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South Plainfield surprised No. 18 Perth Amboy, 11-5, as South Plainfield scored seven runs in the sixth inning. Dan Hansen hit two homers and finished with six RBI, Mark Tomei hit a three-run homer and Quinn Cochrane a solo shot for South Plainfield. FULL STORIES COMING SOON
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South Plainfield (11) at Perth Amboy (5), Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, Semifinal Round - Baseball
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By Josh RosenfeldMidnight struck during the sixth inning for Cinderella, clad in Perth Amboy red on this summer-like afternoon.
Despite the absence of its top three pitchers, all victims to inning restrictions as a result of its 17-inning marathon on Wedneday, top-seed Perth Amboy found itself clinging to a one-run lead heading into the sixth inning of its Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinal-round game with South Plainfield.
South Plainfield (21-7) erupted for seven runs in that frame on a three-run homer by Mark Tomei, another by Dan Hansen, who also homered earlier, and a solo shot by Quinn Cochrane to rally for an 11-5 victory yesterday at East Brunswick Tech.
Fourth-seeded South Plainfield ran its winning streak to 12 games and earned a berth opposite second-seeded Old Bridge (17-10), a 6-1 winner over St. Joseph, in the GMC championship game Wednesday at 7 p.m. at East Brunswick High School.
Hansen, better known for his pitching skills, was 3-for-4 with six RBI for South Plainfield. He singled in two runs in the first, drew South Plainfield within a run with a solo shot in the fifth and clubbed the three-run shot for a 10-5 lead in the sixth.
"It was crazy. I was going up there the entire game just looking to get a base hit on the ground somewhere and ended up with two home runs," said Hansen, who had never homered twice in a varsity game before. "I can't believe it."
Outfielder Jose Hernandez made his first start on the mound for the depleted Perth Amboy staff and yielded three unearned runs in the first before tossing three shutout innings. Perth Amboy (21-4) took a 5-3 lead by scoring four times in the fourth on an RBI single by Yon Jerry Perez, who had the game-winning hit in Wednesday's 2-1 epic victory over Sayreville, and a two-run double by pinch-hitter Tilson Brito.
"Jose Hernandez did exactly what we needed him to do. He should be proud of himself," Perth Amboy coach Ernie Kregeloh said. "Our pitchers carried us all year. Today, it had to be the bats and the gloves and we scored five runs."
Hansen made it 5-4 with a solo shot to right in the fifth and South Plainfield's sixth began with a single up the middle by Rob Eggert and a four-pitch walk to nine-hitter Ryan Marcoux with the .500-hitting Tomei coming to bat.
"The whole game I was popping it up, hitting little ground balls," Tomei said. "I was just thinking about getting as much power as I could on it, and I just hit it over the fence."
Tomei clubbed his team-leading eighth home run of the season to right center, putting South Plainfield on top to stay at 7-5 with the three-run blast. Hernandez induced a grounder to second before a catastrophic three-pitch sequence in which Brandon Downes doubled, Stephen Petriello received an automatic intentional walk, and Hansen and Cochrane homered on successive first pitches.
"He was only throwing fastballs and we recognized it and just kept on hitting it," Hansen said.
Sixth-seeded St. Joseph (17-9) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Matt Hratko drilled his team-leading eighth home run of the season to left, homering for the fourth game in a row. That was all of the scoring St. Joseph could muster off of Taylor Amato (5-6), who scattered five hits and struck out seven while walking one.
Old Bridge quickly assumed the lead by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first, the biggest blow being a two-run infield single by Briajhn Knoth that never made it past the infield grass with Vin Dacunto motoring home from second.
"We usually score late and its kind of nerve-wracking in the middle innings when we're down, so scoring early definitely boosted our morale," Amato said. "Once he hit the home run I knew I had to zone in."
Old Bridge tacked on single runs in the second and third, using four consecutive singles to plate Amato in the second, including a hit on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Nick Santurro. Knoth led off the third with a single, stole second, took third on a sacrifice by Payam Agha Ghassem and scored the final run of the game on a single by George Pagan.
