Jake Klag allowed just two hits and struck out 10 in six shutout innings for Pascack Valley, which advanced to the Bergen County Tournament Round of 16 with a 4-1 win over Midland Park.

HILLSDALE – Pascack Valley baseball stinks. No, not like that..on the field the Indians are quite good as evidenced by their 4-1 win over Midland Park in the opening round of the Bergen County Tournament on Wednesday afternoon and their 10-5 record on the season. It is that the remnants of a freezing April have left, well…an odor.

Because baseball people, including many coaches, are superstitious, wardrobe changes are not possible during a winning streak, which means that head coach Will Lynch and assistant coach JJ Moran were left to wear Monday’s attire, the exact same attire, for Wednesday’s game. It was in the low 40s with a freezing drizzle the last time the Indians took the field. Against Midland Park, it was in the mid-80s with blaring sunshine at game time.

“We played Bergenfield on Monday and it was freezing, but we won so JJ is wearing Under Armor, the long ones, top and bottom and the same socks,” said Pascack Valley head coach Will Lynch."I have long johns on and, look: One, two, three shirts on under here. Not just three shirts…THE SAME three shirts. Last year JJ wore the same socks for 19 straight games so this is nothing yet.”

Jake Klag, Pascack Valley’s starting pitcher, certainly noticed the aroma.

“It’s terrible, not good,” he said. “I have to walk away sometimes.”

RJ Chirkis drove in the Midland Park run with a two-out singled in the seventh.

It was when Klag took the walk to the mound that he found his respite. The senior left-hander was dominant in his six innings as he allowed just two hits and struck out 10 before reaching the 110 pitch limit on his final delivery in the top of the sixth inning.

Klag struck out the side in his last frame and his final pitch was delivered at speed that a certain Division 3 college scout with a radar gun did not want published lest Division 1 programs decide to swoop in. It was an impressive number nonetheless and his fastball was so effective against the Midland Park lineup that he stuck with it almost exclusively with a few off-speed pitches mixed in just to show the hitters that he had them.

“I was feeling pretty good today. It was nice and hot out so I was pretty loose. My command wasn’t really where I wanted it, but I just tried to throw hard and get strikes,” said Klag (6 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 10K, 3 BB), who has given up just one earned run all season. “The team put some runs up and I was able to pitch with the lead. This was the first county game I ever pitched in so the nerves were there. I didn’t know anything about Midland Park.”

What there is to know about Midland Park is that its appearance in the Bergen County Tournament this season might be slightly ahead of schedule. Frank Clarke is the Panthers’ third head coach in the last four years and, as a public school with one of the lowest enrollments in the state, they are battling day in and day out with just 21 players in the entire baseball program. A nine-man JV team is all that sits below the varsity level.

Sophomore shortstop Jake Lutz had the lone extra base hit of the game, and RBI double in the third.

“I am super proud of this team not only for the effort in today’s game, but for the effort this whole season so far. You could say that we are a little bit ahead of schedule and we got a real good learning experience out here today. That is a really solid starting pitcher we were up against today,” said Clarke, who moved over from Waldwick to take the head coaching job in the town in which he lives. “We knew what we were up against, a tough pitcher and a great program, and I think we were up for the challenge.”

The first hitter of the game, Midland Park’s Luke Harpster, stroked a clean single up the middle to get the Panthers established, but he was caught stealing and they lost another leadoff baserunner in the second when Klag picked off the hitter he walked.

Harry Parker (4 2/3 IP, 4 R, 1 ER, 4 H), the Midland Park right-handed starter also making his first-ever county tournament start, worked a 1-2-3 first inning before Pascack Valley went ahead for good in the second. Jake Williams drew a one-out walk and scored on Austin Piorkowski’s well-struck double to rightfield. Parker responded by stranding two runners on base in that second inning before his defense faltered a bit in the third.

Ryan Novakowski drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a wild pitch and then scored on an error on a hard groundball hit by Ricky Lutz. Sophomore shortstop Jake Lutz followed with the Indians’ only extra base hit of the game, an opposite field, line drive double that plated hit brother. Jake Williams' long single drove in Ricky Lutz with PV’s third unearned run of the inning that ended with a 4-0 lead.

Midland Park starter Harry Parker allowed just one earned run in 4 2/3 innings of work.

Klag faced just one batter over the minimum through the first three innings and retired the first hitter of the fourth before Midland Park made a bid to get back in the game. Pat Moore was hit by a pitch, Sean Fitzpatrick walked and Matt Weisbrot, DH-ing in his first game back from injury, singled to load the bases with one out. Klag got out No. 2 via a strikeout before Jack Gallagher made good contact.

Gallagher hit a line drive to leftfield, the same leftfield that looks right into where the sun sets. It was getting late, the sun was hanging low and Novakowski had one do-or-die chance. Had the ball gotten over Novakowski’s head, Midland Park would likely have gotten to within 4-3 with the potential tying run on third base. A catch would have kept Klag’s shutout intact.

He caught it.

“When I saw it leave the bat I knew it was a line drive right away. It was very difficult with the sun in my eyes, so I just tried to keep my glove in front of my eyes. I noticed that the ball was tailing, so I had to replant and turn around,” said Novakowski, describing in exacting detail a play that last all of a couple of seconds. “At that point I knew I had to jump because the ball was getting on me very quickly. I jumped, I extended as much as I could to catch that ball.”

The degree of difficulty was a 10, Novakowski handled it well for the first of the eight straight outs that Klag (4-0), who has totaled at least 10 strikeouts in all of his starts, recorded to finish his day. Klag struck out four in his last two innings of work including the last three he faced as his fastball seemed to get harder the longer he stayed out there.

Midland Park finished its county tournament on a high note when it scratched out a run in the top of the seventh. With two out, RJ Chirkis singled home Weisbrot, who led off the inning with his second hit of the game. The Panthers are now 10-4 on the season and still in the mix for a league title and a high seed in the North 1, Group 1 state sectional playoffs.

“In the league right now we are 7-1. We have a real competitive league with a lot of good clubs in there. You have Waldwick, Emerson, Park Ridge, Cresskill…you have to come to play every day,” said Clarke. “They are great battles to come, great small school games coming up and it is going to be fun.”

Pascack Valley is also alive and well in its own league title race, it will be a high seed in the North 1, Group 3 state sectional tournament and, as the No. 11 seed, it will play at No. 6 Mahwah in the county tournament’s Round of 16 on Saturday. While many other teams that had to play in to the main draw had to decide when or if to use their ace, the Indians do not have such worries. They have two of them. Klag got them through Round 1 and senior right-hander Jordan Issackedes will get the ball on Saturday against Mahwah.

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