South Plainfield NJ Varsity Baseball Team

South Plainfield (4) at Westfield (3) - Baseball

Star-Ledger, April 26, 2013 8:24 p.m.

By Chris Ryan

L.J. Scarpitto was not in the starting lineup for South Plainfield on Friday. In fact, he was not even on the varsity field when the first pitch was thrown.
The sophomore started his day with the junior varsity team, but he ran over to join the varsity squad midway through the game. South Plainfield coach Anthony Guida called upon him in the game's most crucial moment.
With the game tied in the top of the seventh, Scarpitto stepped to the plate for his first career varsity at-bat and lined a two-out, RBI single to right center field to give South Plainfield a 4-3 lead.
The hit proved to be the game-winner as South Plainfield held on to defeat Westfield, 4-3, yesterday in Westfield.
Even with the pressure of a tie game, Scarpitto said he had the confidence to get the job done thanks to his coaches.
"Coach told me that they were going to need me, so I was ready, but I didn't expect it so soon," he said. "It was just a big sigh of relief, and it just felt good to help the team."
The seventh-inning run capped a comeback victory for South Plainfield (10-4). Trailing by one run in the sixth inning, South Plainfield tied the game with an RBI double by Jeff Pellegrino. Pellegrino also tied the game at two in the fourth inning with an RBI single.
Westfield (6-8) opened the game with two runs in the first inning, but South Plainfield pitcher Tim O'Leary settled down and kept his team within striking distance. He threw his final pitch in the six inning, and the team's rally in the seventh gave him the victory.
"I just wanted to use my defense," he said. "Westfield is a good lineup, and I just wanted to throw strikes. I struggled a little in the beginning, but I kind of found my groove toward the end of the game."
O'Leary allowed three runs on five hits over six innings while striking out two and walking three. Once South Plainfield had the lead, he handed the ball over to another sophomore who also started the day with the junior varsity team.
Kyle Dickerson pitched a perfect seventh to earn the save for South Plainfield.
Despite not starting the day with the team, Dickerson said he and Scarpitto did their jobs by contributing to the team in any way possible.
"That was L.J.'s first time coming up and he gets a big hit in a key situation," he said. "The dugout just went booming. Sophomore spirit, they feel it."

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/7300400168363607260/south-plainfield-4-at-westfield-3-baseball/