Scotch Plains displayed plenty of offense throughout its impressive Union County Tournament run which ended with a heartbreaking, 7-5 semifinal loss to Elizabeth in an 8-inning contest where the fans at Williams Field were treated to a true barnburner. Here, Gary Binkiewicz (40) receives "high 5's" from Mike Ridge (center) and Ryan McCarthy (32). (Photo by Todd Mundt)

Elizabeth’s Dramatic Semifinal Victory
Sets The Stage For Top-Flight UCT Final

.... THIS WEEK IN UNION COUNTY BASEBALL
By JR Parachini
For sidelinechatter.com

ELIZABETH - When you begin to learn the game of baseball - say in Little League - it's quite often that the most undistinguished player is put in right field and is batting ninth in the order.

Sammy Rosario was such a player for Elizabeth Saturday in his team's Union County Tournament semifinal game against visiting Scotch Plains.

However, Rosario proved that it's just as tough to get the No. 9 batter out as it is to get any other player that hits above him in the lineup.

With Elizabeth behind by a run, down to its final strike and with two outs and runners on second and third in the bottom of the eighth, Rosario remained calm, cool and collected against Scotch Plains starter Gary Binkiewicz - a sophomore righthander who was about to throw his 121st pitch.

Binkiewicz quickly got ahead 0-2 before he threw a waste pitch low and away for a ball.

Tension was in the air as everyone in attendance was provided with high drama in the bottom of the eighth of this see-saw UCT semifinal.

Would visiting Scotch Plains get out of the jam and reach its first UCT final in four years or would host Elizabeth at least find a way to tie the game and keep it going.

With the Minutemen seeking to reach their first UCT final in 13 years, No. 13 - that being senior rightfielder and righty batting Sammy Rosario - immediately saw a ball he could hit and took it the other way, smacking a 1-2 pitch that just kept on going before it eventually cleared the right field fence.

Three-run homer! Elizabeth wins 7-5! The Minutemen reach their first UCT championship game since 1995.

Now all Elizabeth has to do next Saturday to become the first top seed to win the UCT since 1995 is beat the No. 1 pitcher in the county - Westfield's hard-throwing junior righthander Chris Jenkins - to win its first UCT title since 1991.

The last four times, including this year, Elizabeth's opponent in the final has been Westfield, which has won the most county titles with 12.

That is what Elizabeth is preparing for at the moment. However, Saturday's victory is till fresh in the minds of the Minutemen. How could it not be? Elizabeth has been making a habit the last couple of seasons of producing big-time come-from-behind victories at home.

Just ask Westfield, who Elizabeth will host in next Saturday's UCT final at 2 p.m. Just last year, Elizabeth came back from an 8-1 deficit at Williams Field against the Blue Devils and won 12-8, scoring 11 unanswered runs in the bottom of the seventh without making a single out.

Elizabeth also produced a couple of comeback victories this season before Saturday's win over Scotch Plains, although none quite as dramatic as last year's win over Westfield or Saturday's triumph over Scotch Plains.

"So much adrenalin was running through everybody," Rosario said. "We were down, but we had a little talk and knew we could do it.

"In my last at-bat, my game plan was to at least hit a line drive and tie the game up, but it ended up going out."

What was interesting was that Rosario thinks he hit a curveball, while his head coach Ray Korn said it was a fastball. Korn also didn't think his shot was going to hit the fence when he first looked up

"I didn't think it was going to, but I knew the wind was blowing that way and it could carry that way. I told my outfielders that the ball is going to die to left, but carry to right.

"Sammy has been in and out. We had a good discussion the other day when he wanted to know why he wasn't playing. I said, 'it's because you're getting under pitches and jumping at them.' So we worked on it and I put him in the lineup today (Saturday).

"I asked him if he was ready and he said, 'I'm ready.' Then I said, 'go make a contribution' and he sure did."

55TH ANNUAL UNION COUNTY TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL GAME

SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2 P.M. AT ELIZABETH'S WILLIAMS FIELD

2-Westfield and junior righthander Chris Jenkins vs. 1-Elizabeth and senior righthander Gio Caraballo

How much drama will next Saturday's UCT championship game produce?

