Lawrence rolls to fifth straight victory
PRINCETON » One of the hottest high school baseball teams in Mercer County is probably not one you would guess. But it is one you should probably become accustomed to see winning again.
Head coach Andrew Septer’s Lawrence High baseball team won its fifth consecutive game by defeating Princeton Day School on the road Saturday, 10-5.
That pushed the Cardinals’ record to 6-5, impressive not only because it is the first time they are above .500 since 2013, but also because it is already two more wins than the team had a year ago.
“It’s been a long time for our program,” said Lawrence’s Aidan Jodoin, one of seven seniors on this season’s still young squad. “It feels good to get above .500. We all believe in each other more. We’re playing as a unit.”
Jodoin, a center fielder who bats No. 3 in the lineup, was at the core of the good things that happened for Lawrence Saturday despite falling behind the Panthers by two runs twice (2-0 & 3-1) in the first two innings.
After Ryan Castoral doubled and stole third base in the third inning, Jodoin singled him home. One inning later, the visitors tied the game when Chris Nevius singled and his pinch runner, Steve Kop, stole two bases before scoring on a throwing error.
While starting pitcher Colin D’Angelo and reliever Trevor Delcampe kept the home team off the board from the third to the sixth inning, Jodoin got the Cardinals’ offense going again in the fifth when he singled and scored on Ryan Sullivan’s double. Sullivan scored on a two-out single by Adam Zakaria, then Hunter Rivera, who had walked, scored on an error to give Lawrence a 6-3 lead.
Although PDS starting pitcher Matt Nyce retired the first two hitters he faced in the sixth, Jodoin followed a walk to Shea McGuire with an RBI double to ignite a four-run frame.
Rivera had an RBI single and pinch hitter Ean Dauer delivered a two-run single, both off reliever Kevin Flahive, to suddenly put the home team in a 10-3 hole.
“As one of two seniors, I’m trying to bring some energy to our team,” the Panthers’ Luke Franzoni said. “I’m just trying to be a leader. Be positive and pick my teammates up.”
Franzoni, who will be playing at Xavier University next year, did everything he could by homering twice in the game to give him five round-trippers on the season. His two-run home run in the first inning put PDS in front. His RBI double in the second gave the Panther a 3-1 edge, and his solo homer in the seventh ignited another two-run rally.
Franzoni would end the day 3-for-3 with three extrabase hits, two runs scored and four runs batted in.
Jodoin had similar numbers, going 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, but was more excited about pointing Lawrence baseball in a winning direction for the first time in five years. LAWRENCE
abrhbi Castrl dhrf 5 1 10 McGuire lf 31 00 Jodoin cf 32 32 Sullvn 1bp 31 21 Gulino pr 01 00 Rivera 2b 3 3 1 1 Dlcmpe rfp 3 0 1 0 Dauer ph 1 0 1 2 Ciufrda p1b 0 0 0 0 Zakaria 3b 4 0 1 1 Nievus c 4 0 1 0 Kop cr 0 1 0 0 Hiner ss 4000 Totals 33 10 11 7
Lawrence (6-5) PDS (4-3)
PDS
abrhbi Nce p2bss 4 1 1 0 Frnzni ssp 3 2 3 4 Bucceri cf 3 0 0 0 Carrll 2brf 3 1 0 0 Bocian c 2000 Gasprro lf 4010 Sarsfld 1b 1 0 0 1 Flhv rf3bp 4 0 2 0 Powell 3b 2000 Camrno pr 0 1 0 0 ShSingh rf 1 0 0 0
Totals
011 134 0 — 10 2100002—5
E — Sullivan, Nievus, Hiner, Bocian, Powell 2; DP — Lawrence 1; LOB — Lawrence 6, PDS 9; 2B — Castoral, Sullivan, Jodoin, Franzoni; HR — Franzoni 2; SB — Castoral, Rivera 2, Kop 2, Zakaria, Nyce, Franzoni; CS — Kop, Carroll, Sarsfield.
IP H R ER BB SO
LAWRENCE
D’Angelo W,2-0 5.0 4 Delcampe 1.0 1 Ciuffreda 0.2 2 Sullivan 0.1 0 PRINCETON DAY SCHOOL
Nyce L,1-1 5.2 9 9 6 3 4 Flahive 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 Franzoni 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 HbP- by Nyce (Jodoin), by Ciuffreda (Bocian); WP — Flahive; Balk — Nyce.
3 0 2 0
27 5 7 5
2 0 2 0
4 1 2 0
4 1 2 0