Newton's baseball team has plenty to be proud of in what was a tremendous season -- including its first conference title and winning season since 2001.
Unfortunately, Thursday's 13-3 loss to Pascack Hills in the NJSIAA North 1, Group 2 sectional semifinals is not one to be featured on the Sussex County program's highlight reel.
The Braves (18-7) saw their four-game win streak and a bid for the school's first sectional title in 12 years end abruptly on their home field before a good-sized crowd at Memory Park. In all, Newton pitchers issued 14 walks, while the defense committed four costly errors. Very uncharacteristic for a team that usually doesn't beat itself with mental mistakes.
"We picked a bad time for a bad game," said junior center fielder Ben Cramer, one of Newton's top hitters who finished 2-for-3 with an RBI in the loss and a combined 7-for-11 with three RBIs in three playoff games. "It was just one of those days."
Lefty Nick Grant struggled from the first inning through his 3 1/3 frames, walking six and allowing five earned runs on four hits. The Braves ace dropped to 5-1 on the season, despite working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning. After allowing an RBI single in the third to Pascack Hills second baseman John Molinelli -- who walked three times on the day -- that tied the game at 1, Grant didn't make it out of a nightmare seven-run fourth in which he allowed two hits, a sacrifice fly and three straight walks before his departure.
"We were concerned about his pitch count, it seemed like he was 3-2 or 2-2 on every batter the first two innings," said Braves coach John Selitto, who lifted Grant in favor of Anthony Morro after 90 pitches. "He usually pounds the strike zone. He threw a similar game at Lenape Valley [an 8-6 Newton win on April 30]. He tends to get himself too amped up. He's young and needs to take the same approach every game and go about his business."
Selitto said all of his pitchers were available, except No. 2 starter Chris Branham, who threw 106 pitches in Sunday's 3-2 win over Glen Rock in the quarterfinals. That being the case, Selitto was forced to go with Morro out of the bullpen.
"It would've been asking an awful lot [of Branham to pitch]," the coach said. "In big moments this year he's come up to me asked for the ball. He didn't today. It was too important to his future [to not throw]."
Pascack Hills (11-14) took a calculated risk by throwing its No. 2 starter Corey Pic and saving ace Mike Benducci, a junior lefty, for Friday's sectional final against defending champion Mahwah. Pic, a right-hander, went all six innings, allowing two earned runs on nine hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
The Cowboys envoked the possibility of a 10-run rule win with four in the top of the sixth, as reliever Luke Leifken issued four walks, along with a two-run double to shortstop Justin Cirieco and a two-run single to Pic. Amazingly, the Bergen County school left a total of 12 men on base, despite scoring 13 runs on eight hits.
"They came right back at us," said Selitto, whose Braves led 3-1 after three innings thanks to Grant's two-run single with two out. "They're a much better team than their record shows. They're a quality team."
Morro, who started at first base, came on in that decisive fourth inning and issued two walks -- five straight bases on balls for the Cowboys -- and two hits as the visitors sent 12 men to the plate. Down 6-3, an error on shortstop Casey Thomas extended the inning when he couldn't field a routine grounder and get the force at second. Instead, the lead swelled to five runs and essentially took Newton out of the game.
Thomas, who had a tough day in the field, was subbing for starter Jon Bernotas, who was injured during pregame warmups when he was struck in the nose by a thrown ball. Bernotas, who had four RBIs in the previous three games, pinch-hit for Thomas leading off the sixth and grounded out to third.
Pic (5-2), who helped himself at the plate with three RBIs, retired the final five Braves in order -- three on weak ground balls, a flyout and a strikeout. Newton went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position and had zero extra-base hits.
"Sometimes you tip your hat to the other guys," Selitto said. "We helped them a little bit. We didn't play well. We didn't hit the ball well. We lost a little bit of our swagger around the third or fourth inning. I don't think they got intimidated.
"What we had done well all year was get back in the dugout with 1-2-3 innings and be able to tack on runs. I would've liked to see how we matched up with Mahwah. I thought we were destined for [the title game]."
Despite the loss, Newton can look back on a special season, including its first Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division title. In addition, the bulk of the team returns next year, sans senior starters Morro, second baseman Joey Selitto and Branham. Junior catcher Charlie Grotyohann had a breakout season behind the plate, while junior left fielder Justin Smith produced around 40 hits from the leadoff spot.
"This is still a relatively young team," John Selitto said. "I love the way the program has turned. We want this to be a regular occurrence, where we're playing for a state title. That has to be the norm. A lot of good things happened for us. I'm already excited for next year."
PASCACK HILLS (ab-r-h-rbi) -- Messinger rf 4-1-1-1, Cirieco ss 4-2-2-2, Poleway cf 3-2-1-0, Spelling lf 1-2-0-2, Molinelli 2b 2-1-1-2, Pic p 3-0-1-3, MacLetti cr 0-0-0-0, Weinstein 3b 3-1-1-0, Chiavelli c 2-0-0-0, Trumbetti cr 0-2-0-0, Benducci 1b 2-2-1-1. Totals: 24-13-8-11.
Unfortunately, Thursday's 13-3 loss to Pascack Hills in the NJSIAA North 1, Group 2 sectional semifinals is not one to be featured on the Sussex County program's highlight reel.
The Braves (18-7) saw their four-game win streak and a bid for the school's first sectional title in 12 years end abruptly on their home field before a good-sized crowd at Memory Park. In all, Newton pitchers issued 14 walks, while the defense committed four costly errors. Very uncharacteristic for a team that usually doesn't beat itself with mental mistakes.
"We picked a bad time for a bad game," said junior center fielder Ben Cramer, one of Newton's top hitters who finished 2-for-3 with an RBI in the loss and a combined 7-for-11 with three RBIs in three playoff games. "It was just one of those days."
