SP-F Baseball Battles It Out in Game Against Westfield

There's going to be a game this year when Lou Mazzella barely hits the ball for something like a dribbler in the infield, where he beats the throw to first and the winning run scores. There has to be.

That has to happen to the talented senior catcher after how hard he hit the ball on the final pitch of Friday's borderline-classic Westfield-Scotch Plains-Fanwood baseball game, in which Westfield held on to win 4-3 at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School.

The Baseball Gods owe it to him. After an eight-minute rain delay, it was pretty much agreed that Scotch Plains was in the driver's seat, although the Raiders were down 4-3. It was the bottom of the seventh and they had the bases loaded and one out and their previous four batters all reached base against Westfield relief pitcher Zach Archambault, a junior right hander who had only pitched one inning all season long before entering Friday's game with a man on first and one out and Westfield ahead 4-1.

Archambault quickly got ahead 0-2 on Mazzella, although on the first pitch he threw, Mazzella smoked the ball foul down the left field line. Then the count evened at 2-2. Then Archambault threw the sixth pitch of the at-bat, which was a fastball he tried to sneak past Mazzella. Getting the meat part of the bat on the ball, Mazzella smacked a line drive. However, it was right at Westfield shortstop Tim Younger, who caught it and then flipped to second baseman Max Fusaro for a game-ending double play.

It was the purest case of the joy of victory for Westfield and the agony of defeat for Scotch Plains. Fortunately for the Raiders, they will face the Blue Devils again in conference play in three weeks at Westfield. This was their first meeting since last year's memorable 2-1 Scotch Plains win in 10 innings in the Union County Tournament championship game at Elizabeth's Williams Field.

Westfield improved to 7-2 overall, won its fifth straight since falling at home to Morristown 5-3 last week and is now 4-0 in the Union County Conference's Watchung Division. Scotch Plains had a two-game winning streak, but snapped and fell to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the UCC's Watchung Division. It was the Raiders' first loss to a Union County team.

Going into Saturday, the only Union County teams without a loss to a Union County opponent were Westfield and Cranford, with Cranford entering scheduled weekend games against Wayne Hills Saturday at Watchung Hills and Jackson Sunday at Roselle Park.

Westfield snapped a scoreless tie with the game's first run in the top of the fourth, while Scotch Plains tied the game at 1-1 with its first run in the bottom of the sixth. Westfield then struck for three runs in the top of the seventh before Scotch Plains answered with two in the bottom if the inning.

Both starting pitchers turned in stellar performances, with each going 6 and 1/3 innings. Scotch Plains senior right hander Gary Binkiewicz yielded four runs – three of them earned – on eight hits, while striking out four and walking four. He threw 104 pitches, took the loss, and is now 1-2.

Westfield senior righty Rob Anderson gave up two runs – both earned – on three hits, striking out nine and walking six. He tossed 135 pitches, earned the mound victory, and is now 2-1.

"Both pitchers pitched well," Scotch Plains head coach Tom Baylock said. "Their pitcher was great, and on the flip side, so was Gary. He was hitting the spots, had his pitches working, but – unfortunately – we made some mistakes in the seventh."

With the score 1-1 in the top of the seventh, Westfield No. 8 batter Steve Forgash led off with an infield single, just beating the throw by the third baseman. Then on a sacrifice bunt attempt by No. 9 batter Brett Johnson, Binkiewicz decided to throw to second for the force, but threw the ball into center field for an error, putting runners on first and second with nobody out.

"The ball was hit right at him," Baylock said. "If he has a shot to get the lead runner, he's taught to go for it."

Leadoff batter Younger also put down a bunt to try to move the runners to second and third. Binkiewicz fielded this one as well and, again, tried to get the lead runner. However, his throw to third messed with the runner sliding in and everyone was safe.

Now the Blue Devils had the bases loaded, still nobody out and were ready to take the lead again. Binkiewicz walked No. 2 batter Max Fusaro on a 3-2 count, with Westfield taking the lead for good at 2-1. Then AJ Murray followed with a single to center that scored Johnson, but Younger was thrown out at the plate on a tremendous throw on a fly by Scotch Plains left fielder Joe D'Annunzio.

Now ahead 3-1, Westfield leadoff batter Dan Kerr followed with his second single to center off Binkiewicz to load the bases again. Westfield struck for one more run on an RBI-infield single produced by Anderson, which was his third hit in four trips. That was if for Binkiewicz, who was lifted for senior right hander Jordan Bayroff, who retired the next two batters to keep the score 4-1.

Binkiewicz allowed only one run in nine innings in the county final last year. Although he didn't pitch quite as well against Westfield Friday, he was still quite effective.

After D'Annunzio struck out on an 11-pitch at-bat to start the bottom of the seventh, No. 2 batter Marcus Rivera walked on four pitches, with Anderson then leaving the game. John Maxwell followed with an infield single and then Mike Ridge drove in Rivera with an RBI-single to make it 4-2. Binkiewicz followed with an RBI-single to right to make it 4-3. Then Ricky Shevlin was hit with a pitch to load the bases. Then home plate umpire Gil Bragg told both teams to get off the field because of the heavy rain.

