Thursday,
April 2, 2015
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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John Calabrese went the distance on an 8-hitter and walked just one to pick up the win in Lodi's 9-4 victory at Wood-Ridge on Opening Day. |
WOOD-RIDGE – While the weather was the big story of the preseason, forcing teams that play spring sports to prepare in winter-like conditions, the Lodi baseball team had it better than most. With its turf field that allowed it to get outside when the temperature was at least bearable and then a trip to sunny South Carolina for live game action, Lodi was able to cobble together a real preseason. And when the lights went on for real, the Rams showed they were ready.
The Rams sent nine hitters to the plate in their first turn at bat of the season and scored four times. Cleanup hitter Mo Prieto crushed a double off the softball dugout in deep left field at Wood-Ridge High School as part of the early barrage and Lodi opened the season in style with a 9-4 road win against the home-standing Blue Devils.
“We have turf so we were able to get four scrimmages in and then we went down to Myrtle Beach and played in some good weather down there and that got us ready to go,” said Lodi head coach Curt Geisler. “And the hitting carried right over into the first inning today and that was good to see.”
Lodi is replacing eight seniors from last year's team that made it to the state sectional semifinals and one of the newcomers made an impression right from the start. Freshman Elian Guzman, a switch hitter who made his varsity debut as the starting shortstop and leadoff hitter, was hit by a pitch as the game's first batter and then was able to break up a double play chance to keep alive the potential for a big inning.
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Wood-Ridge's Nick Pronti drove in three of his team's four runs. |
Two batters later, Prieto got all of a Joe Batcho pitch that got too much of the plate and hit a laser to left field. While Wood-Ridge's home field is well known for its 284-foot short porch in right field, it takes a cannon to get the ball out to all other parts of the outfield and Prieto almost did it. His blast hit high up on the fence guarding the dugout along the third baseline of the softball diamond in deep leftfield for the double that plated courtesy runner Hank Leigois with the game's first run.
A single by Evan Geisler followed by a two-run triple into the cavernous right centerfield gap by John Guerra and an error that allowed Troy Ortiz to score put Wood-Ridge in a four-run hole before it even took one swing in the brand new season.
“That is not the way we wanted to start the season, that is for sure. I am upset with the way we played defense because that has been one of our strengths for the last couple of years,” said Wood-Ridge head coach Mike Carcich. “We always pride ourselves on pitching and defense and we didn't do it today. We had five walks, we didn't turn a tailor-made double play and we misplayed five flyballs and we did it against a team that hits. That is just not going to work.”
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Lodi freshman Elian Guzman started at shortstop and had two hits and scored a run in his varsity debut. |
Not all of Wood-Ridge's miscues went in the book as errors officially, but they showed up in the scoreboard. A short flyball fell between three defenders with two outs in the top of the third and gifted Lodi its fifth run as Guerra crossed the plate and Ortiz picked up an RBI.
Wood-Ridge got two runs back in its half of the third on an RBI double by Batcho and a run-scoring groundout by Nick Pronti (1-for-4, 3 RBI), but the Rams got right back at it in the top of the fourth. Guzman and John Calabrese (2-for-3) stroked back-to-back singles to set the table for Rich Fontanilla (1-for-4, 2 RBI), who split the gap with a two-run double. Prieto (2-for-4, 2 RBI, R) and Ortiz also knocked in runs as Lodi put itself up 9-1, which was more than enough support Calabrese, the senior ace.
Calabrese went the distance on an eight hitter and did not walk a batter until there was one out in the seventh. He struck out three and still had plenty of gas left in the tank, even after recording the final out. Calabrese threw well over 100 pitches in a preseason game down south, so we was not looking for any help from the bullpen on Opening Day.
“I try to best to throw strikes. I want to let them hit it, but not square it up,” said Calabrese, a right-hander who works backwards, using his breaking stuff to allow him to sneak in a fastball or two in favorable counts. “I am not going to throw hard and blow the ball by kids, but I throw some junk that keeps them off balance. That is my game.”
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Wood-Ridge's Joe Batcho drove in a run with a third inning single. |
Calabrese relies on his defense to get outs and the Rams backed him up. Guzman started a 6-4-3 double play to end the first inning and made a brilliant diving stop up the middle for the second out of the seventh. That was a big out because Wood-Ridge had the bases loaded with one out and briefly had the tying run in the hole. Joe Sartori scored on Guzman's grab, but the Rams were more than happy to trade outs for runs and that point and Guzman closed it out by cleanly fielding the final out. With two hits, a run scored and a solid day with the glove, Guzman was impressive in his varsity debut.
“I was not nervous at all. I love to play and I couldn't wait for the season to start. I got a taste of it when I got to go down to Myrtle Beach as a freshman and play, but this game counted and I couldn't wait to experience it,” said Guzman. “It was a good start and I am looking forward to the next four [years].”
As Lodi headed to the bus with smiling faces, Wood-Ridge lined up for an impromptu practice. With flyballs lost in the wind and others falling unclaimed, Carcich was not about to let the issue go unaddressed, he was able to find a slight silver lining in the season opening loss.
“The good this is that last year we started 10-0 and then got knocked out in the first round of the states,” said Carcich. “Maybe this is a good sign. We lose our first game and then go on a better postseason run.”
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