|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
|
|
South Brunswick (11-11) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
9 |
13 |
1 |
|
South Plainfield (17-3) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
10 |
11 |
6 |
Top-seed South Plainfield “stuns” South Brunswick with six runs in final at bat to advance to GMCT quarterfinals
A social media post on the South Plainfield baseball twitter accounts showed a photo of the home plate area, with several healthy-looking canines scattered around. The idea is that the Tigers are scrappers, who will fight tooth and nail for every walk, hit, and run.
Down 9-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, trailing since eighth-seed South Brunswick got on the board with a run in the second inning, they would have to channel every ounce of that spirit if they were to have a miracle comeback and score five runs to tie, six runs to win.
Check. Check. Check. Check. Check. And one more check, for the win.
South Plainfield scored six runs on just three hits, four walks and one hit batter – and never even got down to their final out – to capture a remarkable, come-from-behind, 10-9 win over South Brunswick Wednesday night at North Brunswick Community Park, in a GMC Tournament quarterfinal game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
The Tigers move on to Saturday’s semifinals at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick, where they’ll take on fifth-seed Edison at 2:30, following the noon semifinal between third-seed Old Bridge and tenth-seed Sayreville.
South opened the scoring in the second inning. Jack Leach – who had the game winning hit in Monday’s 14-inning first-round marathon against St. Thomas Aquinas – hit a one-out double, advanced to third on a ground out, and scored when Joe Sanchez beat out a slow roller to third.
The Vikings made it 2-0 in the third when Ethan Fantel was the beneficiary of three errors. He reached on an E-4, advanced to second on a bad pickoff throw by South Plainfield starter Aldo Pigna, then came home to score when catcher Stephen Studlack tried to pick him off second after a pitch. But no one covered the bag, and Fantel scored on the play.
South Brunswick started to make it look like a rout in the fourth. Leach reached on an infield hit, then moved to third when Danny Kirk grounded to third, reaching on an error. After two strikeouts, Will Haman drove them both in with a double, and Fantel’s single knocked Haman in to make it 5-0.
South Plainfield, though, started to chip away. The Tigers got one run back in the fourth, when Aiden McCarthy led off with a double, and Ryan Balent did the same to drive him in and make it 5-1.
And after holding South Brunswick scoreless for the first time in four innings, they grabbed two more in the bottom of the fifth. Dan Kapsch led off with a double. Zach Robinson walked and Jay Alvarez singled to load the bases. After Brandon Bickunas struck out, Nick Irizzarry drove in a run the painful way, getting hit by a pitch, then McCarthy hit a sac fly to center to make it 5-3. The Tigers could have had more, by Balent lined to third to end the inning.
But South Brunswick would widen the gap with four runs in the top of the sixth. Haman led off with a double, and Fantel made it 7-3 with a two-run homer. Colin Perna followed with a double, then scored when Brian Culhane grounded to second and reached on an E4. A single by Perna drove in Culhane, chasing reliever Aidan McCarthy. Chase Donovan came in and got three strikeouts looking to end the inning, but by then, it was 9-3 Vikings.
Down six runs, things looked bleak for the Tigers. They got a run back in the bottom of the inning, when Robinson drove in Kevin Penny, who’d reached on an error on the shortstop, making it 9-4.
Donovan kept the Vikings off the board in the stop of the seventh, setting the stage for the heroics, begun – and ended – by Nick Irizzarry.
He led off with a walk, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Aiden McCarthy drove him in with an RBI single to make it 9-5. Then Balent and Studlack walked to load the bases, and that chased South Brunswick’s third reliever of the game, in favor of Brian Culhane. But the results were hardly different.
He walked Penny on five pitches to score McCarthy and make it 9-6. He hit Kapsch to drive in Balent to make it 9-7. Zach Robinson squibbed one toward the mound that Fantel tried to field from first base, but Culhane couldn’t get to first in time to cover, and everyone was safe, with Studlack scoring to make it 9-8. Alvarez singled, and all of a sudden, it was tied 9-9. Bickunas hit one back to the Culhane, who charged off the mound and scooped it to his catcher, Joe Sanchez, to cut down the winning run at the plate.
And then, it was back to Irizzarry, who’d started the inning. He knocked a single up the middle for a base hit, and insanity ensued.
Listen to the final call as Nick Irizzarry drives in the winning run for South Plainfield:
https://cjsportsradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/FINAL-CALL-DOM-SAVINO-for-web.mp3
Reliever Chase Donovan got the win in relief for South Plainfield (16-3), while Culhane took the loss for South Brunswick (11-11). South Plainfield got the win despite committing six errors in the game.
Now, the Tigers play for their first berth in the finals since they won their first and only GMCT title in 2018 as a 14-seed.
South Plainfield’s Nick Irizzarry, Zach Robinson and head coach Scott Gleichenhaus:
https://cjsportsradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/5-8-24-IRIZZARRY-ROBINSON-GLEICHENHAUS.mp3
South Plainfield Batting
|
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
1B |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
HBP |
SB |
AVG |
SLG |
|
|
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.667 |
1.000 |
|
|
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
.500 |
.750 |
|
|
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
.667 |
.667 |
|
|
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.333 |
.333 |
|
|
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
1.500 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.667 |
1.000 |
|
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
Totals: |
29 |
9 |
11 |
10 |
7 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
.379 |
.517 |
South Plainfield Pitching
|
PIT |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HB |
ERA |
|
|
22 |
0.1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
|
91 |
4.2 |
8 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.00 |
|
|
34 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
|
Totals: |
147 |
7 |
8 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2.00 |
After going 7 full rounds w So Bruns, and their backs against the ropes. the Tigers win 10-9 and advance to the GMC semis. Chase Donovan picks up W, coming in relief and providing opportunity for his fellow dogs to eat their way to victory.
Wednesday, May 8
Scores
Wednesday’s quarterfinals
(1) South Plainfield 10, (8) South Brunswick 9
(5) Edison 1, (13) Middlesex 0
(10) Sayreville 4, (2) Woodbridge 3
(3) Old Bridge 8, (11) North Brunswick 5
Saturday’s semifinals
At East Brunswick Magnet
(3) Old Bridge vs. (10) Sayreville, noon
(1) South Plainfield vs. (5) Edison, 2:30 p.m.
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