Brookdale Holds On For 6-5 Win Over Rowan

Photo above courtesy of Brookdale Athletic Department: Danny Serreino puts forth gutsy effort in horrid conditions for key win

LICROFT – The Jersey Blues took a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth and held on for a 6-5 win over RCGC in a key Region XIX showdown Friday at a frigid McLaughlin Field.

Holding a 6-0 lead after four innings, Rowan scored two runs in the fifth and three in the seventh to pull to within 6-5 before right fielder/pitcher Michael Russell came in and slammed the door shut on the Roadrunners in the top of the ninth with two on and two out to preserve the win.

“Big time win,” Brookdale’s sophomore shortstop Al Molina said. “We went to their place and beat them then they came here and it was nice to beat them on our home field. It’s two big wins to keep us good in the conference.”

Russell gave Brookdale a huge boost blasting a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning that easily cleared the fence in left field for an early 2-0 lead. Molina (Red Bank Catholic H.S.) reached first on an infield hit and scored on Russell’s third round-tripper of the year.

“That was big,” Brookdale head coach Johnny Johnson said. “He’s capable of doing that all the time. He’s getting the hang of the curve ball and that two-run home run took the pressure off us.”

“Huge, that was huge,” Molina said of Russell’s homer. “He can swing it, he’s a big time part of our lineup.”

Freshman Danny Serreino (Jackson Liberty H.S.) picked up his fourth win of the season against one defeat battling harsh weather conditions with the temperature in the low 40’s and consistent northwest winds gusting to well over 30 MPH at times.

“Serreino didn’t have his best stuff today in tough conditions,” Johnson said. “But he battled and kept us in the game.”

The 6-foot-3 right-hander gutted out 6 2/3 innings of six hit ball allowing five earned runs while striking out seven and walking four. Freshman lefty Pat Knight came in for Serreino in the seventh going two innings yielding 0 runs on one hit, two K’s , two base on balls and a hit batsman before Russell closed out the game.

“It was so cold, his (Knight’s) curve ball wasn’t really working,” Johnson said. “But he kept us in the game until we could use Russell who has closed a lot of games for us.”

Brookldale tacked on a run in the bottom of the third and three in the fourth to take what seemed like at the time an insurmountable 6-0 lead with Serreino on the mound mowing down Rowan hitters.

In the third, with the top of the order due up, two straight singles by Molina and Russell put runners on first and third before cleanup hitter Joe Sadler (Holmdel H.S.) punched a grounder through the five-six hole driving in Molina.

Then in the fourth, singles by freshman third baseman Ryan Orender (Wall Township H.S.) and freshman second baseman Joey Tesoriero put runners at first and second with two outs before Molina picked up his third hit of the game driving in Orender with a single through the left side of the infield.

Russell then picked up his third hit of the day and third RBI sending Tesoriero home on a line single through the three-four hole before Molina scored to make it 6-0 on a wild throw on a pick-off attempt by Rowan reliever Ross Mintzer.

Serreino breezed through the first three innings before two errors by Orender and a walk loaded the bases in the fourth with two outs but Serreino got pinch-hitter Jake Gillis to sky the ball to Orender who fought the wind to make a nice catch for the third out.

Brookdale had a chance to add to their lead in the bottom of the seventh after an error, hit batsman and a wild pitch put runners at second and third with one out, but pinch runner Jevon Tyree was thrown out at home on a grounder to third and Tesoriero popped up to second for the third out.

In the top of the eighth, with Rowan still riding the momentum of their three-run seventh, Molina made a super backhanded stab in the hole, pivoted and nailed the runner at first for the second out of the inning before a walk, wild pitch and groundout ended the inning.

“He’s (Molina) a DI ballplayer and the leader of this team,” Johnson said. “He works hard in practice on his defense; he’s an all-around player and one of the top players to ever play in the program here.”

Then in the top of the ninth, Molina battled fierce winds to make an excellent running catch on a high pop-up in short left field for the first out before Sadler did the same on a foul pop near the dugout for the second out. Knight then got into trouble walking the next batter and hitting the number eight batter, John Reina, putting a runner in scoring position and leaving it to Russell to come in to put out the fire.

“The whole team takes pride in their defense,” Molina said. “We make sure we lock the defense down just in case our bats aren’t going after it. If you play good defense you’re going to win.”

Russell finished 3-for-5 with a HR, three RBI and a run scored while Molina was a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored, one RBI and two BB. Orender had three hits including a double going 3-for-4 with a run scored.

“This is one of my favorite teams,” Johnson said. “They battle, they're good young kids and we’re starting to get the clutch hits; Molina’s been carrying us the last couple of weeks.

“Total team effort,” Molina said. “Pat Knight did a great job, Russell did a great job coming in closing, Serreino; it was just a great overall team win today.”

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