Baseball
By: Mike Molaro
Jerry Russo knows its difficult to defeat the same opponent twice within a week.
So the veteran Pennington School baseball coach had no doubts that Monday’s Prep B state tournament quarterfinal match-up at Princeton Day School would be a lot different than the 9-2 road triumph over the Panthers on May 7.
Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, Russo was correct, as fourth-seeded PDS opened a 9-0 lead after three innings en route to a 10-4 victory over fifth-seeded Pennington.
The Red Raiders (5-6) had advanced to the Prep B semifinals the past three seasons.
"We knew they would be tougher in this game because they had their ace (Will King) going for them," Russo said. "We didn’t expect to give up that many runs."
Junior Vin DeFazio blasted a two-run homer, and sophomore Adam Spadafora added a run-scoring triple in the top of the fifth, while senior Brian McCarthy drove in a run in the top of the fourth with a ground out.
"Both teams have talent and the seedings backed that up," added Russo. "This game surprised me. I thought we’d play better, especially with our best pitcher (sophomore) Terry Wells on the mound.
"I didn’t expect this to be another 9-2 win, but I expected a much closer game."
Pennington last Saturday fell at Saddle River 7-6 in eight innings. DeFazio belted two triples, scored three runs and had an RBI, while senior Jamal Mahmud drove in three runs, Wells added an RBI, and freshman Chris Slanina smacked a double.
The Red Raiders held a 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the fifth.
"We came out flat," Russo said. "We had been playing good defense up until this game. We came apart defensively (four errors). Saddle River is better than they’ve been in the past. They kept coming at us. Give them credit. They deserved to win."
In the 9-3 win over PDS, senior Joe Persichetti doubled and drove in two runs, while sophomore Dylan Via Cava also had two RBIs. Winning pitcher Mahmud allowed only seven hits and drove in a run and Spadafora (double), Wells and junior Danny Nusblatt each had an RBI.
"Offensively and defensively this was a solid game for us," added Russo. "Jamal pitched a strong game, and we had the bats going (15 hits). We played errorless ball in the field. We put it all together in this game."
Pennington hosts South Hunterdon on Friday and is trying to reschedule a game against Morristown-Beard, which has been postponed twice before.
"This game doesn’t mean anything to us in the conference, but it might be big for Mo-Beard," Russo said. "We’re trying real hard to get it in."

