Wednesday, April 14, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Junior Eric Gerheby scattered eight hits, walked three, and struck out five for Weehawken, which ended a long drought against rival Lyndhurst with a 7-4 win.

LYNDHURST – Weehawken baseball has had its share of success in the tenure of head coach Anthony Stratton, but it seemed like every time the Indians were poised to take the next step toward being a championship team, Lyndhurst was standing in the way either in the BCSL-National Division or in the state playoffs. Weehawken has not beaten Lyndhurst in a dog’s age, a fact that was not lost on either Stratton or Indians’ starter Eric Gerbehy.

After getting knocked out early in a loss to Lyndhurst last year, Gerbehy, a junior right-hander, hoped that another opportunity would come to make school history.

Riding a three-game losing streak, it looked bleak for the Indians heading into Lyndhurst on Tuesday, but Weehawken hung in there.

Even when Lyndhurst scored three runs on one play without a hit to cut the lead to two, Gerbehy refused to allow Weehawken’s minor losing streak this season or its lengthy overall losing streak to Lyndhurst continue any further. Gerbehy make some key pitches throughout the contest. He also got help in the form of timely hitting from Ian Gruttadauria and stellar defensive plays from shortstop Ray Feliciano as Weehawken finally earned the long-awaited win against Lyndhurst with a 7-4 triumph.

“Lyndhurst has been our rival forever, but especially since we lost to them in the section final (in 2008),” said Gerheby. “This is a game we knew we had to win if we going to do anything in the league this season. It gives us a lot of confidence that even though we are in a tough league we can compete with anyone. Finally getting a win over Lyndhurst gets us back on track and right back to where we want to be.”

James Kim took the start for Lyndhurst, which fell to 5-2.

Weehawken got on the scoreboard in the top of the first. Feliciano led off with a single and eventually came around to score on an RBI groundout by Ruben Vaquero.

After an over-the-shoulder catch by Feliciano that turned into a double play in the second inning, the Indians took advantage of a trio of errors to grab a sizable lead. Ian Grattadauria, the Indians’ No. 9 batter, started off the year at the top of the lineup, but was moved down after a recent slump. He broke out of it leading off the top of the third by ripping the first pitch from Lyndhurst starter James Kim to deep center field for a double.

After a two-out error brought in a run, catcher Jason Pineda helped out his battery mate by poking a two-run single. Another error allowed the final run of the inning to cross the plate as Weehawken jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

“It’s easy to come back from being one run down, it’s a lot harder to come back from five down,” added Servideo. “We gave away too many extra outs and you can’t do that against a team that is hungry for a win. From there, it was an uphill battle and we started pressing at the plate.”

After being frustrated by Gerheby for four innings, Lyndhurst got back in the game by scoring three runs on one of the wackiest plays imaginable. Mark Naseef hit a ground ball to second base, but Gruttadauria tried to cut the runner down at the plate. The throw was off-target and allowed two runners to score. Meanwhile, Naseef hustled all the way around towards third when the throw down to the hot corner was high and sailed into left field. The Indians had a chance to get Naseef at the plate, but that throw was also off-line for the third error on one play. When the artificial turf settled, the Golden Bears had some as they sliced the lead to 5-3.

Weehawken's Ian Gruttadauria made up for a fielding miscue with a two-run single that gave Weehawken a four-run lead.

But instead of pointing fingers at one another, the Indians made an extra effort to pick Gerheby and each other up.

“I felt bad because I had the error that started it all, but I couldn’t let my mistake get us down. I had to shake it off and make up for it somehow,” said Gruttadauria. “The first thing I did was apologize to Eric (Gerheby) and he knew I wouldn’t let that happen again. I just knew when I got up again that I had to make something happen.”

Gruttadauria had a chance to atone for his mistake when he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. He ripped a single to left-center that drove in Fernando Andujar and Roberto Moran to give Gerbehy a four-run cushion en route to one of the biggest victories in the history of Weehawken baseball.

“Give Weehawken credit, they jumped on us early and we didn’t recover,” said Lyndhurst head coach Butch Servideo. “Weehawken came way more ready to play than we did. We made too many errors, we weren’t patient enough at the plate, and (Gerheby) kept us off-balance all game by throwing strikes and consistently getting ahead in the count.”

Gerheby scattered eight hits, walked three, and struck out five for Weehawken (4-3). Gruttadauria went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI. Feliciano also scored twice and turned two double plays. Naseef paced Lyndhurst (5-2) by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

For the Weehawken players, it is just one win over a rival. But for Stratton, who played for Weehawken in the late 80’s, it is a victory that means so much more.

“Never beaten them as long as I can remember, it’s a great feeling for all of us,” said Stratton. “Lyndhurst is a baseball town with a great coach and a rich history. They are not as powerful as they have been in years past, but they are still a really good team. We had nothing to lose and I made a point for us to just come in relaxed. Outside of one crazy play, we stepped up and played the way we’re capable of playing.

“Our focus was not about who has been the better team for the past couple of decades. It was about who was going to be the better team today. We raised our game and found a way to win. This win was really not just the seniors, but for the players who never got to experience a win over Lyndhurst.”

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