Originally posted on jerseypilots.com
After
tying the game in the ninth, the North Jersey Eagles scored three runs in the
top of the tenth as they beat the Jersey Pilots, 6-4.
The
Eagles got on the board first. Ryan Rivera led off the fourth inning with a
walk and then Chris Baldi hit a single to put runners on first and third. Zach
Tondi knocked in Rivera with a single and Baldi scored later in the inning on a
Kenneth Hayden groundout.
I
n
response, the Pilots scored one run in three consecutive innings. It started in
the fifth inning when Pat Geraghty scored on a Christian Zazzali double. In the
sixth, Tommy Trotter led of the inning with a single, moved over to second on a
Vic Konstantinovsky bunt, and scored on a Greg Kocinski single. Brian Dudeck
then scored in the seventh on a Geraghty single.
To
begin the eighth inning, Baldi and Tondi reached base. North Jersey shortstop
Paul Rufo was the next batter and he hit a groundball to Drew DeAngelis at
shortstop. DeAngelis fielded and threw to Zazzali at second. Zazzali received
the throw, but was taken out by Tondi, who had tripped and fell after sliding.
The umpires ruled that Tondi, who was out at second, interfered with Zazzali,
As a result, Rufo was out at first and Baldi had to return to second base.
Instead of having one out and runners on the corners, the Eagles had a runner
on second with two outs. Matthew Stalter struck out to end the inning.
North
Jersey tied the game in the ninth. Shane Woelfel led off the inning with a walk
and then stole second base. Woelfel scored the game-tying run when Dalton
Filotei’s fly ball was dropped in centerfield. Filotei almost put the Eagles
ahead later in the inning. After advancing to third on a fly ball, Filotei
tried to steal home after a pitch got past Konstantinovsky, the Pilots’
catcher. However, Konstantinovsky retrieved the ball and tagged out Filotei at
the plate to end the top of the ninth.
The
Pilots had their own opportunity as well to win the game in the ninth. Stephen
Petriello, pinch-hitting for Dudeck, came up to the plate with one out and
DeAngelis on first. Petriello ripped a double into the right-centerfield gap.
DeAngelis attempted to score on the play, but was thrown out at the plate.
The
first two Eagles batters of the tenth inning, Rivera and Luis Amaro, walked.
After a fly out, Rufo reached on an error, loading the bases. Stalter then
knocked in a run when his groundball was mishandled. The next batter was
Woelfel, who hit a 2-RBI double to make the score 6-3.
Jersey
put together a rally in the tenth. Zazzali and Trotter walked to start in the
inning and Kocinski hit a single that scored Zazzali. However, the Pilots could
only get one run across in the tenth, leaving them two runs short of extending
the game further.
The
Pilots, now 4-6 after the loss, return to action on Father’s Day with a
doubleheader at the South Jersey Giants. The first game scheduled to begin at
3:00. For more updates and news on the Pilots, go to jerseypilots.com or
@ACBL_Pilots.
