Sunday, May 29, 2011

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Joe Purritano roping an RBI double as a part of Don Bosco Prep's 7-run seventh inning in its 13-1 win over Ramsey in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

DEMAREST – Can anyone stop Don Bosco Prep’s march toward perfection? There have been a couple of close games mixed in with a myriad of blowouts, but for the most part the Ironmen have looked unstoppable in their quest for a second undefeated season in the last four years. Their latest conquest came on Saturday in the semifinals of the Bergen County Tournament when Don Bosco Prep got three runs in each of the first two innings and then erupted for seven in the bottom of the fourth to bring to an early end its 13-1 win over Ramsey.

“With our lineup we really expect what you saw today. We are out here everyday to battle pitchers and, one through nine, we are the toughest around. There is no doubt about it,” said Bosco designated hitter Joe Purritano, who had a two-run homer just to the right and well over the 413 foot marker in centerfield at Northern Valley/Demarest. “The good thing is that we are getting good at bat after good at bat after good at bat, so when you see 13-1 on the scoreboard, that is what we expect from ourselves.”

It was been an emotional week for Ramsey and one that has also been physically taxing. The Rams stayed alive in the state playoffs with a win over Pompton Lakes and will play rival Mahwah in the North 1, Group 2 state sectional semifinals on Tuesday, but the Rams couldn’t get anything going against Bosco on Saturday.

Nick DiSpoto sliding in with the lone Ramsey run.

They committed numerous errors in the first two innings, hit three batters, threw two wild pitches and found themselves in an early hole that they never could recover from. Tom Burns, who threw four scoreless innings for Bosco, took care of things on the mound while the Ironmen pounded away at the plate. And when they got the opportunity to end the game early via the mercy rule, they didn’t let it slip away. Bosco sent 10 hitters to the plate in their seven-run fourth and even two of the outs that they made in the frame were productive.

Grant Van Orden started off the decisive inning with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Purritano’s double that the lefty DH ripped down the right field line. Nick Bruno’s long flyball to centerfield moved Purritano up a base, Matt Dacey drew a walk to put runners on the corners and Greg Iskendarian singled in a run to make it 8-0.

A walk to Zach Gross, an error that allowed Carter Toth to reach safely while plating Bosco 9th run kept the rally going for Mike Mecca, who delivered a sacrifice fly before Jason Vosler crushed a two-run homer. The left-hand hitting shortstop pulled the ball over the rightfield fence to cap the Bosco scoring.

“These kids have played a lot of big games in summer ball, in travel ball. They have been on the big stage before and they are determined to take it all home this year,” said Mark DeMenna, who is in his first season as the Don Bosco Prep head coach. “The best thing about our team right now is just how focused the kids are right now. They know they have a job to do, they want to win county and state titles and we can do all of our celebrating at the end of the season.”

Bosco's Tom Burns pitched four scoreless innings to pick up his third county tournament win.

Ramsey avoided the shutout in the top of the fourth by cashing in Nick DiSpoto’s leadoff single and his stolen base. With the bases loaded after a pair of walks, DiSpoto scored on a wild pitch, sliding in just ahead of the tag of Steve Lombardi, who raced in from the pitcher’s mound to take the throw from Gross, the Bosco catcher.

But that was the only blemish against Bosco, which is seeking its first county title since 2008. To get there, the Ironmen will have to go through Ramapo, the de facto Bergen County public school champion that knocked out Old Tappan, 6-2, in Saturday’s other semifinal.

Don Bosco (24-0) has six players and five starters – Van Orden, Matt Dacey, the Gross brothers, Zach and Jordan and Nick Bruno – who are from Wyckoff or Franklin Lakes. They have grown up with the Ramapo players and will face off against them for the Bergen County championship with Jordan Gross scheduled to make the start.

Imagine if the whole group had stayed together…

“We’ve talked about that even before it got to this point. It would be a ridiculous team with me, Dacey, Bruno and both the Gross brothers. That would be a stacked team,” said Van Orden, whose older brothers, Taylor and Greg, are both Ramapo High School graduates. “It elevates the intensity that we are all going to play with. They are going to come up pumped up to play, we have a lot of kids on this team that are going to come out pumped to play and it is going to make the game that much more intense. And if they hang around, who knows what might happen.”

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