TAPinto South Plainfield
Morris Knolls Downs South Plainfield, 3-2, in Eight Innings in State Group 3 Semifinal
DENVILLE, NJ -- True to his nickname, Aiden McCarthy pitched like a bull after a first inning that might have discouraged a lesser pitcher.
True to their team moniker, the South Plainfield Tigers scratched and clawed their way back to tie a game they'd trailed after one inning.
But Dylan Fitzsimmons found three distinctly different ways to lead Morris Knolls to a 3-2 victory over South Plainfield in eight innings in the semifinals of the NJSIAA Group 3 baseball tournament on Monday afternoon.
Fitzsimmons hit the first of back-to-back home runs off McCarthy in the bottom of the first inning. From center field, McCarthy threw out a baserunner trying to score from second base to end the top of the fourth inning. And, with the go-ahead run on third base and nobody out in the top of the seventh, Fitzsimmons came on in relief to retire the next three batters, eventually getting the win with two scoreless innings.
Morris Knolls (15-11) broke the tie when Colin Iberer drew a bases-loaded walk with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Morris Knolls will make its third consecutive appearance in a state championship game when the Golden Eagles play Northern Burlington in the Group 3 final on Saturday at Veterans Park in Hamilton.
South Plainfield (18-11) made it one step further this season than last, when the Tigers lost to another Morris County opponent, Randolph, in the North 2, Group 3 final. But, after falling behind in the first inning on consecutive home runs by Fitzsimmons and Ryan McDonald with one out, South Plainfield was very much in a position to win this game after battling back and getting a tough and fearless effort on the mound from McCarthy, a junior left-hander.
After McDonald's home run over the 3-foot temporary fence in center field -- a ball that Tigers' center fielder Dom Massaro likely would have put in his pocket had the game been played on South Plainfield's home field -- gave Morris Knolls a 2-0 lead, McCarthy allowed just two hits over the next 6 2/3 innings, blending his curve with well-spotted fastballs on the corners of the strike zone to keep the Tigers in the game and give them a chance to come back.
“That was one of the toughest performances I've ever witnessed by a high school pitcher,” South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus said of McCarthy. “He gives up two home runs in the first inning – he just left the ball up a little bit and those guys connected – and I'm sure Morris Knolls felt like they were two steps away from putting us on the bus. But he settled down, he bulldogged his way through this game, made his pitches and got outs.”
In the top of the fourth inning, after Morris Knolls starter Dean Kaletcher had retired 11 of the first 12 batters against him, South Plainfield mounted its first threat. Dan Kapsch reached on a two-out single to left field, Lorenzo Fuscoletti reached on an infield error, and Chris Loniewski -- who was 2-for-3 with a walk -- hit a single up the middle. Fitzsimmons, in center field, fired a strike to catcher Ryan Kuehne, who tagged out Kapsch, who was sent around third by Gleichenhaus.
After McCarthy retired the side in order in the bottom of the fourth, South Plainfield started a rally with the bottom of its order, as Steve Studlack and Kevin Penny each drew one-out walks. Nick Irizarry then hit a slow grounder that second baseman Luis Molina fielded. Molina tried, but missed, in an attempt to tag Penny going by him, and then his throw to first was too late to beat the speedy Irizarry, whose infield hit loaded the bases.
McCarthy hit a ringing line drive on the screws, but it was right at center fielder Fitzsimmons for the second out. Then Massaro hit a groundball towards the hole on the right side. Molina made a diving stop, and then bounced a low throw towards first base, way too late to beat the fleet-footed Massaro as two runs scored on the infield single.
But the only hit South Plainfield had the rest of the way was a leadoff single in the top of the eighth by Loniewski. In the top of the seventh, Irizarry was hit by a pitch leading off. He stole second base, then took third on a wild pitch by Kaletcher with nobody out. At that point, Fitzsimmons was summoned in relief with a 2-1 count. He struck out the next batter swinging at a 3-2 fastball, got a groundball back to the mound with no advance possible by Irizarry, and then got a flyout to right to end the inning.
McCarthy ended up going 7 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and four walks and striking out five. In one stretch between the third and sixth innings, he retired eight consecutive batters. McCarthy beat Millburn in the sectional semifinals last Tuesday with a complete-game four-hitter, 8-1. One of South Plainfield's All-Greater Middlesex Conference representatives, he finished unofficially with a 1.34 earned-run average this season.
“I couldn't be any prouder of him and the effort he gave us,” Gleichenhaus said of McCarthy.
