Highland edges Triton in Group 3 baseball playoffs
Billy Jackson knew this wasn't a typical playoff opener between a No. 15 seed and a No. 2 seed. The Highland senior second baseman knew that seeds and records and recent history don't mean a whole lot when his school plays Triton in any sport.
Billy Jackson knew this wasn't a typical playoff opener between a No. 15 seed and a No. 2 seed.
The Highland senior second baseman knew that seeds and records and recent history don't mean a whole lot when his school plays Triton in any sport.
"It's a sister school," Jackson said. "Our fans know their fans, the players know each other.
"There's so much between the two schools. You knew it would be like this."
With Jackson and senior shortstop Collin Bishop combining for five RBIs out of the top two spots in the lineup, Highland survived a serious scare from Triton and advanced with a 7-6 victory Monday in the first round of the South Jersey Group 3 tournament.
Triton (7-13), the 15th seed, scored three times in the top of the seventh and had runners on second and third when Highland ace Christian Scafidi ended the game with his fourth strikeout in three innings of relief.
"What a great high school baseball game," Triton coach Frank Marciano said. "Our kids showed grit. They showed toughness. They went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in South Jersey."
Highland (15-4-1), the No. 2 seed, won its 10th game in a row and advanced to host seventh-seeded Seneca in Thursday's second round. Seneca beat Toms River East, 10-8, in eight innings.
Bishop delivered the game's biggest hit for Highland, a two-out, two-run double that landed just inside the right-field line in the bottom of the fifth.
"The count was 3-2 and he threw me a fastball on the outside corner," Bishop said. "I just went with the pitch."
Bishop's big hit came moments after Jackson broke a 3-3 tie with a sacrifice fly. Bishop scored on Anthony Masselli's single, giving the Tartans a 7-3 lead and apparent control of the clash between the rivals from the Black Horse Pike school district
Highland coach D.J. Gore knew better than to count out the school's fiercest rival.
Highland had beaten Triton by scores of 19-2 and 5-2 during the regular season. That only added to the Tartan coach's anxiety.
"I told my wife last night, 'I'm nervous about this game,' " Gore said. "They're such gritty kids. And it's playoff baseball. You always feel like you're a hit away from winning it and a hit away from losing it."
A four-year veteran on the baseball field, Jackson said he has seen too many Highland-Triton games in too many sports to expect anything but a difficult game. Especially in the playoffs.
"We knew they would come hungry," Jackson said. "We had to come as hungry as those guys were going to be."
Triton took leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before Highland scored two in the fourth and four in the fifth to take command.
Or so it seemed.
With a large crowd fully engaged on every pitch on both sides of the field, and with thunderclouds rolling in, the visiting Mustangs nearly added another chapter to Triton-Highland lore with a rally that fell just short in the seventh.
Singles by Ryan Dodd and Zach Morales, an infield error, two walks and an RBI groundout and suddenly it was 7-6 with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second.
Scafidi, the Penn recruit who was Highland's third pitcher, got the last out and celebrated with teammates just as rain began to fall and lightning flashed in the distance.
"I've seen it happen so many times," Jackson said. "It's just always crazy when we play them."
Triton 021 000 3 - 6 9 1
Highland 010 240 x - 7 9 1
WP: Christian Scafidi. LP: Colin Carr.
2B: T-Jack Dunn, Dan Hurff. H-Collin Bishop.
@PhilAnastasia