WOODBRIDGE — Pat Boyle has developed a reputation for going the route, but if the senior lefthander was to register another complete game, he had to rebound from a rocky first inning in which he spotted J.F. Kennedy three runs.
Boyle put up zeroes the rest of the way and outlasted counterpart Joe Stone, who was lifted in the top of the sixth when the South Plainfield High School baseball team scored five runs – three on bases-loaded walks – to rally for a 6-3 comeback victory.
South Plainfield (12-5), which clinched the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division title a day earlier, has won nine of its last 11 and is poised to earn a top seed for the league tournament, which begins next week.
“He just has that bulldog mentality,” South Plainfield coach Anthony Guida said of Boyle, who pitched his third complete game.
“He will not come out of the game unless I drag him off the field. He really came into being one of our best pitchers. A.J. (Celentano) is our ace, but Pat’s been throwing like an ace. He’s been winning ballgames and finishing the seventh inning on the mound.”
The way Wednesday’s game began it appeared Boyle might not be able to go the distance.
Zach Buchholz (4-for-4), one of four Mustangs who will play next season at New Jersey City University, which is coached by former J.F. Kennedy mentor Jerry Smith Jr., ignited the first-inning rally with a double.
Future college teammate Stone sandwiched an RBI double around run-scoring singles from Mike Giordano and Chad Barrall.
Smith was on hand to catch all the action but had to abruptly leave the ballpark for his own night game against Stevens Tech in Hoboken. He appeared to take J.F. Kennedy’s timely hitting with him.
Boyle pitched in and out of trouble the rest of the way, forcing the Mustangs, who pounded out 10 hits, to strand eight runners, five in scoring position. Boyle worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and benefited from a rally-killing double play with runners on the corners in the sixth.
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“I didn’t have my best stuff throughout the entire game today,” Boyle said. “It’s so easy to take yourself out of the ballgame if you have a bad first inning. It’s so easy to just shut it down and the next thing you know you are out of the game. But I trusted my stuff throughout the game. I kept mixing up speeds and I just really trusted my defense.”
Stone, who allowed four hits and one run over five innings, yielded consecutive singles to start the sixth. Reliever Jose Sierra walked the next two batters on eight straight pitches to force home a run. After recording a strikeout, Sierra issued two more free passes to force home two more runs. Justin Marks then greeted a second reliever, Josue Ruiz, with a two-run double to right-center for the final margin.
“We stayed patient at the plate,” Guida said. “I think Stone was throwing fantastic. I was happy to see him come out of the game. Obviously we want to hit the ball a little bit, but we got some gift walks, so that was nice.”
Mike Polizzano, a utility player who earned a start for the Tigers, had to work for his bases-loaded walk, fouling off two full-count offerings before forcing home the tying run. His two-out RBI triple in the second inning trimmed J.F. Kennedy’s lead to 3-1.
“He’s just an awesome team player,” Guida said of Polizzano, who received the same positive support from regular Sal Esposito that he provides to the starter while on the bench. “He’s done his share of being a cheerleader. We gave him a start and he relished it.”
Polizzano was the pivot man on that 4-6-3 double play in the sixth that helped Boyle escape yet another jam. “I had to make the best of it,” Polizzano said of his chance. “The RBI triple really helped out the team. I’ve got to do what I can.”
Stone, who allowed four hits and one run over five innings, yielded consecutive singles to start the sixth. Reliever Jose Sierra walked the next two batters on eight straight pitches to force home a run. After recording a strikeout, Sierra issued two more free passes to force home two more runs. Justin Marks then greeted a second reliever, Josue Ruiz, with a two-run double to right-center for the final margin.
“We stayed patient at the plate,” Guida said. “I think Stone was throwing fantastic. I was happy to see him come out of the game. Obviously we want to hit the ball a little bit, but we got some gift walks, so that was nice.”
Mike Polizzano, a utility player who earned a start for the Tigers, had to work for his bases-loaded walk, fouling off two full-count offerings before forcing home the tying run. His two-out RBI triple in the second inning trimmed J.F. Kennedy’s lead to 3-1.
“He’s just an awesome team player,” Guida said of Polizzano, who received the same positive support from regular Sal Esposito that he provides to the starter while on the bench. “He’s done his share of being a cheerleader. We gave him a start and he relished it.”
Polizzano was the pivot man on that 4-6-3 double play in the sixth that helped Boyle escape yet another jam. “I had to make the best of it,” Polizzano said of his chance. “The RBI triple really helped out the team. I’ve got to do what I can.”
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20130501/NJSPORTS0130/305010069/Boyle-goes-distance-again-South-Plainfield
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