Tuesday, May 27, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

In just his third start of the season after returning from a broken leg, Hawthorne senior Matt Goitz struck out 15 in a complete-game win over Wayne Hills in the Passaic County final.

WAYNE – Hawthorne senior Matt Goitz did the math. He knew that it was going to take six to eight weeks to recover from the broken leg that he suffered in the preseason, which would get him back on the baseball field right around the time that the Passaic County Baseball Tournament was set to begin.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to play for six to eight weeks and I was pretty upset about that, but all I could do was work hard to get back as fast as I could to help this team,” said Goitz. “I got back the Tuesday before the first county tournament game. I wasn’t anywhere near ready being able to pitch, but at least I was back playing.”

Well, Goitz was certainly ready to pitch on Monday. His team got him to the Passaic County final and Goitz took it from there with a complete game masterpiece that included 15 strikeouts in a 5-3 win over Wayne Hills that gave Hawthorne the county championship, its first since 2002.

Goitz had thrown only 8 innings all season before taking the ball to start the final played at Passaic County Tech and he didn’t give it back until he had struck out at least two hitters in every inning, including the final one he faced. Goitz got a called strike three to close out the performance that earned him the Bill Vacca Award given to the MVP of the semifinal and final rounds.

Steve Thomas making contact with the home run that got Wayne Hills to within 5-3 in the sixth inning.

“There really aren’t the words to describe it,” said Goitz. “This is one of the best days of my life.”

Hawthorne started it season with six losses in its first 11 games and came into the county tournament seeded ninth, but the Bears had won 12 of their past 14 games heading into the final and kept the momentum going in their first turn at bat.

John Hulme’s two-out single in the top of the first inning that scored Jim Zenock gave Goitz some early breathing room and he made a statement in the bottom of the first when. After allowing a leadoff single to Travis Della Volpe and a single and stolen base to Steve Spazante that put two runners in scoring position, Goitz got a flyout to right field on which John Savoie made the catch and anchored Della Volpe at third base because of his throwing arm. Two straight strike outs ended the inning and that would be a recurring theme as the game moved forward.

Goitz struck out the side in the second inning and then, after giving up a leadoff single to Ryan Daddurno and balking courtesy runner Kyle Lucas to second base, Goitz got two more strikeouts in the third inning. But before he could get out of the frame with no damage, Jason Evan unloaded the first home run of his high school career over the shot porch in left field to give Wayne Hills a 2-1 lead.

Senior shortstop John Hulme drove in three of Hawthorne's five runs.

That lead lasted into the top of the fifth when Wayne Hills starter Chris Lala was let down by his defense on consecutive ground balls that did in the Patriots. Angelo Guarnieri, Hawthorne’s leadoff hitter, started the trouble with a single to the opposite field. The next two Bears, Zenock and Goitz, each hit ground balls that were thrown away, the latter of which allowed Guarnieri to score to tie the game at 2.

Sticking to his small ball style, Hawthorne head coach John Passero flashed the sacrifice sign to Savoie, his cleanup hitter, and the moved paid off in spades when Savoie got the bunt down to move both Zenock and Jarred Lerner, the courtesy runner for Goitz, into scoring position and Hulme followed by painting the right field line with a double that gave Hawthorne a 4-2 lead. Jim Geraghty made it 5-2 with a perfectly executed hit-and-run that scooted through the left side of the infield and scored Hulme from second base.

“It was an outside fastball high in the zone and I just tried to get on top of it. I just tried to drive it,” said Hulme, the senior shortstop who drove in three of Hawthorne’s five runs. “I was praying that it would stay fair and I saw it land right on the line.”

Wayne Hills starter Chris Lala gave up five runs, but only one of them was earned.

Steve Thomas’s home run leading off the bottom of the sixth inning got Wayne Hills to within 5-3, but Goitz got a strikeout to end the frame with runners on first and second. Clearly tiring in the later stages of the game in his deepest foray into a game this season, Goitz (7 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 9 H, 15K, 2 BB) gutted out the bottom of the seventh.

He gave up a two-out double to Matt Greene on a 3-2 pitch, but then closed the door with the last of his 15 strikeouts, a fastball on the inner half that locked up the Bears first county championship since 2002.

Chris Lala took the hard luck loss for Wayne Hills. He went the route on a seven-hitter and fanned 12 against three walks. Only one of the five runs scored against Lala was earned. Wayne Hills, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, saw its season come to an end with a 19-8 record.

Having lost to Mahwah in the North 1, Group 2 state sectional quarterfinals earlier in the week, Hawthorne, which has six three-year starters, finished up with a county title and an 18-8 record. For Passero, who is also Hawthorne’s head football coach, it was a fitting end to a long year’s worth of big games that finally paid off in a championship.

COUNTY FINAL COLLECTOR'S PRINT CLICK TO ENLARGE!

“A lot of these guys have played for me in both baseball and football for me the last four years,” said Passero. “To lose like we did in football in a state sectional semifinal and then come back here today and finish their varsity careers on the Passaic County Tech field just says a lot about their hard work and dedication through their four years here at Hawthorne High School.”

One of those who appreciated the way his senior year ended was Zenock, also the starting quarterback for the football team.

“Especially for the football players, this was our redemption game. We made sure we stayed focused for this,” said Zenock. “To be on the biggest stage and to go out like this, to go out on top, it feels great. To go out with a win in the county final for your last high school game, you can’t ask for more than that.”

FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.