TRE outlasts TRN to win OCT, 2-1 in eight innings

By TONY GRAHAM
STAFF WRITER

LAKEWOOD - Brady Doyle leaped high onto the pile of celebrating Toms
River East players.
""Words can't explain it (the feeling),'' said the senior whose sacrifice fly in
the bottom of the eighth inning gave Toms River East a thrilling 2-1 victory
over Toms River North in the 2007 Ocean County Tournament championship game
at FirstEnergy Park.
The triumph marked the fourth in the last four OCT final appeances by Toms
River East (20-5) and denied the Mariners (20-4) their first crown since
2002 and third overall. John Smicklo led off the bottom of the eighth working
reliever Anthony Scorsone (4-2) for a walk, was sacrificed to second, and
stopped at third on a single to right by Frank Dehart, his third hit of the
game.
Doyle fell behind in the count 1-2 but lined the next pitch to center and Smicklo raced
home with the winning run. It gave TR East its eighth overall championship and 15th win in a row in the event. ""All I was thinking was there's a man on third and I'm just trying to get a
fly ball or hit the ball to the opposite field and try to get the run in,''
said Doyle.
""I went down 1-2 with the count, stayed focused, and I got the
ball in the air, I got the job done today.''
The win marked the third one-run decision of the season between the teams
with TR North winning the first two en route to the Shore Conference Class A
South championship.
The title ended a TR East string of six division championships in a row. ""I
still think we beat ourselves in those two (regular season) games,'' said
Doyle.
TR East appeared as if it might defeat itself Thursday night after Raider junior right-hander Steve Ferno (6-0) carried a 1-0
lead into the top of the seventh inning.
Having surrendered hits to lead-off batters in the prior six innings, Fereno
retired the first two Mariners in the seventh.
But then the Raider infield booted a routine grounder to short and a
slow roller to third.
TR North Pinch-hitter Ryan Fontenelli lined the first pitch he saw
into rightcenter to
tie the score.
Fereno, who struck out three and walked one, escaped further
damage with a fly ball and worked around a hit batter in the eighth.
""I'm very proud we came back, scored, and tied it,'' said TR North coach
Ted Schelmay. ""We didn't finish it off
His team advanced to the final with Monday's 12-inning, 1-0 win over Toms
River South in which the Indians stranded a mountain of base runners.
TR North left 10 on Thursday.
""I thought earlier we didn't get the clutch hits we needed,'' said
Schelmay. ""If we did I think it would have been a whole different ball
game.''""I guess I just pitch better in the stretch,'' said Fereno. ""I got out of
the innings.''
Fereno maintained his composure in the seventh. ""I definitely had confidence all
the way that we were going to win the game,'' he said. ""I knew someone was going
to pick it up.''
TR East tallied in the second on a Doyle infield nubber that was thrown
away allowing Frank to score from second base.
TR North senior Chad Geran (6-0) pitched into the seventh inning, struck out,
four, and walked four.
Scorsone, who won the TR South game Monday with three scoreless innings in
relief, relieved with one out in the seventh.
""A lot of people counted us out this year,'' said Bill Frank, TR
East coach. ""I think these kids are stepping up and doing the job.''
NOTES: TR East and TR North had never met in the championship game of the tournament that
dates back to 1972....Toms River East has won all its OCT titles since 1995 when it has gone 8-1 in finals. Five of the wins have been by
one run. Toms River North was in its first OCT final since 2002, when it defeated Brick,
6-2, at FirstEnergy Park.