Baseball: Governor Livingston keeps winning, rally to win in Group 2 semifinal
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BERKELEY HEIGHTS — One more game.
That’s all that’s standing in the way of Governor Livingston completing a perfect season and claiming back-to-back state Group 2 titles for the first time in school history.
The Highlanders earned that opportunity with a hard-fought, 8-6 victory over Haddonfield in the state semifinal round on Monday on the turf at Snyder Park, as the wet conditions forced the contest to be moved from the high school field.
Gov. Livingston (27-0) will be seeking perfection when it takes on West Morris, which defeated Glen Rock, 6-2 in the other semifinal, in Saturday’s championship game at 4 p.m. at Veterans Park’s Bob DeMeo Field in Hamilton.
Although there was plenty of drama, the Highlanders did not require a walk-off hit to advance as it has twice already in the state tournament. This time, Gov. Livingston squandered a 3-0 cushion, then broke through for five runs in fifth to regain control of the contest.
“Heavyweight battle right there, two top five teams in New Jersey. That team’s unbelievable,” GL coach Chris Roof said of Haddonfield. “It was a heck of a win for us, it really was.”
While the change of venue did not affect Highlander starter Keith Mann (9-0), who struck out 10 and walked one in 5 1/3 innings of seven-hit pitching, it may have affected his battery-mate.
Catcher Michael Basile delivered the second of back-to-back doubles with a towering drive to left in the first, knocking in Michael Novotny, then led off a two-run third inning with another blast to left-center for a triple.
“I think both of them would have had a chance, the first one would definitely have been gone because we have a short left field,” Basile claimed of the venue shift. “A lot of these state games have been really close because we waited to get going and we finally started hitting in the sixth, seventh inning, so it’s nice to take the lead so the pitcher can pitch with more confidence.”
Mann, meanwhile, was cruising, retiring the first 11 batters he faced, fanning the last five. When asked what was working he simply replied “everything.”
“I had every pitch, I had slider, change-up, curveball,” Mann offered. “I had everything and that’s why I was so successful.”
Haddonfield (24-6) finally broke through the second time through its lineup, stringing together back-to-back singles, a hit batter, and a two-run double by Will Solak, all with two outs, to knot the score at 3-3.
You don’t win 33 consecutive games as the Highlanders have without brining resilient, and another surge by the Union County champs felt inevitable.
“That’s the team that we have,” Roof said. “There’s a lot of teams, that, if they take a lead and then they come back and tie it, or get close or take the lead, they fold. Not our guys. Our guys are mentally tough, nothing bothers them. If we haven’t proven that already with what we’ve done all year and what we’ve done in the state tournament, I mean, come on.”
The breakthrough came in the bottom of the fifth as Governor Livingston’s first eight batters reached base, leading to a five-run uprising and an 8-3 lead. Designated hitter Matty Diskin, who went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, contributed the big hit in the inning with a two-run triple, Zach Geertsma drove in a run with a single and Basile plated another on a grounder to third. The Highlanders also capitalized on a bad throw on a bunt and a dropped fly ball in the winning rally.
But Haddonfield showed its mettle in the top of the sixth as its first three batters singled to load the bases and pinch-hitter Owen Ryan cleared them with a triple down the right-field line to narrow the deficit to 8-6.
Anthony DeNora took over on the mound for Gov. Livingston and escaped the jam with a pair of grounders, then retired the first two batters in the seventh before issuing a walk on a full count. DeNora then fanned clean-up hitter Jackson Gayer on the three pitches, looking, and the Highlanders moved one step closer to perfection.
“That’s a first for me, for us,” Roof said of his squad’s bid for back-to back titles. “It’s great. Anything can happen in one game and we’re looking forward and really excited to win it again.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: Governor Livingston tops Haddonfield in Group 2 semis
