North II, Group III - TOURNAMENT BRACKETS:
NJSIAA Baseball: South Plainfield rolls into sectional semifinals
By PAUL FRANKLIN •
STAFF WRITER • May 21, 2010
SOUTH PLAINFIELD :
Friday afternoon was pretty much business as usual for the South Plainfield High School baseball team. Good pitching, good hitting, home runs and, well, have a nice day.
The Tigers (24-2) exploded in the middle innings and took out West Morris 11-2 in an NJSIAA North 2 Group III quarterfinal game. West Morris fell to 13-12.
Eight South Plainfield batters had at least one hit. The visiting Wolfpack managed only three.
"We're playing great right now," South Plainfield senior right fielder Carlos Ruiz said. "We're consistently hitting; our pitching's doing great. One through nine is solid. Every hitter has at least one home run.
"Ruiz hit his sixth during the sixth inning, a three-run shot to left that put the envelope into the sectional semifinal mailbox. Though hitting around .450, all the numbers will be meaningless if this collection of talent doesn't win its final game.
At least that's how they feel right now.
"If we don't get a state championship, our season is nothing but a good record. That's all we want," Ruiz said. "We want a state championship or else this season means nothing.
"That's quite a contrast from a team that just last year finished below .500.
Junior left-hander Dan Hansen went five innings Thursday for the win. His fastball was keeping his team in the game until the Tigers started doing what they do. His record now 9-0, Hansen handed over the ball to senior Dylan Papa, who went the final two innings without a worry.
The Tigers might have been a little concerned when they fell behind 2-0 coming to bat in the second inning. Not to worry. Hansen took things into his own hands by smacking a grounds-rule double to right with two outs, scoring Stephen Petriello with his team's first run. Kyle Hughes followed with an RBI single.
The Tigers took the lead in the third on a single by Mark Benak, a double to left by junior Brandon Downes, then, with the bases loaded, a hit batsman and an infield single put them ahead 4-2.
Downes loosened everybody's belts with a shot over the left-field fence, a 350-foot blast that blew down leaves like it was October.
It was his 15th home run of the season.
"He rips. It's crazy," sophomore catcher Stephen Petriello said.
Personal accomplishments aside, Downes agreed that the only number that matters is No. 1.
"We like to put pressure on each other, because we know we can win and we think we can win it all," Downes said. "I don't want to sound cocky like that, but when we face those big teams we feel like underdogs and we have to come out and do what we gotta do."
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100521/SPORTS0103/5210359/1109
South Plainfield 11, West Morris 2 (High school Baseball scores and results)
The Star Ledger, May 21, 2010 10:55 p.m.
Brandon Downes cracked a two-run homer, his 15th of the season, and Carlos Ruiz added a three-run shot and four RBI as No. 1 South Plainfield (24-2) prevailed in the quarterfinal round of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 playoffs in South Plainfield. Dan Hansen held West Morris (13-12) to three hits over five innings to run his record to 9-0. Michael Vecchio went 2-for-3 with a double and two stolen bases, scoring the run that gave West Morris a 1-0 edge in the top of the first. South Plainfield will be the host to Morristown in the semifinals on Tuesday.
BOX SCORE:
Some prominent South Plainfield fans show everyone who the #1 rated baseball team in the state is.
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