One-run losses leave Post 12 in last place
By: Rudy Brandl
The Somerville-Manville Legion baseball team never got hot this summer. Saturday’s doubleheader split at Hillsborough, which came on the heels of a tough 2-1 loss at Flemington Friday night, provided another example of how Post 12 struggled to put things together this season.
Somerville (5-12-1) didn’t catch many breaks and lost a bunch of close games, including two one-run contests in the final week. Post 12 needed to run the table in the last 10 days to have a shot at the playoffs, but one-run losses to Immaculata in the home finale at Manville High and vs. Flemington at Hunterdon Central thwarted the team’s chances of finishing with a .500 record.
"We lost a lot of close games," Post 12 manager Gregg Snyder said. "We just couldn’t get the key hits when we needed them. There were a lot of close games like that."
Ryan Zamorsky deserved a better fate than he received in Friday’s loss vs. Flemington, the South Division champ that finished with a 13-5 record. For the second time this summer, Zamorsky was the victim of limited run support and lost a game in which he pitched brilliantly. He was beaten 1-0 by Immaculata in the season opener and lost another heartbreaker in his final start Friday.
"He pitched his heart out again," Snyder said. "He held them hitless in every other inning besides when they scored those two runs. We were beating them the first time we played them, too. We just couldn’t hit."
Post 12 took a 1-0 lead when Sean Cruz singled to drive in Lenny Rutledge in the top of the fourth inning. That lead was safe until the bottom of the fifth when Flemington broke through for two runs.
The bats showed more life in Saturday’s doubleheader but mental mistakes cost the team in the second game. After posting an 8-4 victory in the morning opener, Post 12 dropped a 7-3 nightcap in the afternoon at Hillsborough.
Rutledge and Cruz had two hits apiece to lead the team’s nine-hit attack and back winning pitcher Kyle Lefkus. Tommy Rock, one of four Manville players on the squad, contributed a hit, a run scored and a walk.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, Somerville scored in five straight innings to take control. Eric Fowler pitched 1Ð innings of hitless relief to pick up the save.
Rock pitched the second game and got into immediate trouble in the first inning when Hillsborough took a 3-0 lead. Somerville answered with three runs in the bottom of the second but Hillsborough came right back to take the lead with a two-run third. Rock went the distance allowing six hits and three walks with six strikeouts.
Kyle Sopko, Rock’s battery mate on the Manville High team, caught the game and went 0-for-4. Joe Burnett and Robert Wood did not see action in the doubleheader.
"We looked good in the first game but we made too many mistakes, which we shouldn’t be doing at this level," Snyder said. "We were a little short-handed and we were missing some players."
Post 12 was missing too many players and had to forfeit Sunday’s finale at Alpha. This was a very disappointing way for a season with so much promise to end. Only seven players showed up in Alpha, leaving Snyder and his son, Rob, who handled most of the coaching duties this summer, somewhat baffled.
"We expected the kids to show and they didn’t show," Gregg Snyder said. "They were very reliable all year and tonight they didn’t show up. We wanted to finish the season on the field. We’re really upset about it."