Fitzsimmons (who else?) started Morris Knolls' game-winning rally in the home eighth with a leadoff single. He took second on a sacrifice bunt and, after an intentional walk, McCarthy got a groundball that Loniewski turned into a force-out at third base for the second out. But Troy Kuehne legged out an infield single to load the bases and, as McCarthy had reached the pitch-count limit, Iberer battled back from a 1-2 count against him to work a full-count walk that ended the game.
“We handled unfinished business from last year, and I am proud of the boys for that,” Gleichenhaus said. “I just wish it were a different ending. They deserved better.”
Fitzsimmons, a St. John's University commit, has hit three home runs in his last five games. He has eight home runs on the season.
Morris Knolls keeps three-peat bid alive with walk-off win over South Plainfield
Colin Iberer summoned a shrimp and it helped keep Morris Knolls’ hopes of a three-peat alive.
He worked the count full with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning.
There couldn’t have been any more pressure on his shoulders but he was as cool as can be.
“I was just trying to stay calm,” he said. “I know what I could do when I have a bat in my hand.”
He laid off a close pitch and drew the biggest walk of his career.
“It’s something we’ve all been working for since March and so happy we’re going back for the third straight time,” he said.
“He’s been a guy that’s worked his way into the lineup this year,” said Morris Knolls head coach Eric Mindrebo. “He’s had a lot of big hits for us this year. He has excellent at-bats and, and, and honestly, that at-bat is kind of indicative of what he’s done all year. He works pitchers, he doesn’t give in.”
The timing was perfect, as Morris Knolls had struggled to put together a rally after Dylan Fitzsimmons and Ryan McDonald slugged back-to-back homers in the bottom of the first inning. The Golden Eagles only had a runner in scoring position twice between the second and seventh innings.
Meanwhile, South Plainfield started slow but threatened or scored in each of the last four frames. Morris Knolls had just five base runners between the home runs and the start of the eighth inning compared to 11 for South Plainfield.
“I just had confidence in my team the whole time, and we were going to pull through,” Fitzsimmons said. “We’ve been here before, so (I) knew we could come through, and we did.”
Fitzsimmons, who had an outfield assist to take a South Plainfield run off the board in the fourth inning, came on in relief of Dean Kaletcher in a tight spot in the seventh. Kaletcher walked Nick Irizarry, who advanced to third in just three pitches, representing the potential go-ahead run.
He retired three batters in a row to keep the game tied.
“The moment’s not going to be too big for him and it certainly wasn’t today,” said Mindrebo.
Fitzsimmons collected four strikeouts and allowed one hit in two innings of work. Kaletcher, meanwhile, fanned seven and allowed two runs on four hits and four walks in six innings.
Both pitchers kept a lethal top of the South Plainfield order in check. Irizarry, Aiden McCarthy, Dom Massaro and Dan Kapsch were a combined 25-for-59 (.424) in their first four state tournament games but went 2-for-14 on Monday. Irizarry’s 10-game hitting streak was snapped and it was just the third time this season he didn’t pick up a hit in a game.
McCarthy threw 7 2/3 innings before hitting the pitch limit and coming out prior to Iberer’s at-bat. He allowed three runs on six hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
“He was just throwing strikes and making us make the mistakes. That’s one hell of a pitcher right there,” Fitzsimmons said of McCarthy. “I know it sucks to come off (with) the fear of losing, but he had one hell of a pitching performance. It was really gutsy from him. We just had timely hitting and then at the end, just put the ball in play and good things happened.”
Massaro helped tie the game in the top of the fifth with an RBI single and Kevin Penny scored after an error on the same play.
Though South Plainfield was gaining momentum with each passing inning, Morris Knolls didn’t lose focus. That’s where winning back-to-back state titles comes in handy.
“We were staying calm,” Iberer said. “I mean, against Ramapo, we were down 4-0 in the first inning. So we know, we’ve been here, we know what we have to do and we just battled back.”
Just one more team stands in the way of a potentially historic feat for Morris Knolls.
A victory on Saturday over Northern Burlington would make the Golden Eagles just the sixth team in state history to win three consecutive state titles and they’d be the first public school to do so since Steinert from 1998-2000.
“I’ve been waiting for this all year,” Fitzsimmons said. “It’s all I’ve been looking for. I know my teammates (think the) same thing. Teammates and coaches just want this one game right here, and we got it. We’re ready to go.”
