Sunday,
May 10, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Danny Diaz threw 6 quality innings for St. Mary, which advanced to the Bergen County quarterfinals with a
3-1 win over Ridgefield. |
LYNDHURST – The big homerun, the flashy play in the field, a pitcher that blows the ball by the opposition are fun to watch, but it is the execution of the little things that is paramount to a team's success. When two well-run programs like St. Mary and Ridgefield got together in the Round of 16 of the Bergen County Tournament on Saturday, it was the little things that were going to make the difference.
St. Mary got a sterling effort from starting pitcher Danny Diaz and Tommy Genuario came on to shut the door in the seventh inning with the tying run on base to close out a workman-like 3-1 triumph over 12th seeded Ridgefield in Lyndhurst.
The Gaels gave Diaz an early run to work with in the bottom of the first. Gregory Cuevas drew a two-out walk, stole second, and came around to score when Joey Castellanos punched a tough pitch back up the middle to make it 1-0. While not an overwhelming amount of run support, it was enough for Diaz to get into a rhythm.
“Getting that run usually gives me a little comfort,” said Diaz. “All I had to do was throw strikes and allow my defense to make the plays. To do beat a team like this, you need to change speeds. You can't just attack with one pitch or it will become like a batting cage and they'll just start teeing off.”
Diaz mixed speeds well throughout the game to keep a talented Ridgefield lineup off-balance. He struck out six of the first 11 hitters he faced before using his glove to get himself out a jam in the top of the fourth. With runners on the corners and one out, Diaz got off the mound quickly and caught a popped-up bunt before throwing to first to complete the inning-ending double play. Unfortunately for Ridgefield, the inability to get a bunt down in a big spot was a recurring theme throughout the game.
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Eamon Catherina drove in the lone run for Ridgefield. |
“You gotta get the ball down and get the job done,” said Ridgefield head coach Joe Gambardella. “That's one of the things we work on and one of the things that we're usually pretty good at executing. Diaz did a good job and kept us off-balance. But ideally if we execute bunts and some other little things, it should have been a 1-1 game in the top of the sixth. Give St. Mary's credit, they made the plays and we didn't.”
The Gaels tacked on insurance runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, which they would need as the Royals made one last stand in the top of the seventh inning.
Benny Turano reached on an error to lead off the inning. After Diaz got the next batter to pop-up, Hulse brought in Genuario from centerfield to take the mound. After getting a groundball out, he walked the next batter then Eamon Catherina lined an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-1 and put the tying run on base. Genuario was able to settle down and struck out the next batter to close out the game as St. Mary, the No. 5 seed, moves on to the county quarterfinals.
Diaz gave up four hits, walked two, and had 9 Ks in 6 1/3 innings to pick up the win for St. Mary's (18-3). Genuario picked up the save and also went 2-for-4 at the plate. Naz McIlwain and Castellanos each added two hits and an RBI.
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Tommy Genuario picked up the save for St. mary, which will play No. 4 Mahwah in the quarterfinals. |
Catherina had two of his team's five hits and drove in the lone run for Ridgefield (14-7). Southpaw Chris Martucci pitched well in defeat, scattering eight hits, with three walks and seven strikeouts.
Up next for the St. Mary is fourth-seeded Mahwah, an impressive 12-2 winner over Wood-Ridge. It is an opportunity for the Gaels to establish themselves as one of the county's elite, though head coach Dennis Hulse is not thinking that far ahead. His only concern is that his team plays hard and plays a clean game.
“We're excited to be in the quarterfinals, but we're taking it one game at a time,” said Hulse. “I don't think we made an error until the last inning. No matter how this game went, we just wanted to come out with a win. That big two-out hit by Castellanos got us going and we played loose.
“We play these big games and we're going up against Mahwah, the No. 4 seed. We're not afraid of these big games and the big moments. I know Mahwah hits the ball well. But we're not going to shy away in the moment and we'll be ready.”
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