The strikeouts came in every form: swinging and staring, foul-tipped and dirt-covered, on high fastballs and buried sliders.
For an out shy of ten full innings, pitchers ruled the afternoon at Colonia High School, where the top-seeded Patriots hosted 4-seed North Hunterdon in the North 2, Group 3 semifinals.
It was only fitting that a pitcher got the last laugh, too.
With two outs in the 10th, Colonia left fielder-turned-reliever Colin Kroner lifted a single down the right-field line to score the game’s only run and punch the Patriots’ ticket to their first sectional final since 2018.
Kroner’s hit was the second for Colonia and the fourth of the entire game. The teams combined for 33 strikeouts, 13 walks, and seven fly balls into the outfield.
What was a high school baseball matchup felt, for long stretches, like a Friday night, Division 1 showdown between Colonia’s Cory Pascarella (a Monmouth signee) and North Hunterdon’s Alex Famolari, who’s pledged to attend Duke.
Coming off a 16-strikeout no-hitter in the quarterfinals, Pascarella was almost as dominant Tuesday, striking out 12 more over 7.2 innings and 114 pitches. It was the senior’s third straight start of 7 or more shutout innings.
Famolari was equally superb over six scoreless. The only hit against him rocketed through the right side of the infield, vacated on a hit-and-run.
Before Kroner’s game-winning single, run-scoring situations were few and far between. Famolari loaded the bases in the 6th after a two-out walk followed that lone hit-and-run, but his final pitch of the game — a breaking ball — notched his 10th strikeout. It was the game’s only at-bat with a runner on third base.
North Hunterdon’s best chance came in the fifth, which Zach Linzer led off with a looper over third base — the only hit Pascarella allowed. Jadon Krisanda followed with a walk. But, Pascarella locked in from there, retiring the next three batters to keep the game scoreless.
Even when the teams turned custody of the pitcher’s duel over to their bullpens, hitters were kept in check thanks to Kroner and North Hunterdon’s Hunter Brown, who each posted five strikeouts and surpassed two innings.
It’s what made Kroner’s tenth-inning single all the more striking — a timely hit, finally! With Joe Massimino on second after a walk and sacrifice bunt, Kroner sprayed the first pitch he saw inside the right-field line. The Seton Hall commit was greeted near second base by a pack of rabid Patriots, hungry for both a state championship ring and revenge after a first-round exit from the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament.
Colonia will host second-seed South Plainfield on Thursday in the North 2, Group 3 title game. The Patriots have yet to concede a run in the state playoffs, and North Hunterdon’s two hits were the first Colonia has allowed over three sectional games.
Click below for postgame reaction from Colonia’s Colin Kroner, Cory Pascarella and head coach Mike Scialfo, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
