Millburn Baseball's State Tourney Hopes Dashed

Scotch Plains-Fanwood rode stellar performances from seniors Jordan Bayroff and Gary Binkiewicz on their way to a decisive 10-0 victory over Millburn in the section quarterfinals on Friday. The seventh-seeded Millers were no match for the Raiders' juggernaut offense and their lights-out defense.

With the unwavering support of his infield, Bayroff tossed four shutout innings to earn the win and lower his ERA to 1.70. The Scotch Plains hurler surrendered just two hits and recorded two strikeouts. Binkiewicz relieved Bayroff in the fifth with a scoreless frame, in what would turn out to be the game's last inning after the Raiders secured a 10-run lead to win by mercy rule.

Binkiewicz did most of his damage from the plate, clubbing three doubles for five RBI's.

Millburn's Peter Han did his best to limit the Raiders' explosive offense, but spotty fielding in the first inning and injuries to several key players put the Millers in a hole from the very beginning. Han allowed 10 runs over five innings, but only five were earned.

Scotch Plains' devastating first inning rally started innocently enough with a Ricky Shevlin walk. But when Shevlin advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt and Marcus Rivera reached first on a dropped third strike, the situation was already starting to look dicey.

Han was able to induce a grounder to short on the next at-bat, but Chris Benedict overthrew first and Shevlin and Rivera scored. "You never want to make a mistake like that," said Benedict, Millburn's senior captain.

Next, Joey D'Anunzio reached first on another Millburn throwing error, giving Binkiewicz a chance to break the game open with men on first and second and only one out. The senior captain did not disappoint, with a hard-hit double that scored two, giving the Raiders a 4-0 lead. Han was able to remain focused and retire the next two batters, but his infield had already done too much damage.

Scotch Plains seized the momentum and ran with it for the rest of the game as they cranked out hit after hit and torched the Millers on the basepaths. The Raiders recorded three steals and advanced multiple runners on passed balls, wild pitches, and failed pickoff attempts.

Binkiewicz sparked his team again in the third with a blast off the left field wall that was very close to leaving the park. Even though his shot to the fence didn't give Binkiewicz his first homer on the year, it did the trick, scoring two runners and giving Scotch Plains a 6-0 lead. Binkiewicz advanced to third and then reached home on two passed balls. By the end of the third, Millburn trailed 8-0 courtesy of a Mike Lauricella single to right that drove in yet another run.

In the top of the fourth, Millburn started to show some signs of life when Benedict singled to right and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Dan Frischman's groundout moved Benedict over to third, finally putting the Millers in position to get on the scoreboard. Bayroff had other ideas as he settled down to strike out Dylan Bailey and get out of the jam.

With the Millers mired in a hopeless eight-run deficit entering the bottom of the fifth, the victor in the contest was a foregone conclusion. Binkiewicz clearly had no desire to prolong the inevitable, as he looped his third double deep down the left field line to drive in one. Lou Mazzella capped the game off with an RBI bloop single to right, giving Scotch Plains a 10-run lead in the minimum of five innings to end the game.

"They are a great team and they deserved the win today," said Han of the Raiders' impressive performance.

Millburn, sitting at 13-15, wraps up their season on Saturday against Montclair. The Mounties eliminated the Millers from the Greater Newark Tournament earlier this month in another game where fielding was Millburn's Achilles heel.

"It's a tough loss, being that, as seniors, it's our last state game ever. We just want to bounce back tomorrow on our last day and come away with a win," said Nick Gehring as he sat in the dugout with his fellow seniors, reflecting on four years of Millburn baseball that are coming to an end.

"It's really been an incredible experience," remarked Benedict, who anchored the Millers in the field and at the plate.

Scotch Plains (24-5) moves on to the semifinals, where they will meet a third seeded Cranford squad coming off a 12-6 win over Iselin Kennedy in the quarters.