"I knew we were going to have to bunt, hit-and-run and steal and do all of that stuff," Old Bridge coach Mike Anastasio said. "We just put some good swings on the ball early."
And South Plainfield, is opponent in Wednesday's championship game, put some good swings on the ball late.
http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/-2054267813693093467/south-plainfield-11-at-perth-amboy-5-greater-middlesex-conference-tournament-semifinal-round-baseball/
Baseball: South Plainfield rallies to reach GMCT final
Staff Report
By Greg Tufaro
May 28, 2011
Knowing its opponent's pitching staff was completely depleted, the South Plainfield High School baseball team intended to reach Perth Amboy starter Jose Hernandez early.
The senior right-hander, who hurled just three varsity innings in his career, was forced to take the hill because the Panthers entered Saturday's Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinal against the Tigers having played 31 innings the previous three days.
South Plainfield couldn't reach Hernandez until the sixth inning when it parlayed three homers into a tide-turning seven-run rally en route to an 11-5 comeback victory at East Brunswick Tech.
The fourth-seeded Tigers (21-7), who extended their winning streak to 12 games, will face second-seeded Old Bridge for the GMCT championship at 7 p.m. Wednesday at East Brunswick High School.
Perth Amboy used up all the available innings of its three-man starting rotation during a three-game stretch last week including Wednesday's 2-1 GMCT quarterfinal victory over Sayreville, Thursday's 6-3 win over Perth Amboy Tech and Friday's 6-5 comeback victory over Edison in the North 2 Group IV Tournament.
The Panthers (21-4) swept the regular-season series with South Plainfield, rallying for two comeback victories.
They appeared to be on their way to a third straight comeback win Saturday when pinch hitter Tilson Brito's two-RBI double highlighted a four-run rally that gave the Panthers a 5-3 lead in the fourth.
"I told our guys Perth Amboy played (the equivalent of) five games in three days," South Plainfield coach Anthony Guida said. "That's going to take a toll on them. They've also beat us twice this year. They can do it again. Let's make sure that does not happen. I said they don't have much after (Hernandez). Three of their pitchers cannot throw. I said let's get to him. It took a while."
Perth Amboy spotted South Plainfield a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as the Tigers scored all of their runs with two outs following an infield error. Dan Hansen, who finished 3-for-4 with two homers and six RBI, fueled the outburst with a two-run single.
The Panthers scored an unearned run of their own in the first, trimming the deficit to 3-1.
South Plainfield, which stranded five runners over the first two innings, failed to pad its lead in the second, leaving the bases loaded without scoring a run. A spectacular defensive play in the ensuing inning ended another rally as the Panthers recorded an 8-5-4 double play to escape another jam.
Hansen's solo homer in the fifth trimmed Perth Amboy's lead to 5-4. Hernandez, who went the distance, throwing 106 pitches, appeared to have lost some velocity on his fastball at that point.
The strong-armed right fielder-turned pitcher allowed the first two batters to reach in the sixth. Both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.
With first base open and leadoff batter Mark Tomei, the league's leading hitter with 56 hits, at the plate, Perth Amboy could have called for an intentional walk. Hernandez instead pitched to Tomei, who deposited his first pitch — a belt-high fastball — over the right-center field fence for a three-run homer and a 7-5 South Plainfield lead.
"When I saw Tomei coming up, I was like, this is where we want to be," Guida said. "We've got a pretty good shot. We always feel good with the top of our lineup coming up, not just Tomei."
Brandon Downes followed with a double. With first base open, Hernandez intentionally walked cleanup batter Stephen Petriello to pitch to Hansen, who deposited his initial offering — another belt-high fastball — over the right-center field fence for another three-run homer and a 10-5 advantage.
Designated hitter Quinn Cochrane homered on the very next pitch to produce the final margin. Hernandez was never chased because Perth Amboy had just one available arm, that of freshman Jose Ortiz, who had never thrown a varsity inning.
