Cranford Rolls Into Group 3 Final With 7-1 Win

One day the seniors carry the team, some days the underclassmen, other days a mix of the two.

Yesterday, it was the young guns that came through early

For the 25^th time this season, the Cougars proved the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly, as Cranford posted a convincing 7-1 victory over Lakeland in the state Group 3 semifinals held on the turf field at Kean University in Union.

While sophomore righthander Kurt Rutmayer (6-1) hurled four solid innings as the starter, it was freshman lefty Ryan Williamson who was called upon to put out a fire with two runners on and a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning. The southpaw got a pop out and struck out two batters to shut down the only real threat Lakeland had the entire game. Senior Nick Cook struck out two in the seventh inning to close the door for good.

"I'm just glad I got the pitches over the plate to get them for strikes," said Rutmayer. "The defense really helped me out today and I'm glad that Ryan and Cook can come in and secure the victory.

"I thought that Kurt did a very nice job," said head coach Dennis McCaffery. "He kept them in check and we were able to get some timely hitting in the third inning where I thought we ran the bases well and we were able to execute and put some runs across. Ryan came in and did a great job."

Stepping up in a big way of late is another rookie, freshman Sean Feeney, who catapulted the offensive attack with a 3-for-3 effort, highlighted by a double and an RBI.

Feeney had a key hit in the state sectional final last Friday over Morristown and continued to show his defensive prowess at third base. Senior catcher Marc Linger also chipped in with a key triple in the four-run sixth inning to ice the game.

"I thought today was a great way to win a game before the championship game," said Linger. "Our pitching did a great job, that's good before the championship game. We're very excited, I'm very pumped for this."

"Every game's big," said senior Nate Varilli. "Some of the wins we had earlier in the year helped us get here. I'm just glad that we can still be playing and the season keeps extending. I don't want anything more than that right now."

"It's a great game and I'm really happy for our team," said senior centerfielder Nick Pace. "I hope we do well in Toms River. It was a good team effort today. We all contributed well and we all made big plays."

The Cougars were in control throughout the game against Lakeland, connecting on seven hits, executing on defense and again taking advantage of their opponents' mistakes.

There wasn't a bad bounce to be had thanks to the artificial surface which covered the infield and outfield.

"I think they enjoyed it," said McCaffery. "We always stress that the field is the same dimensions regardless of how many people are in the crowd. We always try and stay within, work with each other and really don't let things outside the field ever distract us."

"It was a great atmosphere," Pace said. "I'm glad we got this far to see how this really is. It's a great field and a great place to play."