Hopefully plenty.

One player who will be chomping at the bit this week is Jenkins, who said he was sick when Westfield shut out Elizabeth 9-0 in Westfield in Watchung Conference play on May 1. The teams are scheduled to play at Elizabeth in conference play again on May 19, just two days after the teams will play each other in the UCT final at Williams Field.

" Elizabeth is always a very scrappy team," Jenkins said. "They do everything they can to win.

"It's not going to be easy, but I'm confident in myself and I'm confident in my team."

Senior first baseman Mike Cappiello, who had the game-winning hit in Westfield's 5-1 UCT semifinal victory over Cranford Saturday, which was a three-run homer in the top of the first, remembers last year's seventh-inning regular season loss at Elizabeth.

"I was kind of getting a little bit worried when Cranford had the bases loaded in the sixth, because I remember the way Elizabeth came back to beat us last year," Cappiello said. "But I had confidence in Chris to get his pitches over and throw strikes and that's what he did."

THE LAST TIME ELIZABETH WAS IN THE UCT FINAL, BILL CLINTON WAS STILL SERVING HIS FIRST TEAM AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND BUCK SHOWALTER WAS MANAGING WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE HIS LAST SEASON IN THE BRONX

Some might find it surprising that it has taken Elizabeth 13 years to get back to the final. The Minutemen last made it in 1995 when they lost in the championship game to Westfield for the second straight season.

Westfield won the 1995 title as the top seed. Elizabeth is attempting to win the UCT as the top seed for the first time since that 1995 season.

Here Korn explains why it has taken Elizabeth so long to get back to the final:

"We have to play a little bit better defense and get better pitching," Korn said. "These are different kids. Look at what we used to have. When we were playing in the county tournament we had two drafted pitchers throwing in the 90s."

In the 1980s, Elizabeth was in the county final four years in a row from 1982-1985, winning twice and losing twice. When the Minutemen were last in it in back-to-back years in 1994 and 1995, they were led on the mound by righthander Al Hawkins during his sophomore and junior seasons. Hawkins - a gifted three-sport standout (football, basketball and baseball) - went on to play minor league baseball.

"We were, with Toms River South, the two best teams in New Jersey for 10 years," Korn said. "It's different now. The kids are smaller and I don't think they're as committed because they have so many other things to look forward to. You have IPods, cell phones, girlfriends, proms."

It took Elizabeth 12 years, which was last year, just to make it back to the semifinals. Just outside of that span, Westfield went on to win a record four straight UCT titles from 1994-1997. During that span, Cranford won its first five UCT crowns, beginning with its first three - all in a row - from 1999-2001.

"You have great coaches now," Korn said. "Frankie (Napolitano, in his second year), is going to do a great job at Union. Dave (Kennedy) will at Clark (Johnson) once he gets it going his way.

"Look at Dennis (McCaffery) and what he has done at Cranford, which is turned it around. Dennis was the Big East Player of the Year. He could play and he can coach.

"Tom (Baylock) is a great coach. I sent things to Tommy all the time on pitching and you could see he's using them. His kids come in and they pitch. They can pitch with their breaking ball and with their fastball."

Another county head coach who was a longtime assistant to Ray is Linden's Dan Mondelli, who guided the Tigers to another North 2, Group 4 playoff appearance this season and has also led Linden to one UCT final.

Let's not forget Bob Brewster, in his 26th year as the head coach at Westfield and who started his term with the Blue Devils just three years after Korn took over at Elizabeth.

Brewster has an 8-3 record in 11 UCT finals and is 6-0 in his last six, including two titles in this decade in 2002 and 2006.

Brewster is also 3-2 against Korn in five UCT championship games.

"When you talk about some of the elite programs in New Jersey, Elizabeth is right up there," Brewster said. " Cranford is right up there for how well they always play the game of baseball.

"To be in the finals is an honor, anytime, and to be against them it doesn't get any better than that because they are a class program and they play good baseball.

"What we have to do is play our game and hope for the best."

