Cranford Baseball Shuts Out Summit 14-0

Kurt Rutmayer pitched a strong game for the Cougars, and Sean Trotter had a big game at bat as the Cougars topped the Summit Hilltoppers 14-0 Tuesday.

"I though that we played all three phases of the game well: pitching, defense, and offense," said Cranford head coach Dennis McCaffrey. "We were able to get some time hitting, and we were able to get runs early."

Sean Trotter got things started for the Cougars when he singled and reached second on a Summit error. Eric Walano took first on a wild ball four that allowed Trotter to advance to third. Walano then stole second and Greg Matlosz walked to load the bases. Mark Osofsky was hit by a pitch, bringing in Trotter, then Walano came in on a wild pitch. The top of the first ended 2-0, Cranford.

The usually powerful Summit team was unable to get anything started against Cranford pitcher, Rutmayer. The Hilltoppers got the bat on the ball but failed to even get on base as Matt Rea and Kenny Miller both grounded out to first, and Nick Oristanio hit a fly out to right field. The inning ended 2-0, Cranford.

"It starts with pitching," said McCaffrey. "You have to be able to have kids who throw strikes and today Kurt (Rutmayer) and Vinnie (Colaneri) threw strikes and set a nice tone."

Summit's Miller took the mound again in the second. Powell led off for the Cougars in the second inning, and singled down the third baseline. Powell then stole second. Marc Linger and Trotter were each walked to load the bases. Nick Pace hit a line drive down the first baseline for the first out, but brought in Powell for Cranford's first earned run. Walano then hit a single to bring in Linger, who collided with Summit's Reid Van Syckle at the plate. The collision knocked the ball out of Van Syckle's glove and Linger was safe, but Van Syckle left the game with an injury.

With the injury fresh on everyone's mind, and a 4-0 Cranford lead, Summit pushed Miller back to center field and brought in sophomore James Baumeister to pitch the rest of the inning.

After the injury time out, Summit struggled to get the final two outs. Walano stole second.  With runners on second and third, Matlosz doubled bringing in two RBIs then stole third. Osofsky reached first on an error, and Nick Cook doubled to bring Matlosz in. Rob Ghiretti hit a fly out to right field, but Osofsky tagged up and raced home on the out. Keith Powell singled to bring Cook in before Summit would get their final out. The top of the second ended 9-0, Cranford.

In the bottom of the second, Summit found themselves in a deep hole and battling a talented Rutmayer. Ben Roessle grounded out to the shortstop. Matt DeWald hit a big double deep into center field. James Baumeister went to first when he was hit by a pitch. DeWald and Baumeister each advanced a base on a wild pitch. With runners on second and third, the Hilltoppers were in position, for the first time in the game, to make a move on the Cougars. Yet Summit would be unable to find a hole in the Cranford defense. Pat Birosak hit a fly out to right field and Chris George grounded out to the shortstop to close out the second inning.

"The weather wasn't that great for pitching," said Rutmayer. "But I just threw strikes like my coach tells me."

Cranford found themselves back at the top of their order in the third inning. Trotter singled to start things out. Pace took first on an error, and Trotter set out to steal second and third. Trotter failed to touch second base and was called out automatically. Pace would steal his way around the bases for Cranford's only run of the third inning. His run gave them the requisite 10-run lead they needed to end the game early, but first the Cougars needed to continue to hold the Hilltoppers off through the fifth inning.

The Hilltoppers continued to have problems at the plate. Joe Weil started the bottom of the third off with a single, and Matt Rea got to first on an error, but the rest of the top of the order couldn't get past the Cougar defense. The third inning ended 10-0, Cranford.

Baumeister took the mound again in the fourth, and the Hilltoppers continued to have problems holding down a strong Cougar offense. Osofsky grounded out to third base for the first out of the inning, but things did not turn around for Summit. Cook and Ghiretti each reached first on errors. Powell hit a fly out to center field for the second out, but with two down, Cranford struck. Linger walked to load the bases, then Trotter doubled for two RBIs. With runners on second and third, Pace singled into right field giving both runners time to come in. The top of the fourth inning ended 14-0, Cranford.

Rutmayer continued to pitch a strong game for Cranford in the bottom of the fourth. DeWald singled but was tagged out at second when Baumeister hit a single during his at-bat. Again the Hilltoppers would be find no openings in the Cranford field and the left the fourth inning scoreless.

"I'm really improving, because I'm still a sophomore so I'm learning the ways of pitching, " said Rutmayer. "It's all coming together though. We have a great record and were doing really well."

The Hilltoppers brought in Jack Mulcahy to pitch the fifth inning. Matlosz hit a fly ball to left field that Rea caught mid-fall. Pinch hitters were brought into the game.  Ryan Williamson singled. Nate Verrilli grounded out to second, and a Hilltopper double play ended the top of the fifth.

Summit would have one last chance to get themselves in the game, but went three and out against new Cranford pitcher, Vinnie Colaneri. The game ended Cranford 14, Summit 0.

"Our catcher, Marc Linger, did a nice job early settling down Kurt," said McCaffrey. "He does a very good job back there controlling the pitcher.  I thought that Sean Trooter did a nice job today, he had several hits. Nick Pace and Nick Cook each had hits.  We swung the bats well today. It's a credit to the kids' hard work."

The Cougars next take on Governor Livingston at Memorial Field at 4 p.m. on Thursday as they come into the second half of their season. Cranford previously beat G-L 5-3.