Baseball
By: Mike Molaro
For the first 10 games of the season, the Hopewell Valley Central High School baseball team made fans forget about the down times of the past couple of years with solid performances that pulled them into a first-place tie with Ewing in the Valley Division of the Colonial Valley Conference.
After Tuesday’s 9-2 loss at Pennington, Bulldogs coach Jim Reed saw some of last season’s bad habits come into play.
"This was our worst game of the year," Reed said of the defeat to the cross-town rival Red Raiders. "We were horrible in every aspect of the game of baseball. We made errors, we threw the ball around and we got picked off base."
Sophomore right fielder Chris Zsenak belted a solo home run and junior designated hitter Rob Serratelli singled home a run in the top of the fifth inning for HoVal (7-4 overall, 6-3 and tied for first with Ewing in the Valley Division of the CVC). The Bulldogs managed just four hits.
"I’m disappointed and totally embarrassed," added Reed. "I’m hoping this is just one of those games where nothing goes right.
"Give Pennington credit. They came out to play. We may have been overconfident. You try to tell the guys to beware of every opponent, but sometimes they don’t listen. They found out for themselves in this game."
Sophomore right-hander Terry Wells picked up the victory for the Red Raiders (3-3), striking out nine Bulldogs. Junior catcher Vin DeFazio had two hits and four RBIs, while senior second baseman Joe Persichetti was 2-for-3 with a single and a triple, drove in two runs and scored three runs.
"We played well from start to finish," Pennington coach Jerry Russo said. "We were really focused in this game. It was a nice win for us. We had couple of bad games last week, and we made a commitment to get back to the basics. I hope that with this win we have turned the corner.
"Terry (Wells) was in command for most of the game. He struggled a little bit in the fifth inning but he got out of it."
With the Red Raiders leading 6-0, HoVal scored twice in the top of the fifth and was looking for more with the bases loaded and nobody out. DeFazio came up with one of the game’s biggest defensive plays by picking off the runner at third for the first out. Wells ended the threat by striking out the next two batters.
To make matters worse, the Bulldogs also lost their No. 2 pitcher, sophomore left-hander Brett Hanson, to a broken ankle suffered on a class trip while stepping off the school bus. Preliminary indications are that Hanson is out for the remainder of the season.
"Brett was coming along nicely," Reed said. "He is a lefty, which gave us another dimension. We are not deep at all, so we will have to raid the junior varsity roster to fill his spot."
In last Friday’s 8-3 setback at Hamilton which broke their four-game winning streak, the Bulldogs received RBIs from senior center fielder Chris Borkowski, sophomore Mark Yuhas (2-for-3 with a run scored) and junior Rob Salyga. Serratelli was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Salyga’s single in the top of the first inning scored Yuhas, who had doubled. In the second, senior first baseman Donnie Giovacchini singled, Serratelli singled and Borkowski and Yuhas followed with RBI singles.
HoVal led 3-0 going into the bottom of the third inning before the Hornets scored four runs to take the lead for good.
"We turned two double plays in the first two innings," added Reed. "We looked like the Yankees out there. All of a sudden we stopped playing. We let them back in the game and they took over."
HoVal won its fourth game in a row on April 23 with a solid 6-4 triumph at Notre Dame.
Senior right-hander Matt Barrett raised his record to 2-0 by going the distance, allowing only five hits, walking two and striking out 10. He also was 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Zsenak was 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and drove in two runs, Yuhas was 2-for-2 with a run scored, and Salyga was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, a run scored, and two RBIs. Borkowski scored twice, and Giovacchini was 2-for-4 and scored a run.
With games Wednesday against Princeton Day, Thursday at Hightstown and Friday against McCorristin in the Mercer County Tournament, Reed is hoping his guys turn things around quickly.
"We need to get back on track," he said. "Our bats are starting to quiver, and we have to leave the Pennington game behind us. We are coming up to a crucial part of the season. We have to step up to the challenge."

