Baseball: Spotswood pitchers show grit in GMCT quarterfinal shutout win
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SPOTSWOOD – Sometimes, pitching just comes down to having guts. Sucking it up. Battling on the mound with base runners on and heavy hitters at the plate.
Thursday, that’s what Spotswood did in the Chargers’ 4-0 win over South River in the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament quarterfinal.
Will Buchan, Leo Carone and Sebby Saracino combined on a two-hitter as Spotswood scored in the first and then in the fifth and twice in the sixth for some breathing room.
Buchan allowed one hit and a walk in five shutout innings with six strikeouts. Carone and Saracino each navigated through trouble in the sixth and seventh innings to close out the win at The Swamp.
Next up, the eighth-seeded Chargers (14-8) will meet fifth-seeded St. Joseph in Saturday’s semifinal at host East Brunswick Magnet at 2:30 p.m. The first semifinal features No. 11 Edison against No. 10 Middlesex.
Spotswood beat ninth-seeded Monroe 3-1 in Monday’s first round after taking the early lead and letting its pitching and defense take over. Fredricks noted that Thursday was “the same recipe.”
All three Spotswood hurlers would have been an unlikely pitching combo in an elimination game at this time last season. In fact, the three threw a combined one inning in 2024. Buchan, a senior righthander, didn’t pitch at all last season after recovering from offseason elbow surgery.
The 6-foot-6 Buchan eased back into action this spring and has mostly been used as a reliever. Thursday, he lasted five innings and 89 pitches in his longest outing of the season when his team needed him the most.
“He’s back,” Spotswood head coach Glenn Fredricks said. “I mean, he looked great today. He looked outstanding, was throwing all three of his pitches for strikes, commanding the strike zone. Every time he was getting out ahead of people.”
In the fifth with Spotswood up 1-0, Buchan allowed his first hit of the game to Julien Borusovic, a clean single to center field. He then got a double play and a strikeout.
So, was he feeling fresh out there, ending the inning strong?
“I wouldn’t say fresh,” Buchan said. “I was definitely getting a little fatigued toward the end there. I wouldn’t say I’m not built up to that – but it was the longest start of the year … definitely took a little toll on my body but I think it was definitely a bear down and bulldog performance, I would say, as you’re getting more tired out there.”
He noted the key all game was to fill up the strike zone with his fastball and curveball and “just hope they hit it to my guys because I know they’ll make the plays behind me.”
Wednesday, Spotswood had to practice indoors in the school’s gym because of rain and practiced double plays. It worked. Thursday, Spotswood turned two in each of the last three innings to stop late South River rallies.
Spotswood took a 1-0 lead in the first and Buchan said that helped take some pressure off him. He can thank himself. Carter Cumiskey singled with one out and Buchan followed with a double to deep left field for the 1-0 edge.
Buchan also credited the whole lineup in the win. No. 9 hitter Stephen Henits had a 2-for-3 day with an RBI and a run scored and Cumiskey added two hits, a sac fly-RBI and scored a run.
No. 16-seeded South River (14-6) upset top-seeded Woodbridge 2-1 in nine innings in Monday’s first round. The rolling Rams topped No. 17 South Brunswick 13-1 in Saturday’s play-in game. They were confident with high-level pitcher Julius Rosado on the mound.
He allowed four runs (two earned) in five innings with six strikeouts in a fun pitching duel.
“All respect in the world to South River, coach (Mike) Lepore and everything those guys do over there,” Fredricks said. “This is never ever ever going not be an absolute battle to the end.”
Spotswood added two insurance runs in the sixth as John Lubin and Gavin Romeo got back-to-back infield singles, in which they beat the throw at first. Spotswood scored a run on an error and Henits looped an RBI single as it dropped on the edge of the grass in center field to make it 4-0.
In the seventh, Saracino walked three hitters but got a double play and a strikeout to end the game.
“He usually has more command than that,” Fredricks said, “but hey, look, he’s got the most heart and our whole foundation is predicated on being able to have guts and have heart and Sebby’s got both.”
It seems like the whole team does, right coach?
“Yeah, we do,” he said. “We do.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: Spotswood tops South River in GMCT quarters