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
R |
H |
E |
|
|
South Plainfield (18-11) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
|
Morris Knolls (15-11) |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
South Plainfield Batting
|
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
1B |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
HBP |
SB |
AVG |
SLG |
|
|
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
.333 |
.333 |
|
|
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.250 |
.250 |
|
|
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.333 |
.333 |
|
|
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.667 |
.667 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.333 |
.333 |
|
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
Totals: |
29 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
.207 |
.207 |
South Plainfield Pitching
|
PIT |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HB |
ERA |
|
|
116 |
7.2 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
2.74 |
|
|
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
|
Totals: |
123 |
7.2 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
2.74 |
South Plainfield falls short of Group 3 Championship game in heartbreaking fashion, losing to Morris Knolls 3-2, in 8
After surrendering back-to-back home runs, in the first inning, and being down 2-0 through the first three batters of the Morris Knolls lineup, it surely looked like South Plainfield was going to have a long day on the diamond.
It was quite the contrary, as South Plainfield came back to eventually tie the game at two, and had its fair share of chances to win the game. The effort from South Plainfield wasn’t enough, however, as Colin Iberer of Morris Knolls walked it off with a bases loaded full-count two-out walk in the eighth inning to send the Golden Eagles to Saturday’s NJSIAA State Group 3 final with a 3-2, eight-inning win.
Morris Knolls (15-10) had its ace on the mound in Dean Kaletcher, and boy, did he pitch like one to start. Kaletcher on the season had a 1.60 ERA with 77 strikeouts and only 17 walks and he retired the first seven batters he faced and racked up four strikeouts by the end of the third.
South Plainfield (18-11) had its ace on the mound as well. Junior Aiden McCarthy was tasked with pitching this road state semifinal game, and it didn’t start well. He surrendered back-to-back solo home runs to Dylan Fitzsimmons, his ninth of the year, and Ryan McDonald, his third of the year, giving the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead in the first.
But McCarthy settled in, and head coach Scott Gleichenhaus credited his senior catcher, Steven Studlack. “He’s one of the hardest working and greatest kids we’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching,” Gleichenaus said after the game, noting he “helped settle McCarthy down, and he even energized the team later with a line drive single in the third.”
But the rest of the way out, no one could score, and the pitching was must-see. Despite the first-inning homers, McCarthy went on to pitch six scoreless innings and only allowed three hits in that span. All of a sudden, the pressure was put on Kaletcher to preserve the 2-0 lead.
The fourth inning was when South Plainfield started to string together some hits off Kaletcher. With two outs and no one on base, singles from Dan Kapsch and Lorenzo Fuscoletti put runners on first and second. It was only the Tigers’ second and third baserunners of the game.
Up came third baseman Chris Loniewski with a chance to do some damage. After working the count, he slapped a ball into center field for a single, Kapsch took off from second with a burst of speed and got the sign from Gleichenhaus to round third and takeoff for home. Fitzsimmons, out in center, fielded and fired the ball in on a line to home and gunned out Kapsch at the plate to end the inning, preserving the 2-0 lead.
McCarthy kept on cruising, retiring Morris Knolls in order in the bottom of the fourth. Now to the top of the fifth, with one out in the inning, Kaletcher walked two batters in a row. Then, he allowed an infield single to leadoff man Nick Irizarry to load the bases. McCarthy lined out to shallow center field, which kept the runners from tagging.
But with two outs and the bases loaded, South Plainfield had the guy they wanted up at the plate: recently-named GMC Red Division Player of the Year Dom Massaro. He singled, plating two, tying the game at 2-2.
South Plainfield had a chance to take the lead on the top of the seventh. Leadoff man Irizarry was hit by a pitch to start the inning. He then stole second base and later advanced to third on a wild pitch that got by Morris Knolls catcher Ryan Kuehne. The Tigers had a man on third with nobody out, and the meat of the order coming up. Kaletcher was then taken out of the game. He finished with six innings pitched, six hits, two earned runs, four walks, and seven strikeouts.
That’s when Fitzsimmons came in and got his team out of the jam. Unfazed, he struck out McCarthy, got Massaro to hit a weak ground ball back to him, and got Kapsch to fly out to shallow right field to end the threat.
McCarthy came back out and pitched a one-two-three inning to send the game to extras. Morris Knolls put Fitzsimmons back out on the mound, where he continued to dominate. He allowed just one hit to Loniewski in the inning and struck out the side. Onto the bottom of the eighth.