Perth Amboy chased South Plainfield starter Ryan Hutchinson after the first four batters reached safely to start the fourth. Reliever Nick DeMarco, South Plainfield's closer, hurled four scoreless innings to record the victory. The stint was his longest of the season.
The senior right-hander, who hurled just three varsity innings in his career, was forced to take the hill because the Panthers entered Saturday's Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinal against the Tigers having played 31 innings the previous three days.
South Plainfield couldn't reach Hernandez until the sixth inning when it parlayed three homers into a tide-turning seven-run rally en route to an 11-5 comeback victory at East Brunswick Tech.
The fourth-seeded Tigers (21-7), who extended their winning streak to 12 games, will face second-seeded Old Bridge for the GMCT championship at 7 p.m. Wednesday at East Brunswick High School.
Perth Amboy used up all the available innings of its three-man starting rotation during a three-game stretch last week including Wednesday's 2-1 GMCT quarterfinal victory over Sayreville, Thursday's 6-3 win over Perth Amboy Tech and Friday's 6-5 comeback victory over Edison in the North 2 Group IV Tournament.
The Panthers (21-4) swept the regular-season series with South Plainfield, rallying for two comeback victories.
They appeared to be on their way to a third straight comeback win Saturday when pinch hitter Tilson Brito's two-RBI double highlighted a four-run rally that gave the Panthers a 5-3 lead in the fourth.
"I told our guys Perth Amboy played (the equivalent of) five games in three days," South Plainfield coach Anthony Guida said. "That's going to take a toll on them. They've also beat us twice this year. They can do it again. Let's make sure that does not happen. I said they don't have much after (Hernandez). Three of their pitchers cannot throw. I said let's get to him. It took a while."
Perth Amboy spotted South Plainfield a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as the Tigers scored all of their runs with two outs following an infield error. Dan Hansen, who finished 3-for-4 with two homers and six RBI, fueled the outburst with a two-run single.
The Panthers scored an unearned run of their own in the first, trimming the deficit to 3-1.
South Plainfield, which stranded five runners over the first two innings, failed to pad its lead in the second, leaving the bases loaded without scoring a run. A spectacular defensive play in the ensuing inning ended another rally as the Panthers recorded an 8-5-4 double play to escape another jam.
Hansen's solo homer in the fifth trimmed Perth Amboy's lead to 5-4. Hernandez, who went the distance, throwing 106 pitches, appeared to have lost some velocity on his fastball at that point.
The strong-armed right fielder-turned pitcher allowed the first two batters to reach in the sixth. Both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.
With first base open and leadoff batter Mark Tomei, the league's leading hitter with 56 hits, at the plate, Perth Amboy could have called for an intentional walk. Hernandez instead pitched to Tomei, who deposited his first pitch — a belt-high fastball — over the right-center field fence for a three-run homer and a 7-5 South Plainfield lead.
"When I saw Tomei coming up, I was like, this is where we want to be," Guida said. "We've got a pretty good shot. We always feel good with the top of our lineup coming up, not just Tomei."
Brandon Downes followed with a double. With first base open, Hernandez intentionally walked cleanup batter Stephen Petriello to pitch to Hansen, who deposited his initial offering — another belt-high fastball — over the right-center field fence for another three-run homer and a 10-5 advantage.
Designated hitter Quinn Cochrane homered on the very next pitch to produce the final margin. Hernandez was never chased because Perth Amboy had just one available arm, that of freshman Jose Ortiz, who had never thrown a varsity inning.
Perth Amboy chased South Plainfield starter Ryan Hutchinson after the first four batters reached safely to start the fourth. Reliever Nick DeMarco, South Plainfield's closer, hurled four scoreless innings to record the victory. The stint was his longest of the season.
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20110528/NJSPORTS0130/105280310/Baseball-South-Plainfield-rallies-reach-GMCT-final
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