"They’re (Riverside) warming up the buses. What does that tell you?," said the voice of Florence’s favorite security guard, who shall remain nameless for the purposes of this article.
What it told everybody was that the Florence Township Memorial High School boys’ varsity baseball team had runners on second and third with no one out and the score tied at 4-4 in the bottom of seventh and Frank "the hitting machine" Moceri was due up.
By:Sean Moylan
It also said if the Rams elected to pitch to him, they’d all be on those buses in a heartbeat. Strangely enough, that’s exactly what they did. By the time Riverside had lifted its starter Chris McManus and had brought in Tilbert, who for some reason, gave Moceri a fastball right down Broadway.
Bad mistake.
Moceri’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning and he belted a game-winning single as though he were hitting off a tee in Pee Wee baseball.
And Florence had a 5-4 NJSIAA Group I South Victory against a great Riverside team.
As soon as Moceri hit the ball, he only had one thing on his mind.
"I was thinking we’re going to the championship game."
Earlier, Moceri had clubbed a pair of singles off McManus but his hit in the seventh was monumental.
"It’s got to be the biggest hit of my career," added Moceri.
Jared Burg had started the inning off by beating out a hard-hit grounder for an infield single. Riverside’s second baseman had made a diving stop on the play and he just missed getting Burg at first by half a step. Todd Karmazin followed with a single up the middle and he went to second when the Riverside outfielder attempted to throw out Burg at third.
Yet, it was a two-out, sixth-inning RBI single to right field by C. J. Kessler that tied the game at 4-4 and seemed to lift the Flashes’ spirits.
"It felt great. It was the best hit I had all year," said Kessler.
Bill Emanuele had led off the inning with a walk. The next batter, Bryan Maus, attempted to move over the runner with a bunt but he tapped it a bit too hard, and McManus got Emanuele out at second.
Dave Woolston then came in to run for Maus and he stole second with two outs to set up Kesslers hit.
Once again Jason Karmazin pitched in relief for Florence and did an outstanding job. He came on in the fifth inning for his brother, Todd Karmazin with Florence behind, 4-3. And he kept the Rams at four runs the rest of the way.
"I’m enjoying it a lot," said Karmazin who pumped his record to 6-1 with the win.
Florence head coach Tom Hoglen had even higher praise for Karmazin saying, "I’ve got a sophomore that pitches like a senior now."
Bobby Cardone, a defensive replacement at second base for Florence, made a great play for the second out in the seventh. And earlier in the contest, Florence’s Bryan Maus and Bill Emanuele each had RBI singles. Florence actually led the game 3-1 going into the fifth. And the Flashes out hit the Rams, 10-6.
Some of the Rams lost their cool at the end of the game and may have said a few things they didn’t mean. To their credit, the Flashes kept their composure. After all, they were going to a championship game. Florence also had one of its biggest crowds in years at the game.
"You can’t get any better games," said Coach Hoglen, who’ll be leaving Florence to coach varsity football at Hamilton next season. "I’m so proud of the kids."
Florence is 18-2 with its biggest test yet to come in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group I finals versus Point Pleasant Beach at Washington Township this Friday.
