Sunday, April 13, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Steve Thomas (5) stole this base, but his big contribution came in the first inning when he crushed a three-run triple to get Wayne Hills off and running on the way to a 10-1 win over Wayne Valley.

WAYNE – The Wayne Hills baseball has gotten off to its best start in recent years by winning its first five games before falling Thursday to Ramsey. Although he is the starting right fielder, Steve Thomas did not feel like much of a contributor. With just one hit on the season, Thomas knew he had to get a hit to not only get his confidence back up, but to also keep his spot in the lineup.

A golden chance to do just that came on Saturday afternoon with the Patriots facing cross-town rival Wayne Valley. Thomas came up in the bottom of the first inning with the bases loaded and in one pitch made up for his slow start this season.

He smoked a bases-clearing triple to capped a five-run first inning. Right-hander Chris Lala made sure that lead stood up by tossing a three-hitter as Wayne Hills breezed to a 10-1 triumph in the first round of the Greater Wayne Tournament at Passaic County Tech.

“We got a great effort from Chris Lala and we gave him some run support,“ said Wayne Hills head coach Chris Ianiello. “I thought we had a patient approach at the plate and it paid off. After a shaky first inning, Chris got comfortable and threw the ball well. Big things happen for a pitcher when you get ahead in the count and keep the ball down; Chris did both today.”

Mark Traupmann pitched well in relief for Wayne Valley.

Wayne Valley wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard first. Kyle Jorbel reached on an error and he was brought around on a double by Marcus Virgilito to put the Indians up 1-0.

The lead did not last long as Wayne Valley right-hander Brendan Kalinowski struggled all afternoon to find his command. Two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases before Matt Greene’s double gave Wayne Hills a 2-1 lead.

After another hit batsman re-loaded the bases, Thomas came up to the plate with one thought in his mind.

“I just wanted to make good contact and get a base hit,” said Thomas. “(Kalinowski) threw the ball hard, but he had a tough time finding the strike zone. I knew with the bases loaded that he didn’t want to walk me, so he was probably going to give me a first-pitch fastball. It was right where I wanted it to be and I was able to drive it.”

Thomas split the left center-field gap to score all three runners to boost the lead to 5-1 at the end of one inning. The four-run lead settled down Lala, a 6-3 senior right-hander, and he was lights out from the second inning on. He did not allow a runner past first base over the final six innings and threw his fastball, changeup and curveball for strikes.

“My teammates gave me a lead and I had to keep it for them,” said Lala. “I had to keep my pitches low and allow my defense to make the plays behind me. I felt my changeup was on today and I was using it in certain spots to keep their batters off-balance.”

Senior Chris Lala threw a complete game three-hitter for Wayne Hills, which bounced back from its first loss of the season and improved to 6-1.

The only blemish on Wayne Hills’ record this season came on Thursday. The Patriots held a 7-2 lead going into the sixth, before letting it slip away in an 8-7 loss to Ramsey. Lala made sure there would be no comeback this time around and he got some help from cleanup batter Jeff Salerno. The lefty clouted a three-run shot that made it a seven-run lead and chased Kalinowski out of the box.

Lala did not walk a batter and struckout five for Wayne Hills (6-1). Travis DellaVolpe walked in all four of his plate appearances. He scored twice, stole a base, and made the play of the day with a diving catch in center to rob Virgilito of an extra-base hit in the sixth inning. Jason Evans scored twice and drove in two runs.

Kalinowski took the loss for Wayne Valley (3-2). Virgilito had two hits and Derrick Bligh had the other for the Indians.

The Patriots move into next Saturday’s Greater Wayne Tournament final. They will face the host school, PCT, a 5-2 upset winner over Hawthorne in the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader. The important thing for the Patriots though was the lack of a hangover after the tough loss to Ramsey.

“The loss to Ramsey was tough to take, but it’s over and there isn’t anything we can do about it,” said Lala. “We have worked real hard to get to where we are so far this season. One loss isn’t going to ruin our season. It’s always nice to get a win over Wayne Valley in anything because we’re such competitive rivals. Now we have to build on this and play even better the next time out.”

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