Lawrenceville edges Peddie to begin Prep action
Considering it was unclear whether the Lawrenceville and Peddie School baseball teams would be able to play their season opener Monday as late as four days ago, it was quite the accomplishment for the teams to be on William M. Thompson Field.
The fact both squads kept going at each other right down to the final out, only added to the realization that another baseball season is upon us.
The home team would have liked one more thing to go their way, and the visitors walked away content with their resolve after Lawrenceville survived with a 7-6 victory.
“No, not at all, did I think we’d be playing,” Big Red senior Evan Monfre said. “This is the first time we’ve been out on a field since we returned from our Spring Break trip to Florida.”
Monfre made the most of his return with a 3-for-4 day at the plate in which he scored twice and drove in two runs. Those two RBIs came at the game’s most critical point.
With his team trailing, 6-4, with two outs and two on in the top of the seventh, Monfre fell behind Falcons reliever Justin Moreno, 0-2, in the count. He then proceeded to work the count full before unloading a blast to left field, which went for a two-run, game-tying double with the outfield fence not installed yet.
Two batters later, Monfre would score the winning run when he was singled in by Chris Conyers, who was 4-for-5 with three RBIs.
“That was a great at-bat by Evan. He extended it, wore him down and earned that hit,” Lawrenceville head coach Steve LaRochelle said. “Our guys didn’t give up down two runs in the sixth and seventh innings. You love to see that kind of fight in them.”
With Peddie starting pitcher Aaron Kats on the mound, the Big Red were not as fortunate. Kats, a sophomore righthander, allowed two runs, while walking one and striking out nine the first five innings.
“It’s tough when you lose like that, but it was definitely fun to be out here,” Kats said. “It’s good for us to play some close games.”
After leaving the mound, Kats never left the field, playing four different positions and coming to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with a chance to win the game.
With Erick Patterson and Moreno on base after walks, Kats ripped a pitch from winning hurler Caspian Packard along the thirdbase line, only to see L’ville third baseman Will Venizelos dive and short-hop the ball before stepping on the bag for the final out. Venizelos had gone head-to-head with Kats on the mound for the first five innings before moving over to the hot corner.
“We did a lot of things well, but it’s still hard when you’re one out away,” Peddie head coach Erik Treese said. “Aaron pitched great and put us in the position we wanted to be in. We have a lot of young kids who have started to take the next step. But we still have to finish out games.”
The Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Pat Cettina and Moreno doubled, then were driven in by Kats and Jarrett Hillman. Monfre got Lawrenceville going in the top of the third with an infield hit, then scored along with Conyers to knot the game. When Peddie scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth, it made it an easier decision for Treese to lift Kats after five innings and 80 pitches.
Even after the Big Red rallied to tie the game at 4 on RBI singles by Conyers and Venizelos in the top of the sixth, the home team came back with two more runs of its own in the bottom of the frame as Moreno walked, stole two bases and scored on a ground out by Kats, then Jake Naddelman, who was courtesy-running for Hillman (walk) came around on a two-out double by freshman Jim Famularo.
Monfre had the final say in the top of the seventh to help keep both squads keep playing down to the final rays of sunlight on this crisp March afternoon.
The Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Pat Cettina and Moreno doubled, then were driven in by Kats and Jarrett Hillman. Monfre got Lawrenceville going in the top of the third with an infield hit, then scored along with Conyers to knot the game. When Peddie scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth, it made it an easier decision for Treese to lift Kats after five innings and 80 pitches.