An improbable seventh inning comeback put the Manalapan High School baseball team in the Monmouth County Tournament championship game.
Playing at home on the afternoon of May 29, the Braves appeared headed for a Monmouth County Tournament semifinal loss to their Shore Conference A North Division rival Middletown South.
Trailing 5-2 and with Eagles’ starter Will Siegfried showing no signs of faltering, the Braves were in trouble. However, they rallied for seven runs, topped by Derek Kawa’s two-out game-winning grand slam that secured a 9-5 victory and a berth in the tournament’s championship game.
The Monmouth County Tournament championship game will be play at 7 p.m. May 29 at FirstEnergy Park, Lakewood. The Braves will square off against Wall High School, which defeated Red Bank Catholic, 7-3, in the other semifinal.
The Braves’ latest blast of seventh-inning lightning was nothing new to Manalapan coach Brian Boyce, who has seen his team rally often in the last two seasons.
“They want to win every game,” Boyce said of his players. “They don’t give up.”
The Eagles found that out the hard way in the seventh inning.
The bottom of the seventh began on a promising note when Mike Sette and Brian Lamboy reached on errors to set the table for a comeback.
Rich Ricciardi, who hit a long home run in his previous at bat, served a Siegfried pitch into left field for a single to load the bases.
With one out, Manalapan’s Mr. Clutch, Joe Ramirez, came through again by lining a single down the third base line to score two runs. An error on the same play allowed the tying run to score, making the teams even at 5-5.
With two out, Lawrence Schoer was hit by a pitch and the bases were loaded for Kawa, who had a feeling he was going to do something positive.
“I knew I was going to do something special,” he said. “I knew I just needed a single. I have confidence in myself when people are on base.”
So does Boyce.
“He is so calm under pressure,” the coach said of Kawa.
Kawa was 0-3 against Siegfried when he stepped into the batter’s box with the game on the line.
“He was throwing a slider all day,” Kawa said. “He couldn’t throw the fastball by me. He threw me a fastball.”
Kawa parked that fastball over the right field fence for a grand slam and the Braves had a dramatic come-from-behind win and their second trip to the Monmouth County Tournament championship game in the last three years.
Jake Winston made his first start of the season and pitched five strong innings against Middletown South.
Schoer (7-2) earned the win in relief.
On May 21 the Braves traveled to Rancocas Valley to take on the No. 3 seed Red Devils in an NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV state sectional tournament quarterfinal game. The Braves brought their bats and momentum with them to southern New Jersey as they raced out to an 11-1 lead and held on for a 12-8 triumph.
Ricciardi had two hits, including a triple, scored three times and had an RBI. Chris Baird and Dan Frankel each had two hits and three RBI. Ramirez had two hits, scored three times and had an RBI, and Alex De- Castro contributed two hits and two RBI to Manalapan’s 15-hit attack. Starting pitcher Kyle Rubbinaccio (7-0) worked four innings and allowed one run.
The victory over Rancocas Valley put the No. 6 seed Braves in the Central Jersey Group IV semifinals. Manalapan was scheduled to host Toms River North on May 25 in the sectional semifinals.
Toms River North, the No. 15 seed, beat No. 2 seed Hamilton East, 6-2, in the first round and defeated Howell, 7-5, in the sectional quarterfinals on May 21.
No. 1 seed Monroe and No. 5 seed Jackson Memorial met in the other Central Jersey Group IV semifinal on May 25.
The Central Jersey Group IV final is scheduled to be played on May 28 at the home of the highest remaining seed.
On May 22 the Braves beat St. John Vianney of Holmdel, 6-5, in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Manalapan (21-6) jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings and held on for the win over the Lancers. Ramirez had three RBI and was 3-3 on the day. Ricciardi had two hits and scored three times.
Nick Kreiger pitched the first five innings, allowing four earned runs, and earned the win to improve to 5-2.
Manalapan is scheduled to play No. 1 seed Toms River South today (May 26) in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals. The Shore Conference Tournament championship game is scheduled for June 2 at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood.
Manalapan’s trio of starters —Rubbinaccio, Schoer and Kreiger — are the reason why the Braves were still alive in three tournaments as the week began. Boyce knows he always has a quality pitcher starting each game.