NOTES: Cranford junior leftfielder Adam Fanelli went 1-for-3 against Jenkins and turned out to be the only Cranford batter to hit safely against him in both meetings this year. Fanelli and Cranford will not face Westfield and Jenkins again until next season, provided Westfield is a non-conference opponent of the Cougars. Fanelli also got a hit off Don Bosco Prep senior righthander Mike Dennhardt, who will continue on scholarship at Boston College.

If Cranford can take anything from its 5-1 UCT semifinal setback against Westfield was that it hit might have hit Jenkins harder than any team so far this season. The Cougars just failed to produce a big, run-scoring hit, especially in the sixth when they had the bases loaded and nobody out.

"I give a lot of credit to Cranford," Brewster said right after his team's win. "No. 1 - I asked Brian Chapman ( Cranford's third base coach) 'what did you guys do to get ready to hit him?' He said, 'we saw a lot of good pitchers in the last two weeks and that sort of picked our game up and picked our bats up.'

"That to me was the big thing. They didn't do anything different than they normally do in batting practice. They just saw a lot of good pitching in the last few weeks and that got them ready for us, so they put the bat on the ball.

"Chris realized that he could not just sit back and throw the fastball. So, he threw a lot more sliders than he usually throws."

Cranford will now seek to get to the North 2, Group 3 final for the third straight year and hope to win it for the second straight season.

Westfield will seek to have success again in North 2, Group 4. Last year the Blue Devils reached the final.

The states begin the week of May 19, with sectional semifinals scheduled for May 27 and finals for May 30.

UNION COUNTY TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

AT WILLIAMS FIELD, ELIZABETH

FIRST SEMIFINAL - ELIZABETH WON COIN TOSS TO BE HOME TEAM

4-SCOTCH PLAINS (13-6) 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 - 5 6 2

1-ELIZABETH (14-3, 4 in a row) 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 4 - 7 9 2

SCOTCH PLAINS STARTING PITCHER:

Gary Binkiewicz, sophomore righthander (4-2)

7 2/3 innings: 121 pitches, 7 ruins-6 earned, nine hits,

4 strikeouts, 2 walks, 1 hit batter

1-2-3 innings in the first, fifth and seventh

ELIZABETH STARTING PITCHER:

Gio Caraballo, senior righthander

6 innings: 87 pitches, 3 runs-all earned, 5 hits,

3 strikeouts, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch

1-2-3 innings in the first, second and fifth

ELIZABETH RELIEF PITCHER:

Roberto Ramos, junior righthander (2-0)

2 innings: 36 pitches, 2 runs-both earned, 1 hit,

1 strikeout, 1 walk

SCOTCH PLAINS LINEUP:

7-Joe D'Annunzio, sophomore center fielder: 0-for-3;

walked in seventh

40-Gary Binkiewicz, sophomore starting pitcher (bats lefty): 0-for-4

13-Kevin Maroney, junior first baseman (bats lefty): 2-for-4;

bunt single down 3B line in fourth, double down RF line in eighth and scored

10-James Dinizio, senior catcher: 1-for-4;

reached on fielder's choice in fourth and scored,

opposite field double to right in sixth and scored

33-John Maxwell, sophomore designated hitter (bats lefty): 0-for-3;

hit by pitch and scored in sixth,

reached on RBI 3-2 fielder's choice and scored in eighth

18-Tom Hercel, senior right fielder: did not bat

25-Nick Bonadies, junior second baseman: 2-for-3;

infield single in the fourth, opposite field two-run single to right in sixth,

RBI sacrifice fly 9 in eighth

6-Brian Piccola, senior left fielder: 1-for-4;

opposite field RBI-double to right-center in the fourth

12-Marcus Rivera, sophomore shortstop: 0-for-3;

reached on infield error in third

44-Mike Ridge, sophomore shortstop: 0-for-3;

reached on infield error in third

SCOTCH PLAINS RAIDERS (13-6):

