4 days Ago By Home News Tribune | My Central Jersey
HILLSBOROUGH – The high school baseball season might be just two weeks old, but life in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division does not afford much time to ease into things. North Hunterdon might just be ready to become a factor just in time.The defending Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament champions got outstanding production from their bottom of the order and a good effort from junior righty Hunter Brown to beat Hillsborough 9-7 Tuesday afternoon in very blustery conditions.
More: Baseball April roundup: Results, analysis, links for GMC, Skyland and area Union CountyMore: Vote: Central Jersey Area Readers’ Choice Baseball Player of the Week poll for Week 1The Lions (3-6 overall, 1-4 in division) beat Phillipsburg 3-2 Monday behind senior righty Brandon Suler in a rematch of last year’s H/W/S/T final. The inter-division win ended a six-game losing streak.“We won yesterday, and we said let’s take that win and carry it into the next one,” said North coach Derek Yocum.
It snapped Hillsborough’s four-game win streak as the Lions got their first division win. The two meet again Thursday in Clinton.First baseman Graham Berry (4-for-4, two runs scored), right fielder Nick Politi (1-for-3, two runs scored), left fielder Connor Hanson (1-for-3, two runs scored) and shortstop Ty Kane (2-for-3, run scored, three RBIs) were a combined 8-for-13 with seven runs scored.
Leadoff hitter and center fielder Alex Famolari went 3-for-5 and two RBIs and scored a run.So, it was not all the bottom of the order guys producing, but they made a significant impact.“That’s what we've been looking for – we were looking for these guys to put together a day like this,” said Yocum, whose team had 14 hits.
“We are asking some guys to step up, we have had some injuries, and you know guys are coming in and doing the job. I am happy with the way that the bottom of the order came through for us.“The best thing is we saw a lot of smiles on the kids faces from the bottom of the order.
We were struggling there in the last few games, but today they came out and swung the bats really well and had some really good at bats.”North trailed 2-0 after one inning but scored two in the second on a fielder’s choice ground out by Hanson and an opposite-field single to left by Kane. Kane walked with the bases loaded in the third and Alex Famolari’s two-run single gave North a 5-2 lead.
Brown went four innings, allowing seven hits, five walks and four earned runs. He struck out five. Nick DeSimone pitched the last three innings.
Hillsborough (5-2, 3-2) had 12 hits. Four different players had two hits apiece and senior catcher Alex Reiling went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. “We never really felt like it was out of reach, but what concerned me was that we’d score and we’d give it right back,” said Hillsborough coach Matt Mosko.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: North Hunterdon tops Hillsborough.