Some eight minutes later he summoned both teams back on the field. Then Mazzella hit a shot, but right at the Westfield shortstop. Game over. Round one to Westfield.

There will definitely be a round two. The question is, will there be a round three – meaning another possible UCT encounter? That, we will have to wait for.

"The last inning we made a couple of defensive mistakes and it cost us," Baylock said. "It's one game. You would always like to win one baseball game against a big rival like Westfield. As far as county seeds go, it was a big game."

The UCT will be seeded Monday night, April 26.

"You would have to think if we seeded today that they would be ahead of us," Baylock said.

Scotch Plains was the top seed last year and Westfield the second seed. The Raiders were the second straight top seed to win the UCT after the top seed had not won since Westfield in 1995. Six players banged out one hit each for Scotch Plains, with those being Maxwell, Ridge, Binkiewicz, Shevlin and designated hitter Mike Lauricella, who drove in the first Scotch Plains run on an RBI-single in the sixth. Westfield took its 1-0 lead on an RBI-ground out to second by Matt Rivera.

NOTES: Westfield is scheduled to host Scotch Plains in conference play on Friday, May 7, at 4 p.m., which is two days after the Union County Tournament quarterfinals and the day before the semifinals.

AT-BAT OF THE GAME: Scotch Plains had the top of its order up in the bottom of the seventh after now trailing by a 4-1 count. That meant senior Joe D'Annunzio stepping up to the plate.

Arguably the top leadoff batter in Union County, there's nobody else you would rather have up in that spot to spark a comeback. After working the count to 3-2, D'Annunzio kept getting jammed by Westfield starter Rob Anderson and kept on fouling the ball off. He fouled off five consecutive pitches in what was turning out to be a classic pitcher-batter confrontation. Anderson hit D'Annunzio in the back on 2-2 count in the first inning, jammed him to retire him on a pop up to first on a 2-2 count in the third and then got him to ground out to second on a 2-1 count in the fifth.

Anderson's 11th pitch to D'Annunzio in the seventh was another fastball – his 131st pitch of the game – and – somehow – he managed to get it past D'Annunzio, who swung through it for strike three. Scotch Plains went on to score two runs in the inning – one off Anderson and one off relief pitcher Zach Archambault – but had D'Annunzio reached base, it could have been a much different outcome – a more favorable one at that for the home team Raiders.

"Getting D'Annunzio – who is a great hitter – out was the key to that inning," Westfield head coach Bob Brewster said.

DEFENSIVE PLAY(S) OF THE GAME: Joe D'Annunzio comes up throwing every time he fields a ball in left field.

In the top of the seventh, he came up throwing and fired a strike to catcher Lou Mazzella on a fly. His throw gunned down Westfield's Tim Younger, who attempted to score from second on an RBI-single hit to left by Westfield's AJ Murray with the bases loaded and nobody out. On a play earlier in the game, D'Annunzio came all the way from left field to back up a throw in between third base and home right near the Scotch Plains dugout. That kind of heads-up hustle prevented Westfield from scoring a run on the play.

"What he did on the play where he came all the way over from left field to get the ball was just as impressive as the throw he made to get the kid out at the plate," Westfield head coach bob Brewster said.

UNION COUNTY CONFERENCE-WATCHUNG DIVISION GAME

WESTFIELD (7-2, 4-0)                            0   0   0     1   0   0     3 – 4  8  1

SCOTCH PLAINS (6-3, 2-1)                   0   0   0     0   0   1     2 – 3  6  1

Left on base: Westfield – 9. Scotch Plains – 10. 

WESTFIELD STARTING PITCHER:

Rob Anderson, senior right hander (2-1)

6 and 1/3 innings: 135 pitches (79 strikes, 56 balls), 2 runs (both earned), 3 hits (3 singles, first one an infield single), 9 strikeouts (7 swinging, 2 looking), 6 walks (3 on full counts) He retired the side in order in the second. He did not allow a hit I the first, second, fourth and fifth.

Pitch count: 1-21. 2-16. 3-33. 4-13. 5-16. 6-21. 7-15. Total: 135. 

WESTFIELD RELIEF PITCHER:

Zach Archambault, junior right hander

2/3 inning: 21 pitches (11 strikes, 10 balls), 1 run (earned), 3 hits (3 singles, first one an infield single), 0 strikeouts, 0 walks, 1 hit batter on 3-2 count. He faced five batters, with the first four reaching base against him. He retired the fifth batter he faced on a game-ending line drive, 6-4 DP.

Pitch count: 7-21. Total: 21.  

SCOTCH PLAINS STARTING PITCHER:

Gary Binkiewicz, senior right hander (1-2)

6 and 1/3 innings: 104 pitches (73 strikes, 31 balls), 4 runs (3 earned), 8 hits (6 singles, one of them an infield single; 2 doubles), 4 strikeouts (1 swinging, 3 looking), 4 walks (1 on a full count). He retired the side in order in the second and fifth and in the fifth on just seven pitches.