3-Tyler Dellabadia (6-5, 185), junior pitcher

6-Brian Piccola (5-9, 175), senior pitcher-outfielder

7-Joe D'Annunzio (5-11, 170), sophomore outfielder

8-Jon Kosenick (5-10, 170), junior pitcher

10-James Dinizio (6-1, 185), senior catcher-outfielder

11-Ricky Shevlin (5-10, 180), sophomore pitcher-third baseman

12-Marcus Rivera (5-8, 165), freshman pitcher-third baseman

13-Kevin Maroney (6-5, 170), junior pitcher-first baseman

18-Tom Hercel (6-1, 170), senior outfielder

22-William Hubbard (5-7, 165), senior pitcher

23-Marcus Green (6-2, 220), junior pitcher-outfielder

25-Nick Bonadies (5-9, 160), junior pitcher-second baseman

32-Ryan McCarthy (5-120, 175), junior catcher

33-John Maxwell (5-9, 185), sophomore first baseman-outfielder

34-Louis Mazzella (5-8, 150), sophomore catcher

40-Gary Binkiewicz (6-1, 180), sophomore pitcher-third baseman

44-Mike Ridge (5-7, 150), sophomore shortstop

Head coach: Tom Baylock, since 2004.

ELIZABETH LINEUP:

7-Roberto Ramos, junior center fielder-relief pitcher: 1-for-4;

doubled down left field line, stole third and scored in third inning

17-Junior Livent, senior catcher: 0-for-4

9-Kenny Russell, junior third baseman: 0-for-4

5-Alvin Valerio, junior designated hitter: 2-for-3;

opposite field RBI-single to right and scored on wild pitch in second,

bloop double to center in the third

25-Jean Caro, senior first baseman: did not bat

4-Luis Lorenzo, junior shortstop: 0-for-3;

walked and scored in second

11-Gio Caraballo, senior starting pitcher: 1-for-4;

reached on infield error in sixth, singled to left and scored in eighth

1-Yilson Herrera, junior second baseman: 0-for-1

3-Lenny Azcona, sophomore: 0-for-1

16-Jefry Calderon, junior second baseman (bats lefty): 1-for-2;

RBI-bloop single down left field line and scored in eighth

12-Leo Geronimo, senior left fielder: 2-for-3;

RBI-single to CF in second, infield single down 3B line in fourth,

walked and stole second in sixth

13-Sammy Rosario, senior right fielder: 2-for-4;

singled to center in fourth, walk-off 3-run HR over RF fence in eighth

ELIZABETH MINUTEMEN (14-3, 4 in a row):

1-Yilson Herrera (6-0, 165), junior pitcher-second baseman

3-Kenny Russell (5-7, 158), junior third baseman

3-Lenny Azcona (5-10, 150), sophomore left fielder

4-Luis Lorenzo (5-8, 165), junior shortstop-outfielder

5-Alvin Valerio (6-0, 195), junior first baseman-designated hitter

6-Manny Lastre (5-8, 155), senior pitcher

7-Roberto Ramos (5-10, 155), junior pitcher-shortstop-center fielder

8-Ignacio Livent (5-9, 180), senior catcher

9-Sammy Rosario (5-11, 165), senior outfielder

10-Adriel Reyes (6-0, 175), senior pitcher

11-Gio Caraballo (5-11, 175), senior pitcher-center fielder

12-Leo Geronimo (6-1, 205), senior first baseman-outfielder

16-Jefry Calderon (5-7, 145), junior second baseman-shortstop

18-Joe Jerez (6-3, 275), senior first baseman-designated hitter

19-Chris Muniz (6-0, 150), sophomore pitcher-outfielder

20-Nick Menendez (5-10, 190), senior pitcher

21-Mike Soto (5-10, 185), senior catcher

25-Jean Caro (6-0, 210), senior pitcher-first baseman

25-Eric Villegas (5-9, 155), sophomore pitcher-outfielder

Head coach: Ray Korn, since 1980.

AT-BAT OF THE GAME: Without a doubt, Sammy Rosario's three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth.

DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME: On Brian Piccola's RBI-double the other way to right-center with two outs and runners on first and second in the top of the fourth, Elizabeth executed a 9-3-5 play that produced the inning's third out when the second baserunner on the play was thrown out at third.

