Pope John's baseball team needed a certain amount of luck to navigate through the state's toughest tournament bracket in the Non-Public North A playoffs.
The Lions caught a big break when top-seeded and nationally-ranked Don Bosco Prep, which beat PJ 11-8 this season, saw its 25-game win streak and unbeaten season end with a first-round loss to Bergen Catholic.
However, coach Vin Bello's team is also making its own luck this postseason.
In Friday's semifinals, Pope John trailed 5-1 to Delbarton heading into the bottom of the seventh. What happened next at Diamond Nation was a series of championship moments. The Lions battled back to tie it at 5 before Ryan McNally launched a solo homer for a 6-5 walk-off win that sent PJ into Tuesday's final against Seton Hall Prep.
McNally's homer capped an improbable rally that started with Nick D'Alessio's one-out homer to right. Nick Salazzo's RBI single made it 5-3 and Matt Ackerman's two-run shot tied the game, setting the stage for McNally's heroics. Three homers in all and a berth into the title game. Amazing.
PJ's ability to swing the bats is a big plus heading into the biggest game of the season. As the Lions have showed, they are never out of a game.
Connor McGlynn (7-1) gave a gutsy effort on the mound, following his eight-strikeout performance in PJ's 13-4 win over Montville on May 24. Ace Brendan Mayers (8-0) is set to throw in the final.
Pope John (23-4-1) has now won four straight against Delbarton. The Lions won, 5-2, in the regular season on April 27 and twice in 2010 -- 4-3 and 6-3, the latter in the North A playoffs. PJ's run a year ago ended with an 8-6 loss to Immaculata in the semifinals.
Now, Pope John sets its sights on a rematch with Seton Hall Prep, which bounced the Lions, 9-8 in eight innings, in the 2009 quarterfinals. The North A final will be played 4 p.m. Tuesday at Yogi Berra Stadium on the Montclair State University campus.
Tigers caught again at home
Hackettstown's terrific season ended on Friday as it did a year ago with a 9-1 loss to West Essex in the North 2, Group 2 final at Dimiceli Field. Coach Gary Poyer's Tigers, who lost 5-0 to the Knights in last year's title game, finish at 21-2.
The loss also ended a fine career for senior ace Matt Reynolds, who struck out nine in the loss. Reynolds (6-2) took two of his three career losses against West Essex, while also losing to Hunterdon Central this season in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex semifinals.
Hackettstown scored a total of four runs in its two losses this season after averaging 10 runs per game in its victories. The Tigers entered Friday's game on a six-game win streak during which they scored a total of 75 runs.
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