Running catch is reason to cheer
By: Rich Fisher
It was the sixth inning. Florence’s Ben Horner swung and cracked a long drive to left centerfield.
Eric Yehl went back, kept going, kept going, kept going, and all of a sudden reached up and grabbed the ball as he crashed into the fence, effectively robbing Horner of a three-run home run.
Had the score been tied, or had Cranbury-Plainsboro been holding a lead, it was a catch that would live on forever in the annals of 12-year-old, District 12 Tournament play due to its splendor and importance.
But Florence was holding a 9-1 lead at the time, and the most the catch could do was prevent Florence from winning by the 10-run rule.
All that aside, it was one heck of a catch.
"I just wanted to finish strong," Yehl said. "I thought the ball was going over my head, so I just kept backing up. The next thing I knew, it was in my glove. I didn’t even know the fence was there."
Despite the fact it meant little in the overall outcome, it should still go down as one of the great catches in District 12 history, and it will always be memorable to C-P fans. Not only because of how spectacular it was, but because it showed that Cranbury-Plainsboro was not going to lie down, even though its district season was all but over.
"They never gave up," manager Rich Bongiovanni said. "The score is 9-1, he goes to the fence and robs the kid of a homer. What more can you ask?
"We gave 100 percent effort to the end. They never thought we were out of it, even when we were losing."
C-P kept its hopes of advancing out of pool play alive on Saturday, when it beat Princeton, 13-3. Mike Morabito and Scott Benerofe each had three hits while Ryan Dontas had a double, homer and six RBI to make a winner of Benerofe. Yehl added two hits and two RBI.
On Tuesday night, C-P was in a tough situation. In order to advance, the locals had to beat Florence by holding it to two runs or less because of tie-breaker purposes.
When Heath Fillmyer homered to lead off the game, things looked grim.
"That didn’t bother us," Yehl said. "I knew we still had a chance. It was only one run."
Ken Garron, making his first district start, bore down and retired the next six batters. In the third, a leadoff error opened the door to two unearned runs, and in the fourth Fillmyer’s grand slam blew it open.
"We stayed close for three innings even though we weren’t scoring," Bongiovanni said. "Kenny Garron did a great job pitching. He held us in it until the fourth inning. He gave us 100 percent effort."
Another battler was P.J. Silva. In the fifth, with Silva pitching, he made an outstanding barehanded grab of a squibber down the third-base line, where he picked it up and threw home for the force. The next batter ripped a shot off Silva’s arm, and he still tried to make a play at the plate before being removed.
"P.J.’s a tough kid," Bongiovanni said. "He wanted to stay in the game. I had to force him to leave."
Offensively, Yehl had a double and scored C-P’s lone run. Benerofe added a double, Chris Ciccodicola had a walk and a single and Drew Bongiovanni drew three walks. But the bats were mostly silent as C-P finished Pool B play in fifth place with a 1-3 record.
"The kids were great," Rich Bongiovanni said. "The effort was there until the end. At least we were in it until the fourth game, that’s all we could ask for."
Yehl put it as simplistically as possible.
"I think we could have played better," he said. "But, you know, that’s just the way it goes."
But Yehl didn’t go down without a fight, right to the bitter end.

