Tuesday, April 26, 2011

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Ridgewood shortstop Tyler Welence had a run-scoring triple and started a key double play in the Maroons' 3-2 win over Old Tappan on Monday afternoon.

OLD TAPPAN – For a team that made the Bergen County Tournament last season, reached the semifinals of the North 1, Group 4 state sectional tournament, returned a host of starter for this season and has won 10 of its first 12 games, Ridgewood has flown a bit below the radar through the first month of the 2011 campaign. The Maroons are a game up on Paramus in the race for a league title and their lone losses of the season were against high-grade competition.

If Ridgewood keeps playing as well as it has the recognition will come as the Maroons continue to play quality baseball. And that means solid starting pitching, steady defense and a timely hit or two, exactly the formula that Ridgewood used to knock off Northern Valley/Old Tappan, 3-2, on Monday afternoon.

“We are happy that we came out of this today [with a win] after not playing well in our last game, [a nine-inning loss to West Milford],” said Ridgewood head coach Kurt Hommen. “Our defense played great and I was expecting a tight one because Old Tappan pitches so well.”

Luke Mazurek took the hard luck loss for Old Tappan after throwing six quality innings.

Both sides pitched extremely well as Old Tappan’s Luke Mazurek (6 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 7 H, 7 K, 0 BB) and Ridgewood’s Tucker Rekucki made the respective batting orders earn every base. The game was scoreless through three innings and one mistake, a misplayed pop-up in foul territory, finally opened the door for Ridgewood in the top of the fourth.

Both of Ridgewood’s hits to that point were of the infield variety and the second one was beat out by Mike Coniglio leading off the fourth. Tyler Welence, who would later help save the lead he helped provide with his glove at shortstop, got a second chance to use his bat. His at bat was extended when his pop up fell untouched and, on the next pitch, he ripped a triple into the right centerfield gap that scored Coniglio from first.

“In the first inning that kid [Mazurek] blew me away with a fastball. I didn’t think he was throwing that hard, but it was 1-2 and he buzzed one right by me,” said Welence. “So in my second at bat I didn’t want to let him do it again. I was looking fastball and got one.”

Welence then scored on a groundball hit by Russell Tanner and Ridgewood had a 2-0 lead, a lot larger than it looked when considering the offensive struggle that has been the story of Old Tappan’s season so far.

Tucker Rekucki allowed just one earned run in five inning in earning the win for Ridgewood.

The Golden Knights, with a rotation that includes quality arms like Mazurek, Sam Elias and Mike Clancy, had been in just about every game they have played, have only a 6-5-1 record to show for all of those quality innings pitched.

“Our last four games we have played we’ve scored six runs. We lost three of them and we won one, 2-0. We can pitch, we just can’t hit,” said Old Tappan head coach Tim Byron. “They are knocking bats out of our hands. When you have your leading RBI kid have five RBIs and you have played 12 games, that goes to show you how tough it has been at the plate for us.”

Rekucki needed just 82 pitches to get through his five innings of work, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out four. His lone walk, issued to Lou Capazzi leading off the bottom of the fourth, led to the only damage done against him. Vin Capazzi moved the runner up a base with a groundball to the right side before Dale Veselsky delivered a two-out RBI single to center that got Old Tappan to within 2-1.

Other than that, Rekucki had little trouble rolling through the batting order, facing just two hitters over the minimum before handing the ball over to Will Herzog to start the sixth inning.

Lou Capazzi walked twice and scored both of NV/OT's runs

“I had some really good fielding behind me like in the first inning when [Coniglio] threw out a runner at second base [from left field]. That was big and helped me get started,” said Rekucki. “Last year I tried to be a little bit more of a strikeout pitcher, but this year I want to use my defense. I want to mix in my change[up] more because I know that a groundball to the left or right is going to be an out. I know that [second baseman] Kurt [Hommen, Jr.], [first baseman] Cooper [Byrne], [third baseman] Doug [Licitra] or Tyler [Welence] are going to make the play.”

The infield defense was on display in the bottom of the sixth and it saved the game. Ridgewood had picked up an insurance run in the top of the sixth when Byrne delivered an RBI single to score Russell Tanner, who hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

The Maroons took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the frame, but Lou Capazzi drew a one-out walk to get things started for Old Tappan and he was on second after a wild pitch when Vin Capazzi hit a groundball that was ticketed to left field before Welence made a headlong dive into the third base hole to save a run, at least temporarily. Ian Osterman then singled to draw Old Tappan within 3-2 and put runners on the corners with one out, but Herzog then induced the groundball he needed and Welence started a pivotal 6-4-3 double play.

Russell Tanner had a hit, an RBI and scored run for Ridgewood.

“I know everybody on our infield wanted to make a play in that situation, I know I definitely wanted the ball,” said Welence. “Late in the game like that you just want to try to keep everything on the infield and hope to turn a double play…then it happened.”

Herzog then pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh and Ridgewood had its 10th win in 12 chances this season. The Maroons only two losses have come against Don Bosco Prep, 5-3, and in extra innings against West Milford. They are in position for a league championship, a berth in the Bergen County Tournament and a deep run in the states.

“We were 19-8 last year, went to the state semifinals where we lost to Livingston and got into the counties for the first time in a bunch of years,” said Kurt Hommen, the Ridgewood skipper. “It’s too far down the road to talk about what we’d like to have happen this year, but it’s in the back of our kids minds. I know they are thinking about it. But we have to keep our focus on the week at hand, we have five games this week.”

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