Hillsborough knocked out of Connie Mack bracket
By: Rudy Brandl
Pitching was the difference in all three games the Hillsborough American Legion baseball team played at last weekend’s Connie Mack Tournament.
Sean Finnegan delivered a powerful performance to lift Hillsborough to a 5-1 victory over Warren Hills in the second game of Saturday’s action. That win propelled the Raiders into the Sunday session, but West Milford ended the team’s title hopes with an 8-0 shutout. Hillsborough landed in the loser’s bracket after a tough 9-4 loss to West New York in Saturday’s tournament opener.
Finnegan, who spent most of the summer pitching in another league to prepare for college, reminded Hillsborough manager Jack Van Cleef of what his team was missing throughout the Legion campaign. The Xavier-bound left-hander was on his game, recording both the win and the save with five total innings of work. Finnegan pitched the first four frames and returned to shut the door on Warren Hills in the seventh to keep his team alive in the tourney.
"He’s a big-time pitcher," Van Cleef said. "He’s always been on our Little League teams and I’ve seen him grow up. He’s a man now and he knows how to pitch."
Finnegan struck out eight batters and allowed only one hit in the first four innings. He had told Van Cleef he could throw four or five innings, so the Hillsborough skipper elected to bring him back for the seventh. An error and a walk put two men on to start the top of the seventh, but Finnegan picked off a base runner and retired the next two hitters to end the game.
Hillsborough never trailed in this game, scoring single runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings before adding two in the sixth. Scott Dunham walked and scored on an RBI single by Frank Tumminia in the first. Finnegan reached on an error and was chased around the bases on singles by Randy Van Cleef and Kristian Molloy, who drove in the run. Ryan Gregson reached on an error and scored on a fielder’s choice by Steve Stashek in the fifth for a 3-1 lead.
The Raiders opened up some more breathing room with two runs in the sixth. Van Cleef walked, Molloy singled and Dunham walked to load the bases. Miller, who went 3-for-4 to lead the nine-hit attack, drove in a run with a fielder’s choice. Logan walked to force in the other run.
Hillsborough was baffled by two different types of pitching in the other two games. West New York used a powerful right-hander and West Milford had a crafty lefty that kept the Raiders off balance.
Jose Rodriguez, who has been clocked as high as 94, consistently threw 90-mile per hour fastballs and blanked the Raiders for three innings while West New York bolted to a 7-0 lead. Rodriguez allowed just one hit and two walks and notched six strikeouts.
"He had good stuff," Van Cleef said. "He threw hard and had a little bit of an off-speed slider. They got a 7-0 lead so they took him out after three innings."
The Raiders did some damage against the West New York bullpen but it was too little, too late. Singles by Dunham and Gregson set the table for Logan, who rapped a two-run double to the left-center field gap in the fourth to get Hillsborough on the board.
Hillsborough rallied for two more runs in the seventh. Tumminia walked and Logan singled. After both runners moved up on a wild pitch, Finnegan lashed a two-run double but was stranded on the bases to end the game. Logan was the only Hillsborough player with more than one hit.
That loss sent the Raiders from Jersey City to Hoboken High to begin play in the consolation bracket. Hillsborough faced regular season foe Warren Hills, which received a late bid to the tournament because a Union County team dropped out. Finnegan and the Raiders eliminated Warren Hills and returned to Hoboken for a Sunday morning game.
With six teams still alive in the tourney, Hillsborough needed to win twice to get to the championship round. The Raider bats never got going and the game ended in five innings by the Connie Mack eight-run rule.
"We didn’t play well," Van Cleef said. "When you’re in an elimination tournament, there are no excuses."
Dunham doubled and Van Cleef walked twice for the only Hillsborough base runners of the game. West Milford scored early and often against Jarrod Willis, who allowed two homers, three walks and six runs before leaving in the second inning.
Although the Raiders didn’t win the tournament, they gained some post-season experience. With most of the roster eligible for Legion play next summer, Van Cleef is optimistic about 2002.
"We’re always happy to get there," he said. "We have confidence that if we’re able to stick together we can win the tournament next year."