Greg Tufaro, @GregTufaro
After opening the season with a series sweep of a team that eventually finished last in its division, the South Plainfield High School baseball team went on to drop seven of its next nine games including an April 20 mercy-rule loss to Sayreville.
The Tigers, who returned their entire starting infield, along with a first-team All-Greater Middlesex Conference outfielder and several quality pitchers, were clearly not playing up to their potential.
“It just really brought the morale of the team down,” South Plainfield head coach Anthony Guida said of his team’s rough start. “Every day we just continued to tell ourselves we are not a bad ballclub, we’ve just got to turn this around. There was no finger-pointing. Guys weren’t getting down and berating each other. They just stayed positive. They knew they were not clicking and stayed true to themselves.”
The turning point of the season came the day after the lopsided loss to Sayreville with an impressive upset over defending state champion Millburn, a victory that ignited a five-game winning streak and spurred the Tigers to win 15 of 17 contests.
The run included consecutive victories over Carteret, South Brunswick, Colonia and Old Bridge in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, enabling the Tigers to reach Saturday’s league championship game for the third time in the past eight years.
South Plainfield, which lost 3-2 in 11 innings to Old Bridge in the 2011 GMCT final and dropped a 1-0 decision to St. Joseph in the 2014 GMCT final, is looking for its first GMCT crown. The 14th-seeded Tigers will face 12th-seeded Perth Amboy, which is making its first championship game appearance, for the league title at East Brunswick Tech. First pitch is at noon.
Aces Chris Shine (4-2, 0.31, 45 IP, 64 K, 13 BB, 15 H) – a Seton Hall University commit – and Billy Keane (6-2, 1.80, 46.3 IP, 46 K, 16 BB, 42 H) are both available to start. One will take the mound against Perth Amboy righthander Jose Peralta.
The Tigers (19-10) and Panthers (14-11) represent a combination of the lowest seeds every to reach the GMCT final.
“I told our players, as long as you’re invited to play into a tournament, it doesn’t matter what seed you are,” Guida recalled telling his team after South Plainfield was seeded 14th. We know the type of pitching staff we have, and we knew at that point (of the seeding meeting) we needed to start playing our best baseball, and we were heading into the tournament.”
Prior to Thursday’s Central Group II quarterfinal loss against Governor Livingston, which is widely regarded as the state’s best public school team, the Tigers boasted a 3.02 team ERA and were hitting .298 as a team.
Shortstop Mike Stanczak (.337) is among the state’s leaders with nine home runs. He also leads the team with 24 RBI. Double play partner Rob Gonzalez (.341), the team’s vocal and emotional leader, is South Plainfield’s second leading run producer with 22 RBI.
Connor Adams (.352), Kean (.342), Chris Born (.328) and Shine (.314) are all hitting above .300 as regulars with 50 or more at-bats. Jordan Hamberg, since getting called up earlier this month from the junior varsity, is batting .318 with several clutch hits.
Of South Plainfield’s turnaround, Guida said, “It’s a combination of the kids believing in themselves and the coaching staff being as positive as we could.” Guida and his staff maintained their composure, even when the Tigers were committing uncharacteristic errors, swinging at bad pitches or getting less than quality outings on the mound.
“I’m not the yelling type of coach,” Guida said. “I don’t raise my voice. I never liked to get yelled at as a player. I just know that our players aren’t going out there trying to miss a ball, to throw a ball away. They’re not trying to throw a wild pitch. I genuinely believe they are out there trying to do the best they can.”
During its run to the conference tournament final, opposing teams have seen South Plainfield at its best.
The Tigers, who got off to an inauspicious start, can end the year as champions, if they play up to their potential.
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