Wednesday, April 14, 2010

South Plainfield 8 Woodbridge 1

South Plainfield baseball breaks game open late to top Woodbridge
By MELISSA CHODAN • STAFF WRITER • April 14, 2010

WOODBRIDGE — Dan Hansen and Nick Stallone worked themselves in and out of trouble Wednesday in a pitcher's duel between the South Plainfield and Woodbridge high school baseball teams for five innings.

Double plays and pick-offs erased the base runners until first baseman Matt Cesare broke open the game with a two-run home run in South Plainfield's 8-1 victory.
"It was a high fastball. I got my hands above it. I got good contact and thank God I got it over the fence," Cesare said.

The game was tied 1-1 going into the sixth inning with both teams capitalizing on small ball for their runs.
Center fielder Brandon Downes walked to start the Tigers' sixth inning. Cesare worked the count full on Stallone, then sent a pitch over the right-center-field wall to put the Tigers up, 3-1.
Catcher Stephen Petriello followed with a triple and scored on Mark Tomei's grounder to first base.
"After that we just picked it up," said Cesare, who finished 2-for-3 with a walk.

Woodbridge attempted a rally in the bottom of the sixth with four players reaching base, but a pickoff and an out at home plate ended any chance of a comeback.

South Plainfield added four runs in the seventh inning against the Woodbridge bullpen with Petriello recording a two-run single and later scoring on a sacrifice fly.

"We're a good team and they're definitely a good team," Woodbridge coach Lou Urbano said. "Something had to give and they made the plays where they had to.

"Woodbridge scored its lone run in the fourth inning. Center fielder Eric Perez led off with a walk and came around to score on left fielder Mike Clarke's double.

Clarke advanced to third base on the throw home. With no outs and Clarke on third, Hansen was able to work himself out of the inning.

The Tigers manufactured a tie in the top of the fifth inning. Center fielder Mark Tomei singled, stole second, reached third base on a dropped third strike, and came home on a wild pitch.
"I was just trying to get on base and I was working on getting home the whole time," said Tomei, who was 1-for-2 with two walks, a run scored, and an RBI.

Downes finished 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Petriello scored twice.
Hansen pitched a complete game. The left-hander allowed eight hits, two walks, and an earned run while striking out five. Hansen also picked off four baserunners.

"It's a big game, we just have to work off of this," Tomei said.

Stallone allowed six hits, four walks and four runs in his first varsity start. The right-hander used his fastball to stay ahead of the South Plainfield lineup — allowing just two batters to reach base when he threw first-pitch strikes.

"He gave us a chance to win and he had one bad pitch," Urbano said. "Cesare is a very good hitter."
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