Cinnaminson Ends Mahwah's Repeat Dream

Bases loaded. No outs. Time running out. It's the kind of situation that can make or break any baseball team.

After powering through the opposition in the NJSIAA baseball tournament, Mahwah appeared poised to break open a close game, just as it had done in five previous games. But just when they needed them most, the Thunderbirds' potent bats deserted them and Cinnaminson went on to a 2-1 victory to unseat the defending Group 2 champions at Toms River High School South yesterday.

"I'll take that situation (bases loaded with no outs) every time," Mahwah coach Jeff Remo said. "It just didn't happen for us."

Much of that was due to the pitching of Cinnaminson's John Bednarek. After Mahwah (27-4) loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning on singles by Eric Kaplan and Chris Baldi and a walk by Jason Stepp, Bednarek buckled down and forced a ground ball by C.J. Musumeci then struck out the next two batters to escape the threat and keep the game tied.

Cinnaminson (22-9) then pushed the winning run across in the top of the seventh inning when Cole Pewar singled past the shortstop, driving in pinch-hitter Jimmy Cicale. It was the just the second hit given up by Baldi (11-2) since the first inning, when Cinnaminson scored on a bases-loaded walk issued to Mike Cosgrove. 

Baldi allowed two hits and two walks in the first inning, but settled down to strike out six Cinnaminson batters the rest of the way. He gave up just two more walks and hit one batter.

"We were confident he would find his way," Remo said.

Mahwah scored its run in the third inning when the Pirates committed a pair of errors. Musumesi reached on an error when a grounder squeaked past the Cinnaminson second baseman, then advanced to third on bunts by Mike Altamuro and John Pantano. Pantano was safe at first when the ball got away on the play, which allowed Musumesi to score. But with two runners on, the Thunderbirds were not able to push across any more runs as Bednarek shut Mahwah down, foreshadowing what would happen later in the game.

"It's going to take a while for it to sink in before they understand how special this has been," Remo said of returning to the Group 2 final. "But eventually it will."

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