NEWARK - In two previous match-ups against Seton Hall Prep, Millburn had avoided facing ace pitcher Mike Sheppard III. The Millers would not be so fortunate in the third meeting between the two Essex County powers.
Sheppard showed why he is one of the state's premier hurlers as he struck out 10 batters and allowed just four hits and a hit batsman to lead Seton Hall Prep to an 8-2 victory in the finals of the 79th Greater Newark Tournament yesterday at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
"He has electric stuff," Millburn head coach Brian Chapman said. "It's not just the fastball. He throws his breaking ball hard and for a strike which is a tough combo. Its hard enough to hit a curve ball, but he has some velocity on his curve ball. He had a bite to it. He's an excellent pitcher. He's a Division 1 pitcher and he's probably going to be a professional pitcher at some point in his life."
Mixing a fastball which often eclipsed the 90 mile-per-hour mark and a biting curve ball, Sheppard would frustrate the fourth-seeded Millers (22-5) almost immediately with a pair of strikeouts in the first, but really found his groove in the second.
"I was a little nervous in the first inning," said Sheppard, "and once I got the jitters out, I felt like I was throwing my curve for strikes and I had my stuff so I knew it was going to be a good day."
Already trailing 2-0 after a two-run error in the first inning, the deficit seemed much more daunting with Sheppard dealing from the mound. He would allow a single to Dan Frischman in the first, but would not allow another one until Jeff Fischer's run-scoring single in the fifth inning. Between the time of those two hits, the flame-throwing junior notched six strikeouts.
Sheppard would pitch 6.1 strong innings before giving way to lefty Stephen Silvestri for the game's final two outs.
As Sheppard was tossing zeros on one end, Millburn's freshman phenom David Talpalar more than held up his end of the bargain in this pitchers' duel. Talpalar was surpisingly wild early on, hitting the first two batters of the game, but quickly settled down after that.
"I thought he might have been nervous, but when I got out there (to the mound) he said that wasn't the case, the ball had just gotten away from him twice." Chapman said. "David is a cool customer. He did a great job today, he pitched his heart out and he always does when he's out there."
Talpalar didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning (a Ty Blankmeyer single) and kept the third-seeded Pirates (20-4) off the scoreboard after that first-inning blip, effectively changing speeds on his pitches.
"I was a little frustrated in the first inning, I felt I had a little mechanical issue early on," said Talpalar, who allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits and five walks. "But then I got it together later on and was able to settle down.”
The powerful Seton Hall lineup would finally get to Talpalar and the Millers in the sixth with small ball to put the game out of reach. Tom Mahala led off with a single and then Seton Hall Prep got consecutive bunt hits from Shane Nolan, Tim Hoehn and Matt Cianci.
"They were really good bunts,” said Nolan. “We practice bunts every day. We basically hit just as much as we bunt so we take it real seriously. And when the time comes in the game, we can be successful with our bunts."
Blankmeyer would break the game wide open with a two-run double to deep center increasing the Pirates' lead to 5-1.Rob Fonseca later added a two-run double as Seton Hall sent 11 men to the plate in the sixth to make it 8-1.
The rally marked the end of a rough 24-hour stretch for Millburn. Yesterday they lost shortstop Milo Freeman for the season after he suffered a broken wrist in Friday's state tournament win against West Morris.
Millburn won't be able to dwell on the loss of its teammate or yesterday's game for long. The Millers return to action on Tuesday when they host Sommerville in the semifinals of the North 2, Group III tournament.
"This one's going to sting for a little while and when we come back on Tuesday it will still be fresh in our minds," Talpalar said. "We're going to sit on this for a while and not let it happen again."
