Florence survives New Egypt’s surge
NEW EGYPT >> The Florence and New Egypt High baseball players will never forget their 2017 meeting in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I Tournament.
Both sides had good reason for doing so, but it was the game’s unconventional ending which will stick with anyone who witnessed it.
The 13th-seeded Flashes built a sevenrun lead over the first four innings, then proceeded to see the fourth-seeded Warriors rally to within a run heading into the seventh inning.
After relief pitcher Chris Fernicola shut down Florence for a third straight inning, New Egypt loaded the bases with two outs and No. 3 hitter Anthony Burr stepping to theplateagainstFlashesrelieverJeffSmith.
Smith was understandably worried when he saw Burr, who already had three hits in the game, send a ball toward the hole between first and second base. Yet, as Marc Carroll and Jordan Bendick were racing around to score, the game was stopped and Florence rejoiced with a 7-6 win.
Burr came away with his fourth hit of the game, but it apparently skipped off the foot of the runner on first, making the runner out and the bases left loaded.
“Iwasjusttryingtothrowstrikes,then hehittheball,”Smithsaid.“Iguesssomebody was looking out for me. That was a once-in-a-lifetime ending to a game.”
“Still it feels like every game we’ve played with them this season has been like that,” said first-year Flashes head coach Kyle Ballay, whose team survived asimilarcomebackbyNewEgyptintheir last meeting by turning a double play to end the game.
These Burlington County Scholastic LeagueFreedomDivisionfoesmetforthe third time this year, and Florence (7-11) won each meeting. This victory earned it a second-round game at 12th-seeded Keansburg (8-13), which upset fifth-seeded Highland Park, 2-1.
“We’ve been beating teams we weren’t supposed to all year,” Smith said. “And to beat New Egypt, a team we hadn’t beaten in six years, three times this season means a lot.”
What looked like it was going to be a blowout early became a slugfest.
Smith’s RBI single in the first inning FLORENCE
abr h bi Morgan ss 3 2 2 1 Marshall c 4 1 1 3 JLews dh1b 4 0 1 0 Fajgier 3b 0 0 0 0 JSmith 1b-p 4 0 1 1 Arnold lf 3 1 1 1 Hutchisn p 3 1 0 0 Merdth pcf 1 0 0 0 Walachy rf 3 1 1 0 Emery 2b 1 0 0 0 Kramr cf3b 3 1 1 1 Totals 29 7 8 7 E — Fajgier. Flogel; DP — New Egypt 1; LOB — Florence 5, New Egypt 12; 2B — Morgan, Burr, Healy; HR — Marshall, Arnold, Horner, Healy; SF — Morgan; SAC — Peacock; SB — Morgan, Walachy, Burr.
IP H R ER BB SO
FLORENCE Hutchison W,5-1 Meredith JSmith S,1 NEW EGYPT Carroll L,2-4 2.1 5 6 4 4 1 Fernicola 4.2 3 1 1 0 1 HbP- by Hutchison (Horner); WP — Fernicola.
5.2 0.2 0.2 NEW EGYPT
abr h bi Flogel ss 3120 Peacockdh 3 0 0 0 Frncla2bp 0 0 0 0 Burr 3b 5241 Horner 1b 3112 Healy rf 4123 Cristmn pr 0 0 0 0 Frimel lf 4000 Steen c 4000 Carrollp2b 2 0 1 0 Bendick cf 4 1 2 0 Totals 32 612 6
10 1 1
6 0 0
6 0 0
3 1 1
2 0 0
got the visitors on the board, then Jarrod Marshall’s three-run home run in the second inning stretched the lead to 4-0.
ApairofunearnedrunsinthethirdinningspelledtheendforNewEgyptstarting pitcher Marc Carroll. Fernicola came onandonlyallowedasolohomertoLuke Arnold in the fourth the rest of the way.
Afterleavingthebasesloadedinthefirst and second innings, the Warriors began the long road back against Flashes pitcher Michael Hutchison in the fifth inning when Burr led off with a double. Mickey Horner followed with a two-run blast over the leftfieldfence,thenConnorHealyaddedasolo shot and the home team was on its way.
“We needed something to get us going,” Horner said. “Their starting pitcher threw a helluva game, but we didn’t want our season to end.”
New Egypt (9-10) showed that in the sixth when an RBI single by Burr and a two-run double by Healy trimmed the gap to a run.
In the bottom of the seventh, Carroll, who moved to second base when Fernicola took the mound, walked, and Bendick singled against reliever Joey Meredith with one out.
Smith came one and got the second out before Nate Peacock walked to fill the bases for Burr and the game became more memorable.
“To our kids’ credit, they kept going at them,” Warriors head coach Tom Corby said. “In the end, they came up a heel short.”