Extra innings are just fine for Freehold Township nine Back-to-back ninth inning wins have Pats off to a quick start

Extra innings are just fine for Freehold Township nine
Back-to-back ninth inning wins have Pats
off to a quick start

CHRIS KELLY Freehold Township’s Evan Piscitelli gets ready to slap a tag on a Red Bank base runner during the Patriots’ 11-4 loss in the Monmouth County Tournament in Little Silver on Saturday.

Working overtime has been very productive for the Freehold Township baseball team. A pair of ninth-inning victories have the Patriots off to the start they wanted and they look to qualify for the postseason this year.

"We haven’t made it easy for ourselves," said Coach Frank Gualtieri. "We squandered leads in both games. Last year we would have packed up shop.

"I told the kids that these were games we would have lost last year," he added. "They have developed confidence and those wins were a testament to their character."

Township’s first extra-inning game could have been the "mother of all disasters," according to Gualtieri. The Pats had everything going for them and led 12-3 going into the last of the seventh when the Raritan Rockets struck for nine runs in Hazlet. They tied it with two-outs on a three-run home run off the bat of Shaun Walsh.

CHRIS KELLY Freehold Township’s Dave Lorbar fires a strike during Saturday’s game with Red Bank Regional High School in Little Silver.

But Brad Brach, who was not able to put out the fire in the seventh, settled down and held the Rockets scoreless the rest of the way. In the top of the ninth, Jim Ascolese’s RBI single sparked a three-run inning that led to the 15-12 win. Dave Lorber collected four hits and two RBIs.

In their next game in Howell, the Pats let a 4-1 lead evaporate in the last of the seventh as the Rebels tied it at 4-4 and sent the game into extra innings. Again, Brach did not give up a run in extra innings, and Ascolese had an RBI single in the top of the ninth when Township scored three times and won 7-4.

The second straight nine-inning win lifted the Pats to a 3-1 record overall, and Brach’s to 2-0.

"It’s important that we get off to a good start," said Gualtieri. "We want to make the state playoffs, and it’s important that, as the deadline nears, we’re not playing from behind."

The Pats appear to have the pitching, defense and hitting to get to the postseason.

Gualtieri said that he has never had the pitching depth that he has this year.

"We don’t have that big No. 1 starter, but we throw a quality pitcher who will keep us in the game every time," he said. "This is the first year since I’ve been here that we have the quality of depth that we have."

Lefty Paul Lepore and righties Lorber and Bryant Perez make up the starting rotation. Brach has been used in relief. Gualtieri plans on working Ascolese into the rotation as well.

With five good throwers, the Pats should have the depth needed to survive a long season. Pitching hasn’t been all that has been working for the Pats.

"We’re hitting the ball pretty well and playing good defense," said Gualtieri.

All but one starter in the lineup is batting over .350, and although the numbers can get inflated early in the season, it’s a sign that this team can score runs.

Center fielder Nick Papa and first baseman Evan Piscitelli bat third and fourth in the order and they have done everything expected of them in the run producing positions. Papa is batting .375 and Piscitelli is at .412 with a team-high six RBI. Lepore, who has seen some action at first when not pitching, has provided more power than expected behind Papa and Piscitelli.

At the top of the order, catcher Bob Cook bats lead-off followed by Lorber (who starts at second when not pitching). When you think lead-off hitter, catcher doesn’t come to mind. But in the absence of a pure lead-off man, Gualtieri turned to Cook, who is a complete hitter. Cook will take a walk and is a good on-base, contact hitter. The Pats can always courtesy run for their catcher, which makes any lack of speed less a liability.

At the bottom of the order, Ascolese, Adam Brusotti and John Raisley have been very productive. Shortstop Ascolese has come up with the big hit in extra innings while right fielder Brusotti is batting .500. The speedy Raisley, the left fielder, gives the team an on-base man in the ninth slot.

"All in all, I like this team," said Gualtieri. "I like what I’ve seen. They took their lumps last year. With some help from our sophomores (Ascolese and Brach) we’ve developed confidence as a team.

"Our theme this year is to be relentless and not lose our focus," he added. "I’m confident we can sustain what we’ve started."

The Pats took a step in that direction Thursday when Perez was the author of a no-hitter at Neptune. The Pats scored early and often in picking up the 9-1 A North win.

Perez was overpowering, fanning 11 and walking no one in registering his first win of the season.

Lorber was 3-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and Papa was 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Neptune’s Kaan Williams scored the Fliers’ only run when he walked, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a double steal. It was the only time the Fliers did anything against Perez.

On Saturday, however, the Pats were not as fortunate, dropping an 11-4 contest to Red Bank Regional in the second round of the Monmouth County Tournament.

Every time Freehold Township made contact against Red Bank Regional’s Michael Young, it was a hard hit ball. Even though the Patriots burned Young for seven hits and three runs, the Buccaneers erased an early deficit to win 11-4.

After a scoreless first inning, Freehold opened up the game with a two-RBI double by Raisler. The visiting Patriots put runners on base after a putout at first, a swinging strikeout on a two-base error by the Bucs’ second baseman, and a Brusotti walk.

That set the stage for Raisler’s 385-foot smash, which bounced off the center field fence for a double. Raisler, the No. 9 batter, tried to extend his hit by racing to third as the center fielder bobbled the ball, but was tagged out at the hot corner following a perfectly executed three-man relay.

Freehold improved its lead to 3-0 with a two-out homer by Papa in the third inning. Papa, after taking the first pitch for a ball, burned Young for a 360-foot solo home run over the right center field wall.

Lorber, Freehold’s starting pitcher, fanned four Red Bank batters and only gave up one hit over the first three innings.

It wasn’t until the fourth inning that the Bucs were able to break Lorber, scoring six runs on as many hits. Township used three different hurlers but had trouble containing the Bucs’ offense.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Patriots that began after a season-opening loss to Christian Brothers Academy (4-3), Lincroft, leaving Freehold at a 4-2 slate.