Baseball
By: Mike Molaro
Now the season comes down to two games for the Lawrence High School baseball squad.
For the Cardinals (7-9 overall, 5-5 in the Colonial Valley Conference) to qualify for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament, they must win their next two games.
Lawrence yesterday (after the Lawrence Ledger’s afternoon deadline) visited Delaware Valley in a non-league contest and travels today (Thursday) to CVC foe Nottingham.
Two victories would bring the Cards to 9-9 overall and give them the necessary .500 record by the state tournament cut-off Friday.
“We know what we have to do,” said Lawrence head coach Brian Carter. “We’ve been playing uphill all year and we have to do it again. We’ve won some big games this year and we have to do it two more times. We didn’t want to be in this position, but we couldn’t get the job done.”
The Cardinals fell Monday at home to CVC foe McCorristin, 8-5, in a game Carter readily admits his guys should’ve won.
Senior right hander Eric Weiner struck out 13 Iron Mikes, drove in a pair of runs, and scored once.
But McCorristin fought back from deficits of 4-0 and 5-4. The Mikes scored four times in the top of the seventh to put the game away.
Senior shortstop Bob Brundage went 3-for-4, including a triple, and scored twice and junior catcher Duane Davis laced a triple.
“This was two completely different games,” Carter added. “We were up 4-0 after four innings but we had no answer for their two rallies. We wanted to win this game and put ourselves in the driver’s seat for the state tournament by having to win only one of our next two games, but we couldn’t get it done.
“A win would’ve given us some breathing room,” he continued. “We had them on the ropes but we couldn’t finish them off.”
The Cardinals took the short trip down Route 206 Friday and defeated cross-town rival Notre Dame, 11-9, in a see-saw thriller.
Junior first baseman Kyle Anderson, among the CVC’s top hitters, drove in five runs to lead the offensive surge.
Lawrence led, 5-4, before scoring three runs in the top of the fifth.
“The kids seem to get fired up for the in-town rivals like Lawrenceville and Notre Dame,” said Carter. “Sometimes it’s tough to get a read on this team. At times we have trouble maintaining our intensity for seven innings.”
Weiner allowed just two earned runs on May 3, while striking out four Northstars. He also doubled home the only Cardinal run in the top of the fifth in a 3-1 loss to fifth-seeded Nottingham in the opening round of the Mercer County Baseball Tournament.
Junior center fielder Andy Carmello scored the lone run for the 12-seeded Cardinals.
“We hit the ball on the head but always at somebody,” Carter added. “We played well, but we didn’t play well enough to win. We just didn’t have enough quality at bats.”
The Cardinals all season have had one obstacle after another thrown at them.
To earn a berth in the Group III bracket, they’ll have to overcome two more.
NOTES: Lawrence visits Peddie, a Prep A school, on Saturday and hosts CVC rival Hightstown on Monday.