SECOND SEMIFINAL - CRANFORD WON COIN TOSS TO BE HOME TEAM

2-WESTFIELD (14-4, 8 in a row) 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 - 5 8 1

3-CRANFORD (13-5) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 1 7 2

CRANFORD STARTING PITCHER:

James Knight, junior righthander (2-3)

6 innings, plus one batter: 96 pitches, 5 runs-all earned, 8 hits,

6 strikeouts, 0 walks, 2 hit batters

1-2-3 inning in the third

CRANFORD RELIEF PITCHER:

Andrew Ciencin, senior righthander

1 inning: 20 pitches, 0 runs, 0 hits,

2 strikeouts, 0 walks

retired all three batters he faced in ninth

WESTFIELD STARTING PITCHER:

Chris Jenkins, junior righthander (5-1)

7 innings: 102 pitches, 1 run-earned, 7 hits,

8 strikeouts, 1 walk, 2 hit batters

1-2-3 innings in first and seventh

he retired side in order in first on four pitches

he struck out the side in order in the seventh

CRANFORD LINEUP:

23-Rob Colaneri, senior designated hitter: 0-for-4

6-Chris Petrowski, senior catcher: did not bat

14-Joe Della Serra, senior center fielder (bats lefty): 2-for-4,

infield single to shortstop in third, solo HR over R-C fence in fifth

19-Andrew Ciencin, senior shortstop-relief pitcher: 0-for-4

17-Dan Moreno, senior first baseman: 0-for-3;

hit by a pitch in the second inning

20-Mike Tubelli, senior third baseman: 1-for-2;

reached on 4-6 fielder's choice in second

singled to left in fourth

5-Vin Gilstrap, senior right fielder (bats lefty): 2-for-3;

opposite field single to left in the second, reached on infield error in fourth,

singled to right in the sixth

10-David Jackson, senior second baseman-shortstop: 0-for-2;

hit by a pitch in the sixth

24-Adam Fanelli, junior left fielder: 1-for-3;

singled up the middle in the fourth

8-James Knight, junior starting pitcher-second baseman: 1-for-3;

opposite field single to right in third

CRANFORD COUGARS (13-5):

5-Vincent Gilstrap (5-10, 180), senior first baseman-outfielder

6-Chris Petrowski (5-9, 190), senior catcher

8-James Knight (6-0, 165), junior pitcher-infielder

1/2-Michael Gaeta (5-11, 160), junior catcher-outfielder

12/3-Christopher Campbell (6-1, 155), senior pitcher-first baseman

14-Joseph Della Serra (5-10, 180), senior outfielder

17-Daniel Moreno (6-2, 225), senior pitcher-first baseman

19-Andrew Ciencin (6-1, 195), senior pitcher-shortstop

20-Michael Tubelli (5-9, 185), senior third baseman

27/23-Robert Colaneri (6-2, 185), senior pitcher-outfielder

36/10-David Jackson (5-8, 165), senior second baseman-shortstop

40/24-Adam Fanelli (6-0, 200), junior pitcher-outfielder

42/1-Anthony Juliano (5-8, 130), senior infielder

49/23-Patrick Gilstrap (5-10, 185), sophomore pitcher-infielder

Head coach: Dennis McCaffery, since 1999.

WESTFIELD LINEUP:

10-Evan Einstein, senior center fielder (bats lefty): 1-for-4;

RBI-double over CF head in second

11-Mark Melino, senior second baseman: 1-for-4;

reached on infield error in first and later in inning out at home on 5-2 fielder's choice,

singled to left in seventh

18-Evan Shapiro, senior shortstop (bats lefty): 1-for-4;

doubled to right and scored in first, reached on infield error in fifth

23-Justin Olsen, senior catcher: 1-for-4;

reached on 5-2 fielder's choice and scored in first,

singled to left in the fifth inning

24-Mike Cappiello, senior first baseman (bats lefty): 1-for-4;

3-run homer over R-C fence in the first inning

15-AJ Murray, freshman right fielder: 1-for-3;

double over LF head and scored in sixth

27-Mike Mosier, senior designated hitter (bats lefty): 0-for-2;

hit by a pitch and scored in second

20-Chris Jenkins, junior starting pitcher: did not bat

6-Mike Melillo, senior third baseman: 2-for-2;

singled to left in second, RBI-single to center in sixth

16-Mike Clark, junior left fielder (bats lefty): 0-for-3

WESTFIELD BLUE DEVILS (14-4, 8 in a row):