Pitch count: 1-15. 2-14. 3-12. 4-21. 5-7. 6-16. 7-18. Total: 104. 

SCOTCH PLAINS RELIEF PITCHER:

Jordan Bayroff, senior right hander

2/3 inning: 6 pitches (4 strikes, 2 balls), 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 strikeouts, 0 walks. He faced two batters, retiring the first on a fly out to left and the second on a ground out to short.

Pitch count: 7-6. Total: 6. 

WESTFIELD LINEUP vs. Scotch Plains:

4-Tim Younger, junior shortstop: 0-for-4 reached on 1-5 fielder's choice in seventh

1-Max Fusaro, senior second baseman (bats lefty): 0-for-3, 1 run RBI-walk on full count and scored in seventh

15-AJ Murray, junior catcher: 1-for-3 walked in first, RBI-single to left in seventh

24-Dan Kerr, senior first baseman (bats lefty): 2-for-2, 1 run singled to center in first, walked and scored in fourth, walked in sixth, singled to center in seventh reached base all four times up 

23-Rob Anderson, senior starting pitcher: 3-for-4 opposite field double to right-center gap in fourth, singled to center in sixth, RBI-infield single in seventh

17-Mike Buontempo, senior designated hitter: 0-for-4

8-Greg Fortino, senior left fielder: did not bat

10-Matt Rivera, junior third baseman: 0-for-4, RBI-ground out to second in fourth

22-Steve Forgash, junior right fielder: 1-for-3, 1 run infield single – just beating out grounder to third – in seventh and scored 

16-Brett Johnson, senior center fielder: 1-for-3, 1 run leadoff double to left in third, reached on infield error and scored in seventh 

SCOTCH PLAINS LINEUP vs. Westfield:

7-Joe D'Annunzio, senior left fielder: 0-for-3 hit by pitch in back in first on 2-2 count

42-Marcus Rivera, junior third baseman: 0-for-1, 1 run sacrifice, bunt 2-3 in first, walked on full count in third, walked on four pitches and scored in seventh

33-John Maxwell, senior first baseman (bats lefty): 1-for 2, 1 run, walked on full count in third and fifth, infield single and scored in seventh

44-Mike Ridge, senior shortstop: 1-for-3, walked on four pitches in first, RBI-single to left in seventh

40-Gary Binkiewicz, senior starting pitcher: 1-for-4, RBI-single to right in seventh

11-Ricky Shevlin, senior center fielder: 1-for-3, 1 run reached on infield error and stole second in fourth, singled to center and scored in sixth, hit by pitch on 3-2 count in seventh

34-Lou Mazzella, senior catcher: 0-for-4

10-Mike Lauricella, senior designated hitter: 1-for-2, walked on full count in fourth, opposite field RBI-single to right on 0-1 count in sixth

25-Connor Thompson, junior right fielder: did not bat

5-Brian Dempsey, senior second baseman: 1-for-3, led off third with an infield single in front of third baseman 

WESTFIELD BLUE DEVILS (7-2)

April 1 (A) Westfield 17, Union 2 (6 inn.)

April 3 (H) Morris Knolls 6, Westfield 5

April 5 (A) Westfield 7, Ridge 3

April 7 (H) Morristown 5, Westfield 3

April 8 (H) Westfield 7, Rahway 3

April 10 (H) Westfield 7, Msgr. Farrell, Staten Island 0

April 13 (H) Westfield 6, Linden 1

April 14 (H) Westfield 11, Rutgers Prep 4

April 16 (A) Westfield 4, Scotch Plains 3

Overall: 7-2, 5 in a row

UCC-Watchung Division: 4-0

(Wins: Union, Rahway, Linden, Scotch Plains.)

Head coach: Bob Brewster, since 1983.  

SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD RAIDERS (6-3)

April 1 (A) Scotch Plains 16, Plainfield 0

April 3 (H) Scotch Plains 14, J.P. Stevens 4 (5 inn.) – Park Middle School

April 5 (A) Bridgewater-Raritan 4, Scotch Plains 3

April 6 (H) Scotch Plains 8, Piscataway 0 – Park Middle School

April 8 (A) Scotch Plains 17, Elizabeth 5

April 10 (N) Edison 7, S. Plains 4 – North Brunswick's Community Park

April 11 (N) S. Plains 5, Dayton 1 (9 inn.) – TD Bank Ballpark, Bridgewater

April 14 (H) Scotch Plains 6, Roselle Catholic 4 – High School

April 16 (H) Westfield 4, Scotch Plains 3 – High School

Overall: 6-3

UCC-Watchung Division: 2-1

(Wins: Plainfield, Elizabeth. Loss: Westfield.)

Head coach: Tom Baylock, since 2004. 

Union County Conference-Watchung Division alignment for 2010 only:

Scotch Plains, Westfield, Union, Elizabeth, Linden, Plainfield, Rahway.