Defense, timely hitting and solid pitching.
Pope John's baseball team pretty much got all three in Tuesday's 4-0 win over visiting High Point in a Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference American Division clash in Sparta.
The Lions (10-4, 9-0 NJAC) moved a step closer to securing its second American Division title in three years with the win. Coach Vin Bello's club can improve its advantage in the standings with a victory against second-place Jefferson (12-4, 7-1) on Wednesday -- a team the Lions defeated 9-7 on April 11.
"It feels good to be on top right now," said Pope John shortstop Matt Tietz, who went 1-for-3 with a double in the win over High Point. "[Wednesday's] game should be really competitive and we definitely want to win. [Jefferson] is going to be out for blood after last time."
Tuesday's game was by no means a slugfest.
High Point (7-7, 4-6) didn't get its first hit until Kevin Pettenger's one-out single to left in the fourth, one of only three hits on the day for coach Mickey Thomas' Wildcats. The 'Cats had men on first and second in the fourth and fifth innings, but each time with two out. Pope John starter Ken Mott worked out of trouble in the fourth and reliever Axel D'Addario got the final out in the fifth by getting Pettenger to ground into a fielder's choice.
"We hit the ball hard ... we just couldn't score," said Thomas, whose team left a total of seven men on base. "I thought our pitchers did very well. But if you don't score, you're not going to win."
Pope John, which managed only two harmless singles through the first three innings, finally got to High Point right-hander Alan Waldron in the fourth. Tietz started things with a one-out double and after Ryan McNally flied to center to move Tietz to third, Sam Redwood delivered an RBI single through the right side of the High Point infield.
Redwood scored the second run on Dan Cassarra's single to the exact same spot as Redwood's. The Lions loaded the bases after Zack Leach singled, but Waldron escaped further damage by scooping up Jay Sanford's comebacker for the final out.
"We've been really timely this year," said Redwood, who stole second and third base in the fourth to set up Cassarra. "I was able to get [Waldron's] timing down. We did a pretty good job of scrapping things together."
Bello was happy with his team's all-around effort.
"We did a great job of running the bases, which we haven't done all year, and we got timely hits," said Bello, whose team in the midst of a six games in seven days stretch. "Cassarra had a huge hit [in the sixth] for us to make it four runs. We needed to win [Monday, 11-0 against Vernon] and today to make [Wednesday's game with Jefferson] count. I'm proud of the way they've responded."
Waldron, who was effective early on, gave up six hits and two runs, while walking none and striking out two in four innings.
Pope John tacked on two more runs in the sixth against High Point reliever Kurt Schwander, as Cassarra plated McNally and Redwood with a one-out single over the head of High Point second baseman Ryan Conklin. The side-arming Schwander hit McNally to start the frame and an error on Redwood's sac bunt attempt put runners on second and third with none out.
Mott (1-0) earned the win, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out one in 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. The hard-throwing D'Addario fanned two in 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
The Lions also got a few key defensive plays. Tietz made a nice back-handed stop on Matt Valente's grounder with runners on first and second to end the second inning, while third baseman Glenn Gavan made a nice stab on Pettenger's shot down the line to end the fifth as he stepped on the third-base bag ahead of Conklin for the third out.
"We work on infield and grounders every day," Tietz said. "It's one of our strengths. We definitely had to do the little things today."
High Point (7-7) 000 000 0 -- 0 3 2
Pope John's baseball team pretty much got all three in Tuesday's 4-0 win over visiting High Point in a Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference American Division clash in Sparta.
The Lions (10-4, 9-0 NJAC) moved a step closer to securing its second American Division title in three years with the win. Coach Vin Bello's club can improve its advantage in the standings with a victory against second-place Jefferson (12-4, 7-1) on Wednesday -- a team the Lions defeated 9-7 on April 11.
"It feels good to be on top right now," said Pope John shortstop Matt Tietz, who went 1-for-3 with a double in the win over High Point. "[Wednesday's] game should be really competitive and we definitely want to win. [Jefferson] is going to be out for blood after last time."
Tuesday's game was by no means a slugfest.
