Raiders roar to sectional baseball crown

Red-hot HHS wins eighth in row

By: Rudy Brandl
   The Hillsborough High baseball team made history with Saturday afternoon’s high-powered victory over Steinert in the Central Jersey Group 4 championship game.
   Hillsborough (19-5) captured a sectional title for the first time ever against the defending CJ 4 champs, scoring early and often in a 14-7 romp. The Raiders will face South Jersey champion Cherokee in the State Group 4 semifinals Tuesday at Rider University.
   Sophomore first baseman Corey Swickle, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, started the barrage with a monster two-run home run in the top of the first when HHS bolted to a 3-0 lead. Steinert tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the third but the Raiders answered with seven huge runs in the top of the fourth. Tim Fedroff blasted a two-run double and Swickle and Joe Marangella followed with RBI hits to cap the surge.
   HHS senior ace Drew Campbell (9-2) went the distance and survived a little tension with the umpire, scattering six hits and four walks with nine strikeouts. Brandon Shamy, Joey Zeiss, Fedroff, Marangella and Adam Rothblatt each collected two hits for the winners, who rapped out 15 hits as a team.
   For a full account of all the tournament action, see Thursday’s edition of the Hillsborough Beacon.