Fitzsimmons led off the bottom of the eighth with a single to center field. McDonald followed with a sac bunt, and Gleichenhaus intentionally walked cleanup hitter Ryan Kuehne to have a chance at an inning-ending double play. With runners on first and second, Jason LoBello hit a hard grounder to third that Loniewski fielded cleanly and beat Fitzsimmons in a foot race to third to get the force out. But Troy Kuehne followed with a soft ground ball back to McCarthy, who slipped, letting the ball get by him and loaded the bases with two down.
That was all for McCarthy, and the call went in for closer Jayden Jimenez in one of the toughest spots a pitcher can be in: game on the line, two outs, bases loaded.
Jimenez would face DH Colin Iberer, who was 0-for-3 on the day. After fighting off several pitches foul, he worked the count full, before Jimenez just missed with a breaking ball for ball four, sending the winning run across.
There was hysteria everywhere. Happy, angry, disappointed fans, parents and players. Morris Knolls stormed the field and celebrated the walk-off win, where South Plainfield players could only stand and watch it unfold.
A truly gut-wrenching way to end a truly successful, championship season for the South Plainfield Tigers.
https://cjsportsradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Scott-Gleichenhaus-Postgame-Interview-2.mp3
Morris Knolls baseball walks it off in semifinals to reach third straight state title game
A key part of the Morris Knolls state championship teams the previous two years, the senior two-way standout leans on experience and patience this time of the season.
Fitzsimmons collected two hits, including a home run while earning the win in relief and Colin Iberer's bases-loaded, walk-off walk with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning proved to be the difference as Morris Knolls edged South Plainfield, 3-2 in a Group 3 semifinal on June 9 in Morris County.
“I just had confidence in my team that we would pull through. We’ve been here before. I knew we’d come through and we did,” Fitzsimmons said. “I knew I was going to be coming in to pitch. I shut the door. I throw strikes and I know I got my team behind me.”
Morris Knolls raced to a 2-0 lead in the first inning behind back-to-back home runs by Fitzsimmons and sophomore Ryan McDonald.
South Plainfield evened the score in the top half of the fifth inning when Dom Massaro singled to right field to score a run followed by an error.
Both teams flashed strong pitching with Morris Knolls Dean Kaletcher (six innings, four hits, two runs, seven strikeouts) and South Plainfield’s Aiden McCarthy (7⅔ innings, six hits, three runs, five strikeouts) going toe-to-toe for most of the game.
Kaletcher handed the ball over to Fitzsimmons in the seventh inning after walking the leadoff batter. The southpaw managed to get out of the inning unscathed when he struck out the first batter he faced and induced a grounder and fly ball to strand the runner at third base.
“We knew if we took the ball from Dean at some point we’d be turning to Dylan. He’s been an excellent reliever for us in close games for several seasons,” Morris Knolls coach Eric Mindrebo said. “His innings aren’t huge, but every inning he’s pitched for us has been big innings.
“He’s a tough kid and when you think about his career here at Morris Knolls and how many opportunities he’s had in big games in the batter’s box and the mound, that prepares you. He’s mentally and physically built for it and today it came out.”
The win pushes Morris Knolls (15-11) into the state championship game against Northern Burlington (27-2) on June 14 at Veteran Park in Hamilton. It marks the third straight year the two-time reigning state champion Golden Eagles will play for a state title.
Northern Burlington advanced to the finals with an 11-0 win over Toms River East in the other semifinal contest on June 9.
Morris Knolls stretched its win streak to nine straight games. Entering the postseason the Golden Eagles were 10-11 and dropped five of six to start May.
“Every single time we play in a state title game is unique. It’s a different group of players. The last two years we had a lot of carry over and there’s certainly a good amount this year,” Mindrebo said. “The culture and level of expectation and the offseason work ethic has been consistent over the years.”
South Plainfield, the North 2 sectional champions, falls to 18-11 with the loss.
Fitzsimmons led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a hard ground ball to center field. McDonald followed with a sacrifice bunt to move Fitzsimmons over to second base. After Ryan Kuehne was intentionally walked and Jason LoBello grounded into a fielder’s choice to third base, Troy Kuehne singled on a ground ball to set up Iberer’s bases-loaded walk.
“We all have so much heart and we want it. The goal is to practice up until the last week of the season,” Iberer said. “I was looking for something in the zone. If it’s not a pitch I could hit and put in play, foul it off. Don’t chase anything and be very patient. It worked out in the end with that 3-2 pitch.”
Morris Knolls baseball walks it off in Group 3 state semifinals
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