Toland helps Tri-Cape reach Carpenter Cup semifinals

Bryan Toland wanted to make a positive impression on his new teammates.

A 375-foot home run worked wonders.

He added an RBI single for good measure.

"I really didn't know anybody on this team," Toland said after leading Tri-Cape to an 8-3 victory over Jersey Shore Sunday in the quarterfinals of the Carpenter Cup Classic baseball tournament at Richie Ashburn Field in FDR Park. "I wanted to prove I belonged."

Toland, a senior from Wildwood Catholic, was added to the team when Millville's Daron Moore couldn't make Sunday's game. Toland had been home as an alternate when Tri-Cape won its first game on Tuesday.

"I never expected to get a call," Toland said. "I knew some guys that were alternates last year, and they never got a call."

Gloucester Catholic junior John Brue rapped a two-run triple, and Clearview's George Eisenhart, Pennsville's Dom Wyshinski, and St. Augustine's Carlo Randazzo added RBI hits for Tri-Cape, which advanced to face Lehigh Valley in Monday morning's semifinals at Citizens Bank Park.

"It will be like a dream come true to play there," Brue said of playing in the Phillies' home park. "You watch games on TV there all the time, and now to be playing there, it's awesome."

For the second consecutive game, Tri-Cape combined strong pitching with solid fielding and timely hitting. The team has allowed just five runs in 18 innings.

"This is such a great group," said Tri-Cape manager Keith Gorman, the coach at Holy Spirit. "The big thing today was we took advantage of opportunities. These kids play smart baseball."

Winning pitcher Cody Brown of Gloucester Catholic went two innings, allowing an unearned run, and Matt Rakus of St. Augustine went three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts.

"I was just trying to get ahead," Rakus said. "We've got so many great players, you just want to throw strikes."

Tri-Cape's pitching star was Millville junior Andrew Biggs, who entered the game with no outs and the bases loaded in the seventh. Biggs got two ground balls, allowing one run to score on an error, then got a strikeout to escape further damage.

"His bulldog mentality on the mound was the key," Gorman said of Biggs.

Gorman said Toland was overlooked in Carpenter Cup voting because Wildwood Catholic went 6-16 this season.

Toland hit a solo home run in his first at-bat in the sixth, then added an RBI single in the middle of a three-run rally in the seventh.

"I put my head down and raced around the bases," Toland said of his home-run trot. "I never want to show anybody up."

Jersey Shore   100 000 110 – 3 71

Tri-Cape   200 001 32x – 8 112

WP: Cody Brown. LP: Kyle Rubbinaccio. 2B: TC-Carlo Randazzo. 3B: TC-John Brue. HR: TC-Bryan Toland.