WW-P North returns to MCT baseball title game
By: Bob Nuse
Bob Boyce has his pitching staff back in order, and it could not have happened at a better time.
One game after Casey Warner pitched the West Windsor-Plainsboro North baseball team into the Mercer County Tournament semifinals, Dan Margiotti returned to the mound and pitched the Knights into the MCT final with a one-hitter as the Knights topped Nottingham, 3-1, on Wednesday.
"Margiotti threw a great game," said North coach Bob Boyce, whose team advanced to face Notre Dame in the championship game, which was scheduled for Thursday night at Waterfront Park. "They got their run in the first inning and then that was all they got.
"It was nice for us to have Margiotti back. He had not thrown in three weeks. He pitched at Ewing and he couldn’t throw a strike. He didn’t make it out of the second inning. He came out and said he had some pain in his shoulder, so we shut him down. We didn’t want him to pitch again until he was pain free."
For North, it will be the second trip to the MCT finals in four years. The Knights lost to Steinert in the 2003 championship game.
"It was a great win for us," said North center fielder Kevin Maselli, who had a pair of hits in the win over Nottingham. "It’s awesome to be going to Waterfront Park to play in the finals. I think we’ve shown a lot of people that we have a good team. I think people thought it would either be Steinert or Nottingham in the finals, but we were able to beat both of those teams.
"I think the only people who thought we would get to the finals were us. We were confident all along that we could get there."
The Knights managed nine hits and scored three runs, which was all they needed thanks to Margiotti, who came back from his three-week layoff and looked as sharp as ever.
"He came out and pitched a great game," Boyce said. "We made some nice plays in the field behind him, but he was in control of the game. Casey Warner had a nice catch in the outfield. It’s nice to be going back to the championship game."
And the Knights are going back thanks to the return to the mound of Margiotti, who improved to 2-1 with the win.
"We lost Margiotti at a bad time," said Boyce, whose team improved to 13-7 with the win. "We were in a stretch of seven games in nine days. We played Peddie, Steinert twice, Hamilton. That was a real tough stretch for us. But now we’re healthy pitching-wise and we feel like we’re ready to make a run this week and into next week when we start the state tournament."
The offense on Wednesday was a lot like it has been all season. The Knights don’t have anyone who jumps right out at you, but they’re productive all the way through the lineup.
"We have different guys come through all the time," Boyce said. "Zach Weale had a big home run against Steinert and the guys at bottom of the order, Pete Kelly and Matt Lodato, had big hits. Today, Maselli had a couple big hits and so did Matt Fania. That’s the way we’ve been all year."
Charlie Carluccio and Fania each had big hits to drive in runs against Nottingham.
"Our lineup is deep," Maselli said. "We have good hitters all the way through the lineup. And now with Casey and Dan back pitching, we have depth there, too. It feels great to be going to the finals. I know Casey and Dan were freshmen on the team that went to the finals last time. I remember going to the game and watching (North) play.
"It’s great to be going to this game. And we feel like we have a chance to do well this week and next week once we get going with the state tournament."