Tuesday, May 24, 2011

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Chris Liquori's first inning, two-run homer put Ramapo comfortably in front on the way to a 4-0 win over Passaic Valley in the opening round of the North 1, Group 3 state sectional tournament.

FRANKLIN LAKES – If you missed the bottom of the first inning, you missed just about everything. That was when scored two runs on a pair of fielder’s choice ground balls, when an error extended the inning and when Chris Liquori made it hurt with a two-run homer. All four runs that scored in the game came in the bottom of  that first inning and Ari Kaufman did the rest, throwing a complete game shutout, a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts as Ramapo advanced to the North 1, Group 3 state sectional quarterfinals with a 4-0 win over Passaic Valley on Monday afternoon.

“Those four runs in the first inning kind of buried us and we had to try to battle back with their kid Kaufman on the mound doing a great job,” said Passaic Valley head coach John Mazzo. “He pretty much cruised through the whole game. He kept the ball down all game and his ball was really running away. He kept his fastball down with that little tail on it and he was successful all day.”

Kaufman was dominant and that has become a theme at the top of the Ramapo rotation. TJ Hunt threw a complete game shutout to improve to 8-0 on the season when the Green Raiders upset St. Joseph in the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday and Kaufman made it 14 straight scoreless innings for Ramapo’s top two starters with his state tournament gem.

Passaic Valley's Tom Gaccione threw a complete game and allowed just two earned runs with 7 strikeouts against just two walks.

“That’s 14 innings without giving up a run against some pretty high quality competition. That’s pretty [darn] good,” said Ramapo head coach Mickey Hunt. “Ari did a great job today, TJ gave us just what we needed on Saturday and those two guys have been doing it all year. I am happy with the way they have pitched, but I am not surprised.”

It was a little surprising just how quickly the game was decided. The first time they played this season, Ramapo escaped with an 11-10 win in a back-and-forth contest. This time, there was no “forth.”

Nick Madormo and Justin Gartner Ramapo’s first time at bat with back-to-back singles before John Gandolfo switched spots with Gartner with a fielder’s choice grounder that put runners on the corners. Ryan Dougherty drove in the game’s first run with an RBI groundout, an error on TJ Hunt’s ground ball allowed the second run to score and extended the inning long enough to provide the Raiders with some early insurance with one swing of the bat.

Liquori crushed the first pitch he saw for his fifth home run of the season and gave Ramapo, the No. 3 seed, the comfortable four-run cushion.

Ramapo's Ari Kaufman improved to 6-0 on the season with his complete game shutout.

“There was a guy on base and there was a guy on base. It was a first pitch fastball, I jumped on it and as soon as I hit it I kind of knew it was gone,” said Liquori. “It was good to give Ari that lead to work with. He is a great pitcher and when you give him four runs in the first inning you know that he is going to be tough to beat.

Kaufman allowed just one hit and one walk through the first four innings, but he did get tested in the top of the fifth. An infield single by Marc Bonilla that snuck under Kaufman’s glove, a walk to Pat Frequenza and a bunt single by Evan Cousins loaded the bases for PV with the top of the order coming up. But a strikeout and a 6-6-3 double play started turned by Gartner at shortstop got Kaufman out of trouble and all but put Ramapo (19-4) into the quarterfinals where it will host No. 11 Lakeland, the defending sectional champion and a 1-0 winner over Bergenfield.

Bonilla had two of Passaic Valley’s four hits, Cousins had the bunt single and the other hit for the Hornets came off the bat of pinch hitter Brian Stanton, who started the top of the seventh with a slicing single over the first base bag. Tom Gaccione (2-4) took the loss for PV, but deserved better. He went the distance on a five-hitter and struck out seven while walking just two. Only two of the four runs scored against him were earned.

The loss dropped Passaic Valley to 12-11 on the season, but it still has plenty to play for. The Hornets have three regular season games left, but can narrow their focus to Saturday when they will play rival Wayne Valley in the semifinals of the Passaic County Tournament.

Passaic Valley third baseman Marc Bonilla had two of his teams four hits.

“Deep down we realized that the state [tournament] was going to be tough for us and that a county title was more realistic and we are going to go after it,” said Mazzo. “We have nothing to hold back for and there is nothing better than PV/Wayne Valley. We respect them, we know they are a good team, but our kids are amped up.”

Ramapo has a bit more on its plate as the Green Raiders will host Lakeland on Friday and then take on Northern Valley/Old Tappan in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals on Saturday. With Old Tappan’s state tournament loss at Sparta on Monday, the Knights will have all hands on deck while Ramapo will have to decide which cards it wants to play.

TJ Hunt and Kaufman are the aces, but Mickey Hunt has other outs.

“We are not afraid to throw some of our other guys,” said Mickey Hunt. “We are lucky that we have a deep staff and some guys we haven’t used as much for a lot of different reasons, but we have some depth and are going to use it hopefully to our advantage.”

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