Another Error-Free, High-Point Victory For Cougars Baseball

For the second straight game, the Cranford Cougars varsity baseball team scored 13 runs to victory. This time Hillside was the unlucky foe.

Senior Nick Pace led Friday's nine-hit attack with a pair of hits, including a double, while senior Rob Ghiretti went 2-for-2 with two runs scored in the win.

This marked the Cougars' second error-free game.

"Overall, it's just a great performance by all of our guys," said third baseman Keith Powell, who has proven Brooks Robinson-like at the hot corner. "We're just working hard every day, doing everything we can to get better."

Senior Pat Gilstrap added a pair of RBI'S as Cranford jumped out to an 8-0 first inning lead. They wrapped the game up with four more runs in the fourth.

Junior Greg Matlosz was 1-for-2 with two runs scored. Senior catcher Mark Linger crossed the plate twice for the home side.

Senior southpaw Nick Cook got the start on the mound and delivered a sparkling effort, striking out seven Comets while giving up just one hit. Right-hander Justin Van Ostenbridge hurled two innings of shutout ball, giving up one hit while striking out four.

"I think we like where we are, but we know we can get better," said left-fielder Mark Osofsky. "We're not at the top of our game yet, but we're progressing every day, so we should be able to get better. It's all about working hard every single day."

"We try and focus on three phases of the game, pitching, defense and offense," said McCaffery. "We work on those every day to make sure that we do all the little things right."

He expects Cranford to grab the third or fourth seed when the Union County Tournament list debuts Monday night.

"We could have been higher, but the loss to Union last week will most likely drop us down," McCaffery said. "The tournament is always tough. You really have to be on your game to win it."

"We have a good chance of winning, I think," said Powell. "We just need great pitching and defense, a lot of offense and we'll win it."

"We don't really look ahead," McCaffery said. "I don't worry about the county tournament. I worry about the next game that we have in front of us."

The Cougars have a busy week ahead. They face Summit on the road on Tuesday, Governor Livingston at home Thursday, and Roselle Catholic away on Friday. The first round of the Union County Tournament will take place on May 1.