Monday,
May 26, 2014
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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Junior Alex Mastando threw six strong innings to pick up the win for Don Bosco Prep, the No. 8 seed that beat No. 5 Old Tappan, 3-2, on Sunday in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals. |
DEMAREST – As the final out was recorded in the first of the two Bergen County Baseball Tournament semifinals played on Sunday at Northern Valley/Demarest High School, the public address announcer summed it up by saying that the No. 8 seed continued its 'Cinderella run' into the semifinals. Going by the seeds the statement rings true. Going by the jerseys worn by that No. 8 seed and the school it represents, it would be hard to make the case for a stunning upset.
Nope, when Don Bosco Prep, a program with the second most county championships (6) in the history of the Bergen County Tournament, wins a game, even as a perceived underdog, it should come as a surprise to no one. Behind six solid inning from starting pitcher Alex Mastando and a couple of clutch hits in the first and third innings and the wherewithal to take advantage of a couple of defensive mistakes, Don Bosco Prep knocked off fifth-seeded Northern Valley/Old Tappan, 3-2, on Saturday in Demarest. The Ironmen will play third-seeded St. Joseph Regional, which beat No. 2 Indian Hills, on Memorial Day in the county final.
“We knew from the start that we were not an 8 seed. We had our ups and down with the down coming in the middle of the season, but right from the start of this tournament we knew we would come up right when it mattered,” said Mastando, a junior right-hander. “And now we are playing our best in time for the championship, which comes tomorrow.”
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Steve Marotta lining up the second inning home run that got Old Tappan even at 2. |
The resumes of both teams suggested that runs were going to be at a premium, especially with the way each starting pitcher was throwing the ball, and Bosco could not have asked for a better start. Adam Ayala led off the game with a single to the opposite field and was bunted into scoring position by Brendan Bisset before scoring on Josh Shaw's single. Errors on two pickoff throws and a double steal with runners on the corners after Brennan Cotter and Tyler Panno leading off the second with consecutive singles gave Bosco a 2-0 lead.
“We went in knowing what we wanted to accomplish early in the game, but we had the opportunities to accomplish it. That was the big part of it,” said Bosco head coach Mike Rooney. “We wanted to set a tempo, we wanted to set a tone and we wanted to make sure that they knew we were here to play and that we were not just happy to be in the Final 4.”
Old Tappan could muster just four hits in the game, but one of them got it right back in the game and came pretty much out of nowhere. The Golden Knights had something working in the bottom of the second when Tyler Sokolich was hit by a pitch leading off and a sacrifice bunt and an error put runners on the corners. But before a rally could take shape, Old Tappan popped up a bunt on a suicide squeeze attempt and it was turned into a double play that looked like it was going to doom the inning.
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Adam Ayala had two hits and scored a run for Bosco, which will play St. Joseph in the final. |
Instead, Steve Marotta, Old Tappan's shortstop and No. 9 hitter, took an outside pitch the other way and drove it over the 310 sign in left field. One swing got Old Tappan back even at 2-2.
It was not known at the time, but the next big hit was going to stand up as the game-winner and Bosco actually got two of them in a row. Tristan Dacey doubled to left center with two out in the top of the third and was replaced by pinch runner Alex Santos, who was waved home when Sean Buckhout singled back up the middle. Santos scored without a throw, Bosco had a 3-2 lead and that was it for the scoring as the rest of the game belonged to the starting pitcher and Bosco's closer.
“Facing a guy like [John] O'Reilly, a good pitcher, I just stuck to the approach that we talk about. I saw a fastball and was lucky enough to hit it,” said Buckhout, Bosco's junior rightfielder. “We are all confident in each other and we know that with the 30 guys we have on the team every one of them is capable of coming through. Today I came up in that spot and had to find a way to get that run home.”
O'Reilly allowed six hits through the first three innings, but settled in after that. He gave up a two-out single to Frank Nigro in the fourth and a pair of singles in the seventh without allowing another run. O'Reilly, who will pitch at Rutgers next year, kept his team in it the whole way as he struck out four and did not walk a single batter.
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Old Tappan senior John O'Reilly struck out 4 and did not walk a batter in his final high school start. |
Mastando was up to the challenge, however, as he showed with an exclamation point in the bottom of the third. After giving up a lead off double to Mike Pisano (2-for-4, 2 2B), Mastando got a called strike three for the first out. After giving up a walk to Christian Runza, Mastando ( 6 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 5 K, 3 BB) struck out the next two hitters to preserve the lead. He let up just one walk and one single in his final three innings.
The final out of the bottom of the top of the seventh inning was a Bosco runner being cut down at the plate, so there was a potential momentum swing in progress when Frank Siciliano came on for the Ironmen in a save situation.
Siciliano allowed two base runners, one who reached on an error on a close call at first base and the other on an intentional walk to Brandon Issa, but he struck out the other three hitters he faced, closing out the win with a swinging strike three.
“They got that big tag play at home that could have given me an extra run to work with, so I knew I had to stop that momentum. I had to get the first guy out,” said Siciliano, who did just that when Shaw made a sparkling defensive play on a grounder to second. “We had a tough call on the tag play at first base, I thought the kid was out, but you just have to pitch through it. I love the surroundings, I love the last inning and I love being the guy that is being counted on to get the last three outs.”
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