Fastball, Hidden Ball Trick Secure Cranford's Next Round in States

Two days after raising the Union County Tournament trophy, the Cougars played host to Voorhees in the first round of the state tournament, rolling to a 6-0 victory at Memorial Field.

Sophomore righthander Kurt Rutmayer earned the complete game shutout by striking out seven batters while scattering six hits, improving his record to 5-1.

"Coach has been telling me that I had this start since Saturday, so I knew I was going to be ready for this," said Rutmayer. "In school, I just kept it in the back of my mind. I'm really glad that I got this chance to start in a state game."

"Kurt, I think, out of all our pitchers, probably has the best fastball," said catcher Marc Linger. "His fastball moves, darts, I have no clue where it's going to go. I think what makes him so effective is it's just not a flat fastball, he's got a good curveball, but his fastball sets him apart."

"Since my elbow comes first on my fastball, it tails and locks up hitters," Rutmayer said. "I just throw my fastball when needed and do my job. I owe a lot of thanks to my defense for double plays, and the hidden ball trick was a key factor."

"He really pitched well," said head coach Dennis McCaffery. "He pitched well, both sides of the plate. He commanded the inside and outside part of the plate. He threw strikes. He let his fielders make plays behind him. He was very efficient today."

In the fourth inning, Cranford's Sean Trotter pulled off the hidden ball trick, slyly taking the ball from Rutmayer near the mound, and then positioning himself near the runner at second base. As soon as he came off the bag, Trotter applied the tag, leaving two men on instead of bases loaded. Rutmayer then got the final out of the frame with the score still 2-0.

Junior Greg Matlosz led the attack with a 2-for-2 effort while driving in two runs as the Cougars improved their mark to 21-5.

"We live to play another round in the state tournament," said McCaffery. "It's a single elimination tournament, so we're very happy to get the win. We tell them every game's big. From a scrimmage to a practice to a county final to a state tournament game, to an inter-squad game, it's big. Taking that mentality into every game is important."

Nick Cook, one of the heroes in Saturday's 6-5 UCT win over Westfield, chipped in with a double as he continues to hold a hot bat. Cranford scored their six runs on nine hits, picking up single runs in the second, third, fourth and sixth, while adding two runs in the fifth inning.

McCaffery was impressed with Voorhees lefty Sean Keselica.

"We knew that going in, we were going to have our hands full," said McCaffery. "I thought our kids had a good approach. We put the ball in play, we had some good two out hits. We had good base-running plays that helped us get runs across. I thought we executed well on the offensive side."

The Cougars have nailed down the conference and county crowns, but there's still more work to be done.

"Right now, we're still focused on trying to win a state championship. When the season's over, then we can really relish what we've done, but right now, we've won the county championship, we're happy to win it, but we need to focus on the states right now."

With the Westfield game now canceled, the Cougars will next face Columbia on Thursday in a regular season matchup before they resume state tournament action on Friday.