BASEBALL
By: Mike Basford
If there was any consolation for the Lawrence High School baseball team as it walked off the field after a 2-0 loss to West-Windsor Plainsboro South in the Mercer County Tournament semifinals, it was this: It took a no-hitter for the Cardinals to go down.
The Pirates’ Justin Muir threw his second no-hitter of the season to send Lawrence to the loss, but it didn’t come without some drama.
Lawrence advanced runners to third base four times, but could not muster a hit to drive them home. As a result, WW-P South moved onto the semifinals on Wednesday against the Steinert-Hun winner.
"I couldn’t ask for more from the kids," said head coach Brian Carter. "We took a good approach at the plate, got in scoring position, but we just didn’t get the one hit we needed. Everything we needed to do we did."
The Cardinals were forced to play short-handed, as Mike Bruschini watched from the dugout. Bruschini, who will play next year at nearby Rider University, hyperextended his elbow in a loss at Nottingham the day before.
Even without the speedy Bruschini, Lawrence stole five bases, including three by Bryan Bunn.
"I thought we might come out flat with Mike being out," said Carter. "Everybody picked up their level of play. It would have been nice to have Mike’s bat in the line-up, but him being out certainly is not why we lost."
The Cardinals had their best chance in the fourth.
With runners at the corners and one out, Matt Noble’s liner to left seemed destined for a hit, but South’s Gabe Alonso preserved a scoreless tie with a sliding catch that turned into a double play at third.
South broke through in the bottom of the fourth when Jeff Fisher pushed a ball past a drawn-in infield into left field for an RBI single. He scored an insurance run when, with two outs, B.J. Watkin slugged a double to left.
"He threw very well," Carter said of Muir. "He’s a big, tall lefty and he we’re not used to seeing pitchers like him on a regular basis. Give him a ton of credit, but I think we did everything we could to win the game. It was just a matter of not being able get the key hit to score the key runs."
The state cut-off for qualification into the NJSIAA state tournament is Friday, and Lawrence’s recent hot streak should be enough to qualify the Cardinals for the Central Jersey Group III bracket.
"It would have been nice to put ourselves in better position by winning earlier in the season," said Carter. "But if everything works out, we should be in. Hopefully we’re not peaking right now and can continue to get better as the games get more important."