MUSTANG ROUNDUP
By: Rudy Brandl
The Manville High baseball team’s hopes for a share of the Valley Division title came to an end on the same day as its seven-game win streak. Visiting Roselle Park posted an 8-7 upset to knock the Mustangs out of Valley Division contention and give the title outright to New Providence.
"We won seven in a row and we were bound to lose sooner or later," MHS skipper Steve Venuto said.
Manville had pounded the Panthers by an 8-2 margin on their home field exactly one week earlier, so the Union County school provided a damaging payback.
The Mustangs missed a great chance to at least tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. John Anderson singled and Anthony Conti was hit by a pitch to set the table, but two strikeouts and a groundout ended the game and the threat.
Manville got on the board with two runs in the fourth. Orlando Rodriguez singled and scored on an Anderson double. Joey Pohl delivered a two-out RBI single to cut Roselle Park’s lead to 4-2.
The Mustangs took a 6-5 lead with four runs in the home half of the fifth. Jimmy Thomaszfski walked and scored on Gryzeski’s double. Chris Hardgrove and Anderson added big RBI hits later in the frame.
Thomaszfski walked, moved to second on a ground ball out and scored on a double by Hardgrove in the bottom of the sixth. Hardgrove was stranded as the tying run in the sixth and the Mustangs left two men aboard in the seventh.
Gryzeski (1-1) didn’t pitch poorly but was victimized by three errors. Anderson led the 10-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
The Mustangs drubbed Oratory by a 12-1 count earlier in the week. Robert Snyder (3-0) fired a two-hitter with six strikeouts and two walks, allowing just a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The junior righty tossed four straight innings (2-5) of no-hit ball while his teammates did the hitting.
Five Mustangs collected two hits apiece in a balanced attack. Anderson, Rodriguez and Justin Jurkowski all went 2-for-3, while Snyder and Pohl were 2-for-4. Anderson drove in a game-high four runs, while Jurkowski had two RBI. Rodriguez scored three runs to lead all players.
Girls give top team
quite a battle
The MHS softball team didn’t win but played one of its most memorable games of the year in last week’s 6-5 loss to Valley Division champ Roselle Park in nine innings.
"If there’s such a thing as a moral victory, we got it," Manville coach Ed Knapp said. "We played them at their place and faced their No. 1 pitcher and I thought we had them."
Heather Mathieu and Alicia Weaver each went 2-for-4 against Roselle Park ace Becky Riccitelli, who gave up nine hits. Weaver smacked an RBI single in the third and doubled to start the fifth inning surge. Lisa Lavenia blasted an RBI triple in that fifth inning when the Lady Mustangs took a 5-4 lead. Losing pitcher Amy Ortman put Manville ahead with a single to drive in Lavenia.