Baseball Team Edges GL to Open Season

Year after year, despite the changing faces, Hall of Fame coach Dennis McCaffery has his baseball team ready and focused game after game.

Besides their defensive acumen and solid pitching, the Cougars usually find a way to manufacture runs when they need them.

That was never more evident than Friday, when senior Nick Pace took center-stage in the top of the fifth inning against highly-touted Governor Livingston.

The speedy senior singled, stole a pair of bases and then hustled home on a passed ball to help the Cougars to a gritty 5-3 victory over the Highlanders.

"It was a great win and a great feeling to get that first win," said junior rightfielder Eric Walano. "We were going in there knowing we were facing a great squad. They have a bunch of senior starters back. We just needed to take it to them. We threw the first punch and just kept on going."

On the mound, senior righthander Pat Gilstrap showed just why he was called on for opening day, posting an impressive complete-game performance.

"Gilstrap pitched very well," said McCaffery. "He had command of his fastball both sides of the plate. He was able to throw his curveball for a strike. He kept them off-balance and did a very good job. He spotted his fastball extremely well. He kept a very good hitting team off-balance."

"Pat Gilstrap did a great job for us," said Walano. "He went the whole game, seven innings. He pitched great baseball and everybody played great defense. That's what we need to win ballgames. Everybody ran the bases very well. We didn't make one error on the basepaths or in the field."

Walano had a big day, going 3-for-3 on the afternoon. He was in a zone from the first at-bat.

"The first at-bat, it was nice," said Walano. "I had Nick on base in front of me, my first time batting third. I got a fastball and just looked to drive it. It was a good pitch to hit and I drove it into the outfield and Nick scored on that. We were able to manufacture some runs. Later in the game, I was able to drop down a couple of bunts for singles to get on base so my teammates could drive me in."

Bunting is almost a lost art on any level, but the Cougars work on that part of the game as much as any other.

"Bunting is a big part of our game," Walano said. "We'll sacrifice, we'll bunt for hits. We'll squeeze, we'll do it all. It's a very useful tool for our team."

And smart base running is a key part of the Cougars' game as well, taking advantage of other teams' mistakes.

"I thought the kids ran the bases very well," said McCaffery. "We had three runs score from third base, reading balls in the dirt. Nick Pace is a gamer. He finds ways to get results. He got on and was able to steal second. He made a good read on a ball in the dirt to get to third and home. He did an outstanding job setting the tone."

But Coach McCaffery will always turn the focus back to his teams' most important aspect.

"It solidifies what our program thinks, that it all starts with pitching," he said. "Throw the ball over the plate and throw strikes and we played good defense as well. We didn't give any extra outs."

The Cougars will travel to Morristown Saturday to face Morris County power Delbarton in a non-conference matchup. This will be a big test for the entire squad and especially for freshman Ryan Williamson, who will make his first career start.

"He's a fastball, curveball, changeup pitcher from the left side," McCaffery said. "We're happy with his progress in the pre-season and we're anxious to see him get on the mound for us. We know they have a very good team with several good arms. It's going to be a very difficult game for us. We did scrimmage them and we know we're going to have our hands full."