LINDEN - The turning point might not have been evident in the scorebook on Monday, but a key play in the Livingston Junior American League team's 4-3 win over South Brunswick came in the fourth inning.
With the game tied at two, South Brunswick had the bases loaded with nobody out. South Brunswick's Brandon Haas nailed a pitch right to Livingston shortstop, Jordan Farber, who saw South Brunswick designated hitter Scott Cannon off on first base and fired it to first baseman, Andrew Egner, who put the tag on Cannon for the double-play. Livingston pitcher Alex Haberman got South Brunswick's Frankie Herron to hit a pop-up to end the inning.
Inspired by that play, Livingston Post 201 scored a pair of runs in their next at bats and went to win 4-3, giving them a chance to continue in the District 2 tournament at Memorial Field in Linden.
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"First, I had to catch the ball and then I had to react fast," said Farber. "I saw that he (Cannon) was straying off first base. It really gave us confidence to get out of that inning."
Haberman went the distance and held on in the final inning after Haas scored in the bottom of the seventh inning after smacking a triple. The Livingston pitcher got Keenan to ground out to Post 201 second baseman, Connor Kimmel, who made a force at second base to end the game.
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"My inside fastball was working and they had a hard time getting around it," said Haberman, who admitted that his curve ball was off on Monday.
Haberman was backed up by the offense of centerfielder Taylor Parsons, left fielder Justin Tepper, third baseman Jake Dock and first baseman Andrew Egner, who all had a pair of hits each in the game.
Post 201 broke the two-all tie in the top of the fifth inning with some big extra base hits, although it didn't appear that way at first, after Farber grounded into a double play for two outs. But Kimmel smacked a base hit and then Tepper whacked a triple into the right field corner to score Kimmel. Dock then dropped a double down the left field line to score Tepper and take a 4-2 lead.
"I had the confidence that we would hit the ball well," said Haberman.
With the victory, Livingston won the first of the three necessary games that they need to move on to the state finals tournament this weekend. Post 201 cannot lose one game in the double-elimination tournament since it fell in the first game of District 2 to Mt. Olive on Saturday.
Livingston faces Mt. Morris on Tuesday in Linden.
