Raiders rock Cherokee to earn date with Watchung Hills
By: Rudy Brandl
LAWRENCE The Raider wrecking crew is moving on to play for a state title.
Hillsborough High continued its recent torrid hitting in Tuesday afternoon’s State Group 4 baseball semifinals at Rider University, rolling over South Jersey champ Cherokee by a 7-1 score to advance to Saturday’s Group 4 championship game at Toms River North. The Raiders (20-5) take a nine-game winning streak into the biggest game of their lives against local rival Watchung Hills, with the first pitch set for 11 a.m.
The Raiders will send senior ace Drew Campbell (9-2) to the mound against Watchung standout Matt Giannini (9-0). The county’s two best pitchers squared off in a memorable Somerset County semifinal duel back on May 24, with Campbell firing 10 splendid shutout innings and smashing the game-winning double in a 1-0 victory.
HHS beat Adam Rivera, who was on in relief of Giannini, in the county thriller. Giannini will be facing a very confident Raider lineup Saturday.
"Momentum’s the big thing," said HHS senior shortstop Joe Marangella, who led Tuesday’s 14-hit barrage with a single, double and triple. "One guy gets on with a hit and everyone just keeps following."
The Raiders used a familiar recipe to break out on top against Cherokee (19-8). Hillsborough scored in the top of the first inning for the fifth straight time in tournament play, including all four games in the states. For the second game in a row, sophomore first baseman Corey Swickle provided the major blow.
Swickle, whose monster two-run shot to left propelled the Raiders to a 3-0 lead in their Central Jersey Group 4 championship victory at Steinert, came through with another two-run blast Tuesday. The HHS cleanup batter drilled a 1-0 pitch from Cherokee’s Dave Hine well over the 375-foot sign in right-center field to score Joey Zeiss, who had reached base on a fielder’s choice.
"It’s the same exact thing as last game," Swickle said. "My (broken) thumb still wasn’t feeling great, but I sensed he was going to start me with a curveball and then groove a fastball. I was thinking about swinging my hardest and making good contact."
Cherokee answered with its only run of the game in the bottom half of the frame and it looked like another high-scoring game might develop. HHS junior starter and winner Tim Fedroff (6-0) settled down after a shaky first inning and held Cherokee scoreless over the final six innings and hitless in the final three.
"Once you get in that groove, you gain confidence," said Fedroff, who struck out six, walked two and scattered six hits. "The early runs really help and then the defense makes plays to get you out of jam after jam. I let the fielders make the plays."
That was sound strategy on Fedroff’s part because his defense played another spotless game. Cherokee put runners on first and second with no outs in the third and fourth innings but was unable to score. Both rallies were thwarted by outstanding double plays started by senior third baseman Adam Rothblatt, who stepped on third and fired across the diamond for two huge twin killings.
"Our defense is what held us in it," Rothblatt said. "We haven’t had errors in the last couple of games. Tim made two really nice pitches to get me soft ground balls right next to the base. We don’t really practice that play but it’s a lot easier than turning to throw to second."
Fresh off Rothblatt’s first inning-ending double play, the Raiders came to bat and scored twice in the top of the fourth to make it 4-1. Marangella opened with a booming triple to right-center and scored on Mark Demetriou’s one-out single to left field that chased Hine. Cherokee reliever Alex Prachter walked Joe Hansen and gave up an RBI single to Matt Fischer before getting out of trouble.
The Raiders put the game away with two loud runs in the top of the fifth. Zeiss smacked a base hit up the middle and Fedroff launched a monster home run to right-center for a 6-1 lead. The Raider slugger tied his own school record from last season with his 10th dinger of the year.
"It was a fastball up," Fedroff said. "I actually was thinking about taking the first pitch but he left it up in the zone and I turned on it. It hit the sweet spot of the bat and it felt great."
Hillsborough had action on the bases in every inning and capped the scoring in the sixth. Fischer singled and courtesy runner Sean Downey moved to second on a balk. Zeiss ripped a single to right-center to score Downey.
"It was a remarkable performance," Raider skipper Norm Hewitt said. "They were bigger and had better arms and people were saying this was the team that was going to end our season. The kids told me, ‘nobody’s going to beat us, coach.’"
The Raiders lived up to their promise, took care of business and gave themselves a chance to win a State Group 4 championship.
"It’s the greatest feeling in the world," Rothblatt said. "The biggest game of my life is my last game in high school I couldn’t ask for anything more."