18-Evan Shapiro (5-10, 180), senior pitcher-infielder

27-Mike Mosier (5-7, 225), senior infielder-outfielder

24-Mike Cappiello (6-12, 215), senior pitcher-infielder

5-Jesse Embry (5-10, 165), senior outfielder

8-Matt Isabella (5-9, 175), junior infielder

23-Justin Olsen (6-2, 210), senior catcher

9-Mike Nanna (5-8, 155), senior outfielder

22-Ryan Brand (6-0, 190), senior outfielder

19-Ryan Scanlon (5-10, 230), senior pitcher

16-Mike Clark (5-9, 200), junior outfielder

20-Chris Jenkins (6-7, 235), junior pitcher

12-Joe Green (5-7, 145), senior pitcher

11-Mark Melino (5-9, 150), senior infielder

4-Kyle Hayden (5-11, 165), junior pitcher

15-AJ Murray (6-0, 195), freshman outfielder-catcher

Matt Loughlin (6-2, 170), senior first baseman

10-Evan Einstein (5-7, 150), senior outfielder

6-Mike Melillo (5-10, 170), senior pitcher-infielder

21-Joe Vall-Llobera (5-10, 200), senior outfielder

Head coach: Bob Brewster, since 1983.

AT-BAT OF THE GAME: Mike Cappiello's three-run homer with two outs in the top of the first was the game-winning hit and immediately provided ace Chris Jenkins with a 3-0 lead to work with. Cappiello's shot off Knight was a 1-0 fastball that cleared the right-center field (346 feet) fence.

DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME: Evan Einstein made two fine catches right up against the center field wall, but I'll go with the tag Chris Jenkins made on a Cranford baserunner for the first out of the fourth inning. His play, which was a 5-1 fielder's choice at third base on the same play that began with an infield error, prevented Cranford from having first and third and noboby out. "Chris is an extremely bright kid, he's very intelligent," Westfield head coach Bob Brewster said. "He realized where the play could go and he was there waiting and it was a great play. First of all, it should have never happened because we had an easy double play ball, but we threw the ball away. Besides that, Mike Melillo ( Westfield's third baseman) hustled his tail off, with the ball playing off the screen, and he was right there and it was also a good play on his part."

UNION COUNTY TEAMS THAT QUALIFIED FOR THE STATES

AND THEIR RECORDS THOUGH SATURDAY, MAY 10:

Union (11-7) - North 2, Group 4

Elizabeth (14-3) - North 2, Group 4

Roselle Park (10-6) - Central Jersey, Group 2

Brearley (10-4) - Central Jersey, Group 1

Gov. Livingston (13-7) - Central Jersey, Group 2

Summit (11-11) - North 2, Group 2

Hillside (8-7) - Central Jersey, Group 2

Comets make states for first time since 1978.

Linden (11-9) - North 2, Group 4

Roselle (8-8) - Central Jersey, Group 2

Rams make states for the second time in three years

after not qualifying for more than 30 years.

Roselle Catholic (11-7) - Non-Public, North A

Cranford (13-5) - North 2, Group 3

Westfield (14-4) - North 2, Group 4

Scotch Plains (13-6) - North 2, Group 3

New Providence (9-7) - Central Jersey, Group 1

Union Catholic (11-3) - Non-Public, North A

UNION COUNTY POWER RANKINGS

FOR WEEK OF MONDAY, MAY 12:

1. Elizabeth (14-3, 4 in a row)

2. Westfield (14-4, 8 in a row)

3. Cranford (13-5)

4. Scotch Plains (13-6)

5. Union Catholic (11-3)

6. Gov. Livingston (13-7)

7. Union (11-7, 3 in a row)

8. Linden (11-9, 3 in a row)

9. Roselle Catholic (11-7)

10. Brearley (10-4)

CLOSE: Roselle Park (10-6), Summit (11-11), New Providence (9-7, 2 in a row),

Hillside (8-7), Roselle (8-8), Johnson (5-9-1).

For more on the Union County sports scene, read JR's Sports Blog. Just go to our "Links" page and click on localsource.com

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