High Point (7-7, 4-6) didn't get its first hit until Kevin Pettenger's one-out single to left in the fourth, one of only three hits on the day for coach Mickey Thomas' Wildcats. The 'Cats had men on first and second in the fourth and fifth innings, but each time with two out. Pope John starter Ken Mott worked out of trouble in the fourth and reliever Axel D'Addario got the final out in the fifth by getting Pettenger to ground into a fielder's choice.
"We hit the ball hard ... we just couldn't score," said Thomas, whose team left a total of seven men on base. "I thought our pitchers did very well. But if you don't score, you're not going to win."
Pope John, which managed only two harmless singles through the first three innings, finally got to High Point right-hander Alan Waldron in the fourth. Tietz started things with a one-out double and after Ryan McNally flied to center to move Tietz to third, Sam Redwood delivered an RBI single through the right side of the High Point infield.
Redwood scored the second run on Dan Cassarra's single to the exact same spot as Redwood's. The Lions loaded the bases after Zack Leach singled, but Waldron escaped further damage by scooping up Jay Sanford's comebacker for the final out.
"We've been really timely this year," said Redwood, who stole second and third base in the fourth to set up Cassarra. "I was able to get [Waldron's] timing down. We did a pretty good job of scrapping things together."
Bello was happy with his team's all-around effort.
"We did a great job of running the bases, which we haven't done all year, and we got timely hits," said Bello, whose team in the midst of a six games in seven days stretch. "Cassarra had a huge hit [in the sixth] for us to make it four runs. We needed to win [Monday, 11-0 against Vernon] and today to make [Wednesday's game with Jefferson] count. I'm proud of the way they've responded."
Waldron, who was effective early on, gave up six hits and two runs, while walking none and striking out two in four innings.
Pope John tacked on two more runs in the sixth against High Point reliever Kurt Schwander, as Cassarra plated McNally and Redwood with a one-out single over the head of High Point second baseman Ryan Conklin. The side-arming Schwander hit McNally to start the frame and an error on Redwood's sac bunt attempt put runners on second and third with none out.
Mott (1-0) earned the win, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out one in 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. The hard-throwing D'Addario fanned two in 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
The Lions also got a few key defensive plays. Tietz made a nice back-handed stop on Matt Valente's grounder with runners on first and second to end the second inning, while third baseman Glenn Gavan made a nice stab on Pettenger's shot down the line to end the fifth as he stepped on the third-base bag ahead of Conklin for the third out.
"We work on infield and grounders every day," Tietz said. "It's one of our strengths. We definitely had to do the little things today."
High Point (7-7) 000 000 0 -- 0 3 2
Pope John (10-4) 000 202 x -- 4 8 2
HIGH POINT (ab-r-h-rbi) -- Schulok cf, 4-0-0-0, Adams ss, 4-0-0-0, Conklin 2b, 3-0-1-0, Fundell 1b-3b, 2-0-0-0/Torppey pr 0-0-0-0, Pettenger dh, 3-0-1-0, Ragnetti rf, 3-0-0-0, Loughery c, 3-0-1-0, Schwander 3b-p, 1-0-0-0, Valente lf 3-0-0-0. Totals: 26-0-3-0.
POPE JOHN (ab-r-h-rbi) -- Young lf, 3-0-0-0/Rivera ph, 1-0-0-0, Gavan 3b, 3-0-1-0, Tietz, ss, 3-1-1-0, McNally, cf, 2-1-1-0, Redwood, rf, 3-2-1-1, Sanders dh, 2-0-0-0, Cassarra, 1b, 3-0-2-3, Leach, c, 2-0-2-0/Kopnik cr, 0-0-0-0, Sanford 2b, 2-0-0-0/Jensen ph 1-0-0-0. Totals: 25-4-8-4.
E -- Adams, Waldron; Gavan, Cassarra. LOB -- High Point 7, Pope John 6. 2B -- Conklin; Tietz. SB -- Redwood 2, Gavan.
Waldron, Schwander (5) and Loughery. Mott, D'Addario (5) and Leach. W -- Mott (1-0). L -- Waldron (0-1). SO-BB -- Waldron 2-0, Schwander 1-1; Mott 1-2, D'Addario 2-0. HBP -- Fundell (by Waldron); Sanders (by Mott), McNally (by Schwander).
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