Zamarin delivers game-winning run
By: Rudy Brandl
The Hillsborough High baseball team survived a major scare in Monday’s Central Jersey Group 4 playoff game.
The defending State Group 4 champions found themselves six outs from elimination in the first round of the sectional playoffs but rallied to post a 3-2 defeat over Middletown North in nine innings.
Senior catcher Marc Zamarin drilled an 0-2 pitch from Kevin Englebrecht into center field for a walk-off RBI single with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Jeremy Sporn, who had walked and stolen second base, raced home ahead of the throw for the wininng run.
The sixth-ranked Raiders (15-6) earned a trip to No. 3 Hunterdon Central for Friday’s CJ 4 quarterfinals. Central defeated the Raiders in a regular season game back in April.
HHS took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Tim Fedroff slugged his team-leading ninth home run of the season to the opposite field in deep left. Fedroff’s blast tied him for the Somerset County record with 33 career homers.
Senior right-hander Rob Kumbatovic blanked North for five innings but the visitors took the lead with two runs in the top of the sixth. The Raiders answered right back when Corey Swickle smacked a clutch RBI single in the bottom of the frame.
 Fedroff fired 3.2 innings of hitless relief to earn the victory. He is the scheduled starter for Friday’s game at Central.
For more news on the baseball team and Hillsborough’s other sports programs, see Thursday’s issue of the Hillsborough Beacon.