Lefty Nick Grant struggled from the first inning through his 3 1/3 frames, walking six and allowing five earned runs on four hits. The Braves ace dropped to 5-1 on the season, despite working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning. After allowing an RBI single in the third to Pascack Hills second baseman John Molinelli -- who walked three times on the day -- that tied the game at 1, Grant didn't make it out of a nightmare seven-run fourth in which he allowed two hits, a sacrifice fly and three straight walks before his departure.
"We were concerned about his pitch count, it seemed like he was 3-2 or 2-2 on every batter the first two innings," said Braves coach John Selitto, who lifted Grant in favor of Anthony Morro after 90 pitches. "He usually pounds the strike zone. He threw a similar game at Lenape Valley [an 8-6 Newton win on April 30]. He tends to get himself too amped up. He's young and needs to take the same approach every game and go about his business."
Selitto said all of his pitchers were available, except No. 2 starter Chris Branham, who threw 106 pitches in Sunday's 3-2 win over Glen Rock in the quarterfinals. That being the case, Selitto was forced to go with Morro out of the bullpen.
"It would've been asking an awful lot [of Branham to pitch]," the coach said. "In big moments this year he's come up to me asked for the ball. He didn't today. It was too important to his future [to not throw]."
Pascack Hills (11-14) took a calculated risk by throwing its No. 2 starter Corey Pic and saving ace Mike Benducci, a junior lefty, for Friday's sectional final against defending champion Mahwah. Pic, a right-hander, went all six innings, allowing two earned runs on nine hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
The Cowboys envoked the possibility of a 10-run rule win with four in the top of the sixth, as reliever Luke Leifken issued four walks, along with a two-run double to shortstop Justin Cirieco and a two-run single to Pic. Amazingly, the Bergen County school left a total of 12 men on base, despite scoring 13 runs on eight hits.
"They came right back at us," said Selitto, whose Braves led 3-1 after three innings thanks to Grant's two-run single with two out. "They're a much better team than their record shows. They're a quality team."
Morro, who started at first base, came on in that decisive fourth inning and issued two walks -- five straight bases on balls for the Cowboys -- and two hits as the visitors sent 12 men to the plate. Down 6-3, an error on shortstop Casey Thomas extended the inning when he couldn't field a routine grounder and get the force at second. Instead, the lead swelled to five runs and essentially took Newton out of the game.
Thomas, who had a tough day in the field, was subbing for starter Jon Bernotas, who was injured during pregame warmups when he was struck in the nose by a thrown ball. Bernotas, who had four RBIs in the previous three games, pinch-hit for Thomas leading off the sixth and grounded out to third.
Pic (5-2), who helped himself at the plate with three RBIs, retired the final five Braves in order -- three on weak ground balls, a flyout and a strikeout. Newton went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position and had zero extra-base hits.
"Sometimes you tip your hat to the other guys," Selitto said. "We helped them a little bit. We didn't play well. We didn't hit the ball well. We lost a little bit of our swagger around the third or fourth inning. I don't think they got intimidated.
"What we had done well all year was get back in the dugout with 1-2-3 innings and be able to tack on runs. I would've liked to see how we matched up with Mahwah. I thought we were destined for [the title game]."
Despite the loss, Newton can look back on a special season, including its first Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division title. In addition, the bulk of the team returns next year, sans senior starters Morro, second baseman Joey Selitto and Branham. Junior catcher Charlie Grotyohann had a breakout season behind the plate, while junior left fielder Justin Smith produced around 40 hits from the leadoff spot.
"This is still a relatively young team," John Selitto said. "I love the way the program has turned. We want this to be a regular occurrence, where we're playing for a state title. That has to be the norm. A lot of good things happened for us. I'm already excited for next year."
PASCACK HILLS (ab-r-h-rbi) -- Messinger rf 4-1-1-1, Cirieco ss 4-2-2-2, Poleway cf 3-2-1-0, Spelling lf 1-2-0-2, Molinelli 2b 2-1-1-2, Pic p 3-0-1-3, MacLetti cr 0-0-0-0, Weinstein 3b 3-1-1-0, Chiavelli c 2-0-0-0, Trumbetti cr 0-2-0-0, Benducci 1b 2-2-1-1. Totals: 24-13-8-11.
NEWTON (ab-r-h-rbi) -- Smith lf 4-1-2-0, Selitto 2b 2-0-0-0, Cramer cf 3-0-2-1, Morro 1b-p 3-1-1-0, Maker 3b 3-1-1-0, Grant p-1b 1-0-1-2, Branham cr 0-0-0-0, Leifken p 1-0-0-0, Vasquez dh/Castle rf 3-0-0-0, Thomas ss 2-0-1-0, Bernotas ph 1-0-0-0, Grotyohann c 3-0-0-0. Totals: 26-3-9-3.
Pascack Hills (11-14) 001 714 -- 13 8 3
Newton (18-7) 102 000 -- 3 9 4
E -- Pic, Benducci, Weinstein; Thomas 3, Maker. DP -- Pascack Hills 1 (Pic-Cirieco-Benducci, 4th inning). LOB -- Pascack Hills 12; Newton 7. 2B -- Poleway, Cirieco. SB -- Thomas. CS -- Cirieco. Sac -- Chiavelli; Selitto. SF -- Spelling.
Grant, Morro (4), Leifken (5) and Grotyohann. Pic and Chiavelli. W -- Pic (5-2). L -- Grant (5-1). SO-BB -- Grant 2-6, Morro 1-4, Leifken 0-4; Pic 4-1. WP -- Pic 4; Morro 1, Leifken 1.
