Game of the Week: Fort Lee Baseball Shut Out by Cliffside Park

Cliffside Park pitching proved too much for the Bridgemen Monday, as the Fort Lee team squandered scoring opportunities and hit into multiple double plays, suffering a 3-0 shutout loss to the Red Raiders at home and putting their state tournament hopes in jeopardy.

Fort Lee pitcher John Hroncic pitched a good game, yielding just three runs, but the Bridgemen were hurt on several occasions by the double play ball. Momentum shifted early in the game on a mis-communication on a pop up that got the Red Raiders rolling.

Cliffside Park’s Fabien Gashi pitched the shutout.

Fort Lee head coach Mike Raftery credited Cliffside Park for their solid defense and also knows that the Bridgemen did not come out ready to play.

“We didn’t hit the ball," said Raftery. "We had runners in scoring position. We had a man on third that got thrown out at the plate. It can’t happen. That can’t happen You can’t win like that. They played good defense. They turned three double plays. Double plays are a pitcher’s best friend. That’s how you win. They did a nice job. We were flat and didn’t come to play today, and they won.”

Cliffside Park scored in the first, third and fourth innings with Fabien Gashi and John Hrocic engaging in a good pitcher’s duel, but the Bridegmen’s failure to execute on the hitting end is what ultimately did them in Monday.

The Bridgemen also got a scare in the middle of the game when first baseman Kris Doidge was injured while getting a Red Raider out at first base. Doidge was attended to and able to play the rest of the game.

Fort Lee had their chances to score with men reaching third base on multiple occasions throughout the game, but the Red Raiders defense and pitching always had an answer and double plays seemd to come easy for them.

The loss did not help the Bridgemen for state contention, but they are still alive.

“We’ll have to bounce back," said Raftery. "If we don’t bounce back and win two out of our next two or one out of the two, if we lose both, we’re out."

The next two games will be crucial for the Bridgemen, who fell to 8-14 on the season with the loss. The first of those games will be Wednesday, when they host River Dell at 4 p.m. On Thursday the Bridgemen play another big game at home against Community High School at 4 p.m.