BASEBALL
By: Mike Molaro
As recently as last week, the Lawrence High School baseball squad was searching for an identity to call its own.
After opening the season at 6-1, the Cardinals were muddled in a six-game losing streak that undid many of the positives of the previous seven games.
By winning three of four last week, Lawrence seems to have righted the ship and is in good shape to earn a state tournament bid.
Standing at 9-8, the Cardinals need to at least split their next two games against Hopewell Valley and Notre Dame to have the necessary .500 record by the May 12 deadline for a berth in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III bracket.
It’s not quite yet a swagger, but the walk around the Lawrence dugout is just a little bit more prominent.
"The confidence is coming back with this team," head coach Brian Carter said. "It started with one player getting confidence in the field and it carried to another player and then another player. Now we have five or six guys playing relaxed. It used to be nine guys playing tight. I was hoping that eventually this would happen. We are not totally there, but we are getting close. The confidence is contagious and it is showing in our recent play. We’ve been playing a lot of tight games. This will help us down the stretch."
Senior left-hander Mike Darbee stopped the bleeding on May 3 with a tremendous six-inning effort as the Cardinals downed visiting West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 4-1. Darbee struck out six, walked just one, surrendered only four hits, and didn’t allow an earned run.
Sophomore center fielder Brian Mills went 1-for-3 against the Pirates with two runs batted in, while junior catcher Joe Nuccio was 2-for-2 with an RBI, junior left fielder Sean Gafgen was 1-for-3 and drove in a run, and junior third baseman Geoff Kimmel was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
"This was an enormous win," added Carter. "Mike didn’t have his best stuff but he battled for the team. We gave us what we needed. We scored enough runs and made the good plays when we needed. This was a huge game for us."
Junior right hander Taylor Smith followed Darbee last Friday with another outstanding performance in an 11-3 pounding at Princeton. Smith went the distance, walking one, fanning, three, and giving up two earned runs.
Junior first baseman Matt Russo led the 12-hit barrage with a double and triple, four RBI, and a run scored. Nuccio was 3-for-4, including a triple, three RBI, and a run scored and junior right fielder Chris Cox was 2-for-4, with three runs scored and a pair of RBI.
"Matt and Joe needed this game," Carter said. "They have been working hard and it’s good to see them do well. We took an early lead and that took the pressure off our infield.
"Our starters are doing a tremendous job. This was the kind of game where everybody’s hard work paid off."
The 10th-seeded Cardinals downed seventh-seeded WW-P South 5-3 in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament last Saturday behind the fine effort of Dan Ciccone.
The sophomore right-hander struck out 11, gave up just two hits, walked only one, and allowed only two earned runs.
Gafgen was 3-for-3 and drove in three runs while Cox scored twice.
It was Lawrence’s third straight victory and third consecutive lights-out pitching performance.
"We won because of great pitching," added Carter. "We’ve been getting good pitching all year but sometimes we don’t take advantage of it. In this game, we didn’t squander it. We played with a lead and that helped take the pressure off us. Dan got out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth inning and ended it quickly in the seventh."
The Cardinals face second-seeded Nottingham at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Mercer County Park in the second round of the MCT. The Northstars downed Lawrence 10-3 in nine innings earlier this season.
"We are a better team now than we were then," Carter said. "We had that one bad inning and that was the game. We know we can play with Nottingham."
West Windsor-Plainsboro North ended Lawrence’s three-game winning streak with a 4-3 eight-inning decision Monday. Cox, Kimmel, and junior Bobby Hallowell each drove in a run while Darbee fired his second straight tremendous effort. Darbee walked just one, struck out five and didn’t allow an earned run.
Kimmel doubled with one out in the top of the eighth and scored on Hallowell’s RBI single to right. North tied the score with one out in the bottom of the eighth and pushed across the winning run with two out.
The Cardinals led 2-0 before the Pirates tied the score with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth."Mike pitched very well," added Carter. "This game was like a boxing match, back and forth. We could’ve won the game in seven innings but we can’t focus on that. We battled back. Their infielders made one more play that we did. That was the difference."
Unlike those setbacks during the six-game skein, the Cardinals aren’t down about what could have been.
"This wasn’t like the other games where we imploded," Carter said. "We battled it out with a 10-4 team. There was a different feeling among our players after the loss. We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves."
There’s definitely a different attitude among the Cardinals, one of confidence and positive thinking.
"The last four games we are a much better hitting team," added Carter. "We have shifted our focus a little bit. I’m very happy with how we are swinging the bats. You can’t ask for more from your pitching staff. The guys are picking each other up. Guys want to be the ones to make the play. There is a new attitude on this team."
Winning has a way of doing that.
NOTES: The Cardinals faced HoVal last night (Wednesday) at Eggerts Crossing field and host the Irish tomorrow (Friday). If they win one of those two games, they qualify for the CJ III Tournament.