Monday, May 30, 2011

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

George Iskendarian had three hits, including a home run, 5 RBI and three runs scored for Don Bosco Prep, which improved to a perfect 25-0 with a 13-8 win over Ramapo in the Bergen County final.

DEMAREST – When Ramapo scored two runs in the top ofthe first inning and sophomore starting pitcher Matt Osieja set the Don Bosco bats down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, the thought of an upset in the Bergen County Baseball Tournament final had become a real possibility. When Bosco, which came into the game with a 24-0 record and a lineup capable of mashing even the best of high school pitchers, sent 10 hitters to the plate and scored five time in the bottom of the second, it looked like order had been restored.

It had, sort of, as Bosco never again trailed on the way to a 13-8 win and its first county championship since 2008, but while the Ironmen were grinding out one quality at bat after another as per their norm, Ramapo inflicted it own damage against a formidable pitching staff before falling a couple of hits short of making it really interesting.

“We came into this game loose, but we had knew we were playing a good team over there and they battled us right the end. I give them a lot of credit, but for us the only thing that mattered was the ‘W,” said Bosco shortstop Jason Vossler. “To be honest, I was pretty surprised how well they hit and we just had to keep answering.”

Ryan Daugherty had two hits and two RBI for Ramapo.

Trailing 7-3 heading into the top of the fourth inning and trailing 11-4, Ramapo loaded the bases with one out and forced the departure of Jordan Gross (3 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 5 K, 6 BB), one of Bosco’s co-aces, after he allowed an infield single to Nick Madormo (3-for-5, 2R, SB), a double to Justin Gartner (2-for-4, RBI, R) and a walk to John Gandolfo in succession. Mike Gomez was brought in to squelch a potential rally and he did just that by getting a shallow fly ball and a strikeout to end the inning without a run crossing the plate.

When that opportunity went by the boards and Bosco banged out two home runs in a five-run bottom of the fourth to take an 11-3 lead, the Ironmen looked like they were on their way to their second mercy rule win in two days in the county tournament. Grant Van Orden (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB) hit the first homer, a shot that careened off the Ramapo bus parked behind the leftfield fence leading off the frame, and George Iskendarian (3-for-4, HR, 5 RBI, 3 R) hit one even further for a three-run homer with two outs and Nick Bruno and Matt Dacey on base.

 “Offense is never set back by the runs that the other team puts up. Our guys don’t go into a shell, they never get tight. Being down two runs early, it is not the first time this year that we have had to come from behind, chip away and win the next inning,” said Mark DeMenna, Bosco’s first year head coach. “The kids showed some patience from the middle of the game on and wore down their pitchers a little bit.”

Mike Gomez pitched the final 3 2/3 innings to pick up the win for Don Bosco Prep.

Problem was Ramapo did the same and when Chris Liquori reached on an error on a hard hit ball to open the fifth, it opened the door for the Green Raiders. Three straight hits by Joe Scaglione, Andrew Boyland and Andrew Nickles brought two runs home, Gartner added an RBI single and Ryan Dougherty an RBI double as Ramapo closed to within 11-7 after sending nine hitters to the plate.

“We proved what we have done all year. We’ve played well, we are one of the best teams in the county and we deserve to be here,” said Ramapo head coach Mickey Hunt. “We hit the ball, we scored 8 runs and eight runs for this team is usually enough to win.”

The teams exchanged scoreless innings as Rob Lerch pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth and Gomez (3 2/3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 6H, 5K, BB) the winning pitcher, worked a 1-2-3 top of the sixth. Run scoring singles by Bruno (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Iskendarian in the bottom of the sixth then put the finishing touches on Don Bosco’s 25th straight win to start the season.

The Ironmen won’t be able to catch the 2008 team, which went a perfect 33-0, in terms of total wins, but this year’s squad can match the accomplishments of ’08. Two more wins would give them a state sectional title and three more would make them Non-Public A State champs.

Ramapo's Justin Gartner was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

“In some sense is sort of a relief that we won the Bergen County championship, but we don’t feel as a team that we can sit back and relax because now we have to go outs and get our state championship,” said Van Orden. “We are 25-0 now, and why come this far undefeated and not stay undefeated and finish it right? No matter what happens, we want to find a way to become state champions.”

Ramapo (21-5) has the same aspirations. The Green Raiders will play Paramus in the North 1, Group 3 state sectional semifinals on Tuesday, so there is still plenty left to play for. But still, getting so close to a county title yet again without finishing first is a little frustrating. The Raiders have made the county tournament 10 times under Mickey Hunt and have lost to the eventual champion eight times and to the runner up twice. The Raiders have been to five finals over that span and have come close but have yet to be the last team standing.

Led by a solid senior class with six of them starters, the Raiders did not walk into the county final looking for a moral victory. They did not walk off the field feeling as if they had proved anything. They were upset with the loss and took no solace in giving Bosco a run for its money.

The seniors, with TJ Hunt on the mound, will try to get back on track on Tuesday against Paramus.

“This is a great group of seniors. They are all great kids and they have worked hard since they were little kids to put together this type of season,” said Mickey Hunt. “It’s been a fun year coaching these guys and I know that they are going to do everything they can to keep it going.”

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