Teel delivers for SJ Vianney/Lancers rally to halt RBC in the SCT
By BY STEVEN FALK
STAFF WRITER
HOLMDEL - Marc Teel thought he would see a certain pitch from Red Bank Catholic pitcher Mike Yaccarine with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning of Wednesday's Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal-round game.
"I was just looking for a fastball,'' said Teel, a sophomore left fielder for St. John Vianney. "I wasn't doing so good (he had been 0-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt in his first four plate appearances). I was just looking for something I could drive to the outfield.''
Teel smacked an 0-1 pitch from Yaccarine off the fence in left-center for a single that drove in Chris Ruffler with the winning run and gave St. John Vianney a dramatic 7-6 win.
The 11th-seeded Lancers (19-7), who according to Asbury Park Press records are making their first SCT semifinal appearance since 2001, when they were defeated by eventual NJSIAA Group IV state champion Toms River East, will play at No. 2 seed Christian Brothers Academy (22-4) Saturday in a semifinal.
Teel had swung and missed at the first pitch he had seen from Yaccarine. That had come after Yaccarine had struck out the previous batter.
When Teel swung the bat at Yaccarine's next pitch, the only question was whether it would clear the fence for a grand slam.
"I was a little anxious (on the first one),'' Teel said. "(On the next one), I just waited a little longer and got lucky.''
"I knew he was the right guy (in that spot),'' said St. John Vianney coach Mike Morgan. "He's calm, cool and collected. I knew he would get the ball into the outfield.''
St. John Vianney had loaded the bases with nobody out on a leadoff walk to Ruffler, a double to left by Joe Amore (three hits and two RBI) and an intentional walk to Ed Cetnar.
Yaccarine (4-3) had come on in relief of senior right-hander J.C. Menna, who after a shaky first two innings-plus, had retired 12 of the 14 previous batters he had faced.
"Did he (Menna) want to go seven? No doubt about it,'' said Red Bank Catholic coach Tony Martinez. "He was at 104 (pitches), I believe. I really have to look myself in the mirror when I go to bed and say I'm not overusing a guy.
"There's bigger and better things than Red Bank Catholic baseball. I just can't do that to a kid's arm.''
Menna helped fuel a Red Bank Catholic rally from a 5-1 deficit, by pitching out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third.
The Caseys (15-11) then tied the game with a four-run fourth that was keyed by a three-run home run to straight away center by Nick Romano.
Tom Higgins' solo homer to left in the fifth gave RBC a 6-5 lead before the Lancers' Chris Lewnes led off the sixth with a homer to center.
"The whole season, we've been a comeback team,'' Lewnes said. "We never consider ourselves out of a game. If we lose a lead, we always end up coming back.''
The Lancers (19-7) almost rallied to beat CBA this past Tuesday in a NJSIAA Non-Public South A quarterfinal before the Colts hung on for a 4-3 win when ace Kyle Slate came on in relief and recorded a strikeout for the game's final out with the tying and go-ahead runs on base.
"We have a lot of confidence. We're not coming in scared,'' Lewnes said. "We know how the team (CBA) plays.''
STAFF WRITER
HOLMDEL - Marc Teel thought he would see a certain pitch from Red Bank Catholic pitcher Mike Yaccarine with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning of Wednesday's Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal-round game.
"I was just looking for a fastball,'' said Teel, a sophomore left fielder for St. John Vianney. "I wasn't doing so good (he had been 0-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt in his first four plate appearances). I was just looking for something I could drive to the outfield.''
Teel smacked an 0-1 pitch from Yaccarine off the fence in left-center for a single that drove in Chris Ruffler with the winning run and gave St. John Vianney a dramatic 7-6 win.
The 11th-seeded Lancers (19-7), who according to Asbury Park Press records are making their first SCT semifinal appearance since 2001, when they were defeated by eventual NJSIAA Group IV state champion Toms River East, will play at No. 2 seed Christian Brothers Academy (22-4) Saturday in a semifinal.
Teel had swung and missed at the first pitch he had seen from Yaccarine. That had come after Yaccarine had struck out the previous batter.
When Teel swung the bat at Yaccarine's next pitch, the only question was whether it would clear the fence for a grand slam.
"I was a little anxious (on the first one),'' Teel said. "(On the next one), I just waited a little longer and got lucky.''
"I knew he was the right guy (in that spot),'' said St. John Vianney coach Mike Morgan. "He's calm, cool and collected. I knew he would get the ball into the outfield.''
St. John Vianney had loaded the bases with nobody out on a leadoff walk to Ruffler, a double to left by Joe Amore (three hits and two RBI) and an intentional walk to Ed Cetnar.
Yaccarine (4-3) had come on in relief of senior right-hander J.C. Menna, who after a shaky first two innings-plus, had retired 12 of the 14 previous batters he had faced.
"Did he (Menna) want to go seven? No doubt about it,'' said Red Bank Catholic coach Tony Martinez. "He was at 104 (pitches), I believe. I really have to look myself in the mirror when I go to bed and say I'm not overusing a guy.
"There's bigger and better things than Red Bank Catholic baseball. I just can't do that to a kid's arm.''
Menna helped fuel a Red Bank Catholic rally from a 5-1 deficit, by pitching out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third.
The Caseys (15-11) then tied the game with a four-run fourth that was keyed by a three-run home run to straight away center by Nick Romano.
Tom Higgins' solo homer to left in the fifth gave RBC a 6-5 lead before the Lancers' Chris Lewnes led off the sixth with a homer to center.
"The whole season, we've been a comeback team,'' Lewnes said. "We never consider ourselves out of a game. If we lose a lead, we always end up coming back.''
The Lancers (19-7) almost rallied to beat CBA this past Tuesday in a NJSIAA Non-Public South A quarterfinal before the Colts hung on for a 4-3 win when ace Kyle Slate came on in relief and recorded a strikeout for the game's final out with the tying and go-ahead runs on base.
"We have a lot of confidence. We're not coming in scared,'' Lewnes said. "We know how the team (CBA) plays.''
posted by Tony Graham at 4:59 PM
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