By: Rich Fisher
The South Brunswick Post 401 baseball team was already facing a long ride to Winchester, Va., for the Firecracker Invitational Tournament.
But it could have been even longer had the locals not turned around a rough early start with a 3-2 victory over South River on Tuesday night.
The victory was the first since June 9 for Post 401 (2-3-1), which had endured a loss, two ties and five rainouts since then.
South Brunswick dropped a 3-2 decision to Old Bridge on June 10, had games with Edison and Franklin rained out before playing North Brunswick to a 3-3 tie. That was followed by three straight rainouts and a 9-1 shellacking at the hands of Edison on Monday night.
But just prior to leaving for Virginia, South Brunswick managed to get a good taste in its mouth. The Vikings scored single runs in the second, third and fourth and rode Pat Keenan’s arm from there.
Keenan finished with a five-hitter and did not allow a walk while striking out four.
The offense was led by Mike Spiga, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI. Nick Clemente had a hit and a run scored while Brian Sock had a single, double, walk and stolen base. Keenan helped himself with an RBI single that proved to be the difference, while Fred Brown drove in a run.
In the second, Spiga doubled, went to third on a Kyle Cleffi sacrifice and scored on Brown’s ground out to short. In the third, Spiga’s RBI double made it 2-0. South River got the run back in the bottom of the inning, but Dane Marini scored the eventual winning run in the fourth when he walked, stole second, went to third on a passed ball and scored on Keenan’s single.
In the loss to Edison, Marini was the lone bright spot with two hits and a walk. Against North Brunswick, Joe and Nick (two RBI) Clemente and Sock each had two hits.
As they head to Virginia, the locals are led in hitting by Joe Clemente with a .636 batting average while Nick Clemente is hitting .400 with a team-high four RBI. Sock is hitting .444 while Marini checks in at .375.
Keenan has been the team’s most consistent pitcher with a 1-1 record and 2.69 ERA.
During its Virginia trip, Post 401 will take on Durham, N.C., tonight (Thursday), followed by games with Charleston, W.V. and Princess Anne, Md. on Friday, and a game with host Winchester on Saturday. The playoff finals will be Sunday, and South Brunswick returns home for games against North Brunswick Monday at Crossroads and Edison Tuesday at Sondek Park.
To follow South Brunswick’s exploits in Virginia, log on to www.sblegionbb.com.
