It might sound counterintuitive to say that pitching highlighted a doubleheader in which a combined 23 runs were scored, but both Woodbridge and Colonia got some highlight efforts Saturday afternoon as they split a doubleheader in Colonia.
The twinbill – heard Saturday on Central Jersey Sports Radio and sponsored by Woodbridge Township – was made necessary when Thursday’s matchup under the lights at Woodbridge was called due to rain in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Patriots up 4-3.
In Game One, the Barrons won 6-4 to extend their winning streak to five games. Starting pitcher Matt Medvetz went five innings, allowing just 3 hits and 2 earned runs, striking out 9 Colonia batters. His performance was much-needed considering the Barrons’ ace, Josh Vazquez – like Pats’ ace J.T. Kroner – threw over 50 pitches in Thursdays’s rainout and was unavailable Saturday.
Click below to hear a replay of Game One. (Woodbridge 6, Colonia 4)
In Game Two, Colonia’s Tyler Mendez – making his first varsity appearance – came on in relief of starter Harrison Brindley and pitched five solid innings out of the ‘pen. Though he allowed four runs, it was the length of the outing that was key, preventing head coach Mike Scialfo from having to go further into his bench.
But even in defeat, Woodbridge got a thrilling and gutsy performance from freshman Eddy Nunez, who struck out 14 in six innings of work. That’s at least a recent best for a freshman at Woodbridge, though whether it’s a record is unknown.
Current Rutgers ace Harry Rutkowski struck out a season-high 13 in his freshman debut on April 12, 2014 in a 3-2 loss at Sayreville.
The strikeouts were the thrilling part. The gutsy part came in the fourth inning when Nunez, already nine strikeouts into his day, was drilled on the right shoulder – his throwing arm – by a line drive off the bat of Colonia second baseman Benjie Pabon.
It caromed to first baseman Matt Medvetz, who stepped on the bag for the out, and after a brief delay, Nunez walked it off, stayed in the game, and struck out five more batters.
Click below to hear a replay of Game Two. (Colonia 7, Woodbridge 6)
Colonia snapped a three-game skid with the Game Two victory, improving to 3-3. Woodbridge had its five-game win streak snapped in the second game, and drops to 5-3.