Spotswood breaks its meeting on the mound around starter Carter Cumiskey before their Central Jersey Group 2 semifinal game against Delran in Spotswood on May 30, 2023. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Yogi Berra famously said, “It ain’t over til it’s over.” And that was certainly the case at the place they affectionately call “The Swamp” on Tuesday afternoon.
Third-seed Spotswood rallied from a 2-1 deficit to score three runs in the fifth – on just one hit, four walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch – and ultimately beat 10-seed Delran 5-3. The win puts the Chargers (21-7) in the Central Jersey Group 2 title game Friday at top-seed Rumson (20-5), their first trip to a sectional final since they won it in 2010.
It got interesting in the top of the seventh, with Jackson Walsh pitching his second inning of relief, and Spotswood having a 5-2 lead.
Leadoff hitter Nick Merunka reached on an infield hit, then Walsh hit Owen Friddell, and walked Michael Papi to load the bases with no one out. After a liner to Ryan Orth at second for the first out, and strikeout for the second, Owen Hoffman lined a hard single to drive in a run and make it 5-3..
But Walsh bore down, and got DH Jeff Conrad looking – his third backward K of the game – to finish off the visiting Bears (14-8-1).
Spotswood took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when a two-out infield hit by starting pitcher Carter Cumiskey drove in Breckyn DeAngelis, who’d led off the inning with a single.
But Delran got two in the third to take its only lead of the game. Merunka led off with a single, Friddell got hit, and Papi reached on an unassisted fielder’s choice to the shortstop who got the out at second. Michael Shaw knocked in both runs with a single up the middle, but after a bunt got Andrew Madison on, Cumiskey got the next two outs to limit the damage.
Spotswood scored three times in the fifth. Seb Saracino led off with a walk, and advanced to second when a pickoff attempt by the Delran catcher sailed into right field. Shawn Lennan drove him in with a single. After a popup to second by DeAngelis, Casey Cumiskey was intentionally walked, and Carter Cumiskey grounded back to the pitcher, leaving runners at second and third with two outs.
Lennan scored on a wild pitch, then after walks to Walsh and Dylan Kartelias, Chris Bottiglieri got hit to drive in the fourth run, but Ryan Orth struck out to end the inning.
Spotswood got an insurance run in the fifth on an RBI single by Carter Cumiskey, who got the win, while Jackson Walsh took the save.
Click below to hear postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen, as Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko spoke with Carter Cumiskey and Jackson Walsh:
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