By Tim Morris
One thing the Freehold Clippers learned early is that manager Rich Gawlak likes to play the game aggressively. The Clippers are not going to sit back and wait for things to happen on the baseball diamond — they will go after it.
That philosophy has turned the Clippers into one of the best teams in the Atlantic Baseball Confederated Collegiate League (ABCCL), and it led to a championship in this year’s league playoffs.
The Clippers, who call Michael Tighe Park in Freehold Township home, won their first ABCCL championship, defeating three-time defending champion Monmouth Monarchs, 7-3, in the Aug. 6 title game played at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft
Freehold won the regular-season ABCCL title with a 24-6-1 mark and was the No. 1 seed for the tournament. Monmouth was the No. 2 seed (24-9-1).
It was a brazen double-steal in the first round of the playoffs that ultimately led to the Clippers capturing the Jerry Lillis ABCCL Championship Cup.
Locked in a pitcher’s duel with the NJ Nationals, the teams were tied at 2-2 heading into the last of the ninth inning at Tighe Park. Ben Varone (Marlton/The College of New Jersey) singled with one out to get things going for Freehold. A walk followed and with runners on first and second, Gawlak called for a double-steal on a fake bunt. The aggressive play worked, as the Nationals’ catcher overthrew third base and Varone ran home for the winning run in the 3-2 win.
The Clippers trailed, 2-0, heading into the seventh inning before scoring a run each in the seventh and eighth to tie the game up and set the stage for the ninth-inning fireworks.
Rain forced the ABCCL to go from its best-of-three format to double-elimination. That made staying in the winner’s bracket crucial. Even though the Clippers were deep in pitching arms (nine), added games put pressure on a staff, especially with the 89-pitch-count limit.
Freehold did what was needed by beating the defending champions, 7-6, in the semifinals to force the Monarchs to play the extra game.
The Clippers, led by C.H. Gearhart (Robbinsvile/The College of New Jersey), who had four hits, led throughout the semifinals but could not put the Monarchs away and had to hold off a ninth-inning rally to secure the one-run win. P.J. Strahm (Milltown/Bucknell University) nailed down the victory, picking up the save by getting the final out with the tying run on second base.
Gearhart’s RBI-single in the eighth turned out to be the game-winner.
The defending champion Monarchs earned a second shot at the Clippers by winning the loser’s bracket final over the New Jersey Angels, 7-2, in Holmdel to set up the championship game.
Left-hander Mike Pepio (Freehold/East Stroudsburg University) got the start for Freehold and did what Gawlak wanted pitching into the seventh inning leaving with a 6-3 lead.
“My pitching is so deep and with the 89-pitch count, you have to use your bullpen,” Gawlak said. “I wanted our starter to get through six innings, and then we would turn it over to the bullpen.”
It was a winning formula.
Connor Lindsey (Allentown/Montclair State University) closed it out for the Clippers, allowing just one hit in 2.2 innings.
Jon Baturgil (Colts Neck/Chestnut Hill College) had two hits and three RBIs to lead the Clippers offense. His two-RBI single in the sixth inning extended Freehold’s 4-3 lead to a more comfortable 6-3 score.
Stephen Edelstein (Staten Island/Stockton University) had two hits and a run scored. His RBI-single in the fifth gave Freehold a 4-3 lead and proved to be the game-winner.
The playoff triumph followed the pattern set by Freehold’s deep pitching staff.
“The entire season, pitching was so important,” Gawlak said. “We knew our pitchers would always keep the game tight and give us a chance to win.”
The Clippers had far and away the best ERA in the league at 2.57.
As the Clippers’ top starters, Pepio had a 3-0 record and 1.20 ERA, Dan McGuire (Ocean Township/Keystone College) was 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA, Mike Ramirez (Old Bridge/New Jersey City University) went 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA and Strahm finished 4-0 with a 3.44 ERA.
The Clippers had a team batting average of .305.
Leading the way were Harrison Preschel (Teaneck/Long Island University) at .398, John Moschella (Little Silver/Tufts University) at .380, Varone at .357 and Jason Lundy (Freehold/Fordham University) at .352.
Lindsay led the team with 23 RBIs, and Lundy and Preschel each had 20. Nick Ruscigno (Teaneck/(New Jersey City University) led in runs scored with 28 and Lundy led in hits (38).
Two summers ago, the Clippers finished in last place. Last summer, the team made huge strides and was one of the top teams in the league during the regular season but was beaten in the first round of the playoffs. That sudden ending to a season that had championship promise led to most of the Clippers coming back from their respective colleges and universities this summer.
“Credit to them, we had a bunch of guys who wanted to come back,” Gawlak said. “They didn’t like the way last year ended. They felt they had unfinished business.”
It’s unfinished no more, as they accomplished their mission of bringing home the ABCCL title for the first time.