any given baseball game is going to make the difference in the outcome. So when Northern Valley/Old Tappan senior Tim Moraski came to the plate in the bottom of the first inning with a two outs and two runners in scoring position, he knew his at bat represented the first good scoring chance of the game, but not necessarily that it would be that last such at bat the Golden Knights would get against Mahwah in the Round of 16 of the Bergen County Tournament.
“At the time you don't think that the first inning is going to be the whole game, but it was all we had,” said Moraski. “You don't really realize when it is happening that one play or one pitch could be the game.”
Up against Mahwah starter Shane Woelfel and behind in the count 0-2, Moraski cracked a single back up the middle to score Brandon Issa and Mike Pisano. It was one of only three hits that Old Tappan could muster in the game with all of them coming in that first inning and it resulted in the only two runs the Knights would get, but also the only two they needed in a 2-1 victory on Saturday at Emerson High School.
Moraski's hit capped a two-out rally against Woelfel, who was otherwise unhittable. Woelfel struck out the first two hitters he faced before walking Issa and giving up a single to Christian Runza, the Old Tappan catcher who was replaced at first base by Pisano, who then moved up to second on one of those stolen bases unique to high school baseball. There was not throw through and Pisano got into scoring position just in time to score on Moraski's single.
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Mahwah's Shane Woefel gave up 3 hits in the first inning and then, literally, nothing else over the final five. |
Woelfel then gave up another single to Justin Schettino before striking out the final batter of the first inning. He then proceeded to retire the final 16 hitters he faced and allowed just one ball out of the infield, a can-of-corn flyball for the final out of the second inning, the rest of the way.
That heaped the pressure on Old Tappan starter John O'Reilly and the senior right-hander who will pitch for Rutgers University next year, was more than up for the challenge. O'Reilly went the distance on a five-hitter and struck out seven. Like Old Tappan's first inning, Mahwah's now-or-never moment came in the top of the second when O'Reilly made one of his few mistakes as he hit James Ciliento and then gave up back-to-back, one-out singles to Matt DiPoto and Tom Panelas to load the bases.
Woelfel, who will play at Bloomsburg University next year, singled with two outs to drive in Mahwah's lone run, but O'Reilly struck out the next hitter to limit the damage.
From there it was all about the pitching. While Woelfel (6 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 9 K, 1 BB) was perfect over his final five innings of work, O'Reilly (7 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 7 K, 1 BB) allowed two baserunners and one hit over his final five innings. The one hit he allowed in that one stretch was a double by Ciliento leading off the fourth, but O'Reilly picked him off second base and then struck out the next two hitters.
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Tim Moraski drove in both of Old Tappan's runs with a single on this swing in the bottom of the first inning. |
Old Tappan was 12-4 in the 16 games that counted toward seeding, but lost three of its next four games heading into the tournament. The problem had been its defense, which has averaged close to four errors per game, but with the pressure turned up in the one-and-done format of the county tournament, the defense held up its end of the bargain. The Knights made just one error in the game. It came with two out in the top of the fifth and allowed Alec Hill to reach safely, but Marotta made a steady play on a ground ball to get the force at second for the final out and O'Reilly set the side down in order in the final two innings to close the game out.
“I think our team came out with a lot of confidence today from the minute we came off the bus. Even this morning back hitting at our field, we came out with a lot of pop. I had confidence in my guys and they had confidence in me and I really think that is why we won today,” said O”Reilly. “It's that time of year. We have always been good in the county tournament and we put it all together today. I was happy to see that.”
The distinctly baseball term 'hard-luck loser' was coined to describe the fate of Woelfel on Saturday. He put on a clinic both on the mound and at the plate as he accounted for two of Mahwah's five hits, had the Thunderbirds' only RBI and retired the last 16 batters he faced in order.
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James Ciliento scored Mahwah's line run and had the game's lone extra basehit, a leadoff double in the fourth. |
“He is an outstanding pitcher, he is an outstanding baseball player, he is one of the best players in Bergen County and he showed all of that today and more,” said Mahwah head coach Jeff Remo, who led his team to a Group 2 state final in 2012 and back to the final last year. “There are woulda-coulda-shouldas from this game today and we had a chance to beat a very good baseball team, but we also showed that we are a very good baseball team and we will keep working hard to get ready for the states.”
Old Tappan was a preseason pick by many to win the county tournament and make a similar charge in the state tournament. The season has turned into a roller coaster of taking the good with the bad, but there is still time left to live up to expectations. The Knights will play the winner of Sunday's game between No. 4 Pascack Valley and No. 20 Northern Highlands in next weekend's quarterfinal round and with three quality starters in O'Reilly, Issa and Scott Oberhelman, they have the depth of staff to make a real run at it.
If the defense can play the way it did on Saturday, the sky is the limit.
“If we can play defense we have a real good chance, we really do because we are going to pitch you and we are going to keep it close. This game was Old Tappan. We are not going to score many, but when we play defense we are going to get you in a tight game and that is what we are accustomed to doing,” said Old Tappan head coach Tim Byron. “Hopefully this is the start of putting it all together at the right time.”
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