Fri. S.J. boys' roundup: Garrett's homer lifts Cherokee

Shane Garrett's three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning gave second-seeded Cherokee a wild, 6-4 win over No. 7 seed Eastern on Friday in the South Jersey Group 4 baseball quarterfinals.

Eastern, which jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, went back ahead, 4-3, in the top of the seventh on a two-run homer by pinch-hitter Jake Quinn.

In the home half of the final frame, Vikings starting pitcher Steven Volpe surrendered a single to Zach Ellin and a double to Casey Coyle. Mike Marchitto came on in relief, and Garrett deposited his fifth pitch over the fence.

Jordan Glover scored twice on RBI singles by Nick Follett, and Ryan Kelley ripped a run-scoring triple for the Chiefs.

In another South Jersey Group 4 quarterfinal, Jordan Rizzo's two-out single in the ninth inning scored Kyle Grim, giving No. 9 seed Williamstown a 6-5 upset at top-seeded Washington Township.

Reliever Mike Mosley wriggled out of a two-on, one-out jam in the bottom of the ninth to complete his four-inning stint and earn the win.

South Jersey Group 2. Zach Funk's two-run triple tied it in the fifth inning, and Kevin Smith's two-out single in the seventh won it for top-seeded GCIT, which survived a scare from No. 9 seed Delran, 3-2.

Winning pitcher C.J. Hertz tied the score with a two-out single in the sixth, and Donovan Casey raced home with the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, giving third-seeded Sterling a 3-2, come-from-behind win over No. 6 seed Overbrook.

Anthony Lopez did not allow an earned run while scattering six hits over six innings, and contributed a double and a triple in guiding second-seeded Buena past No. 7 seed Cinnaminson, 3-1.

Jarred Corniell and Justin Geri each scored a run and accounted for the Chiefs' other four hits.

Matt Bhaya and Chris Dengler each drove in three runs and Jack Speake added two RBIs for fourth-seeded Haddonfield, which erupted for six runs in the sixth inning to put away No. 5 seed Barnegat, 12-2.

South Jersey Group 1. Kevin Griese capped a five-run, seventh-inning rally in dramatic fashion, drilling a 3-2, two-out pitch off the wall for a double that brought home the tying and winning runs, as fourth-seeded Haddon Township's offense awoke in time to take down No. 5 seed Gateway, 6-5.

Senior Andrew Schorr struck out the side in the seventh inning, setting a single-game high of 16 strikeouts and closing the books on second-seeded Audubon's 4-3 quarterfinal victory over No. 7 seed Pitman.

Trevor Tassi's two-run single enabled the Green Wave to seize a 4-1 lead in the first inning.

Sophomore shortstop Drew Burdsall batted 4 for 4, drove in one run and scored three times and freshman first baseman Peyton Sorrels went 3 for 3 with four RBIs to back the one-hit pitching of Conner Dilks, as third-seeded Pennsville wiped out No. 6 seed Wildwood, 10-0.

Karal Ankuda drove in two runs with a pair of singles as 16th-seeded Maple Shade continued its improbable run with a 4-1 win at No. 9 seed Glassboro.

South Jersey Group 3. Brandon Kincaid and winning pitcher Justin Smith combined for five hits and five RBIs as top-seeded Hammonton outscored No. 9 seed Oakcrest, 8-6.

Bryan Dobzanski struck out seven and did not walk a batter in pitching a one-hit shutout, carrying seventh-seeded Delsea to a 3-0 win at No. 2 seed Burlington Township.

South Jersey Non-Public A. Colan Miller pitched a four-hit shutout and Christian Bilan delivered a bases-loaded double in a four-run seventh inning, sending 15th-seeded Camden Catholic to a 6-0, opening-round upset at No. 2 seed Immaculata.

Freshman righthander John Murphy lost his shutout bid in the seventh inning, but limited 12th-seeded Holy Spirit to five hits in pitching No. 5 seed Gloucester Catholic to a 7-1, first-round win.

Elliott McCummings (3 for 3) and Pat Kane (1 for 3) combined for three RBIs for the Rams.

Joe Gatto's two-run triple and a run-scoring double by Mike Elfreth in the fourth inning put 11th-seeded St. Augustine ahead to stay, as Kevin Baxter scattered four hits and four walks to help the Hermits surprise No. 6 seed St. Rose-Belmar, 3-1.

Chris Burns doubled and drove in three runs and John Adryan went 3 for 4 with one RBI for fourth-seeded Holy Cross, which scored seven times after the fourth inning to turn back No. 13 seed St. John Vianney, 8-3.

South Jersey Non-Public B. Andrew Ordile batted 3 for 3 with three RBIs in eighth-seeded St. Joseph's 7-1, first-round win over No. 9 seed Roselle Catholic.

Central Jersey Group 1. Pedro Perez allowed two base runners - on a leadoff walk and a fourth-inning single - and rang up 14 strikeouts in pitching fourth-seeded Burlington City past No. 5 seed New Egypt, 3-0.

Starter Greg Perri and reliever Heath Fillmyer teamed on a two-hit shutout, and Ben Horner drove in two runs to make sixth-seeded Florence a 5-0 winner at No. 3 seed Highland Park.

Central Jersey Group 2. Despite a two-run homer by Gerald Conover, third-seeded Bordentown couldn't overcome an early deficit in dropping a 6-5 decision to No. 6 seed Rumson-Fair-Haven.

Taylor Duffy's marathon loss at first singles proved to be the pivotal match, as Haddonfield fell to Holmdel, 3-2, in the NJSIAA State Group 2 championship at Mercer County Park.

Duffy lost the opening set in a 9-7 tiebreak, rebounded to win by 6-2, and then went down again, 9-7, to Derek Liu.

Mike Alberto posted a 6-4, 6-2 win at third singles and the tandem of Sean Campbell and Matt Godlewski prevailed, 6-3 and 6-3, at second doubles for the Bulldogs.

Haddonfield had advanced to the finals by blanking Bernards, 5-0, in the semifinals.

Pitman fell to eventual champion New Providence in the Group 1 semifinals, 41/2-1/2. Moorestown suffered a similar fate, dropping a 31/2-11/2 semifinal to Millburn, which went on to take the Group 3 crown. And Shawnee bowed out in the Group 4 semifinals, 4-1, against Westfield.