S. Jersey Boys: Thurs. S.J. boys: RV ousts Clearview
Good pitching and timely hitting are paramount for a baseball team looking to make a deep run in the postseason.
Good pitching and timely hitting are paramount for a baseball team looking to make a deep run in the postseason.
Matt Horton and Stevie Stevenson provided both for Rancocas Valley on Thursday.
Horton allowed two runs on four hits in five innings as the eighth-seeded Red Devils won at top seed Clearview, 5-2, in the South Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals.
Stevenson took over in the sixth and allowed one hit in two innings to get the save. Stevenson fired 31 pitches, 20 of them strikes.
Both pitchers also came through at the plate. Horton delivered an RBI single in the fourth to put the Red Devils up, 2-0. In the fifth, Stevenson crushed an RBI double to make it 4-0.
Shane Pastore was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs.
S. Jersey Baseball Group 1 Quarterfinals
Bobby Girgenti smacked a two-run single in the fourth to score the eventual game-winning runs for No. 2 Gloucester, which edged seventh-seeded Wildwood at home, 2-1.
The game ended on an overturned call in the seventh. With two out and runners on first and third, Wildwood's Jose Valentin hit a grounder to short, and the throw to first was wide of the base.
The field umpire ruled that the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowing the game-tying run to score. After Gloucester coach Greg Galbraith asked the field umpire to consult with the plate umpire, the plate ump overturned the call to end the game.
In another quarterfinal, Austin Tassi earned the win on the mound and batted in two runs at the plate as fourth-seeded Audubon shut out No. 5 Penns Grove, 10-0, in six innings. Eric Shorr mashed two hits, crossed the plate three times, and knocked in two runs for the host Green Wave. Zak Chiaradia drove in three.
S.J. Baseball Non-Public A First Round
Joe Gatto pitched a two-hitter and struck out seven as third-seeded St. Augustine took down No. 14 Monsignor Donovan, 5-0, at home. Gatto was also 3 for 4 at the plate with RBI doubles in the fourth and sixth innings. Shortstop Matt McCourt was 2 for 2 with two runs.
Phil Dickinson went 2 for 3 with a triple, two runs, and an RBI for host Gloucester Catholic, which scored seven runs in the first en route to dismantling No. 15 Bishop Ahr, 11-4. Pete Farlow added a double, a run, and two RBIs for the second-seeded Rams. Sean Breen belted two hits, scored two runs, and knocked in two.
S. Jersey Lacrosse Group 3 Semifinals
Michael Handlen netted a hat trick as No. 3 Moorestown upset second-seeded Clearview, 10-6, on the road. Joe Dibabbo made 15 saves to keep Clearview in the game.
In the other semifinal, Max Busca, David Smith, and Jack Tyrrell deposited two goals each for top-seeded Shawnee, which beat No. 4 Princeton, 10-8. Reece Tursi turned away 10 shots for the host Renegades.