Sheehy's Late Two-Run Home Run Decides Red Bank Catholic's 2-1 Win Over Lacey

Photos courtesy of Tom Smith: Sheehy crossing the plate after dramatic home run, Nappi and Bianchi on the mound.

RED BANK – Entering Wednesday’s Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal game versus Lacey the Caseys were a perfect 10-0 outside the Class B North. Thanks to senior catcher Brian Sheehy they’re now 11-0.

Sheehy, who fought off a dizzy spell in the top of the sixth inning that almost forced him out of the game, slugged a towering two-out, two-run home run over the left-field fence erasing a 1-0 Lacey lead in the bottom of the sixth.

“He almost came out of the game,” Caseys (18-7) head coach Buddy Hausmann said of Sheehy. “He wasn’t feeling well. To swing like that on a 0-2 pitch, I guess you don’t have to feel well.”

Sheehy's dramatic home run was the difference maker as the fourth-seeded Caseys held on for a 2-1 win over No. 5-seed Lacey (20-5) to advance to next Wednesday’s SCT semifinal against top-seeded Toms River South – a 1-0 winner over Pinelands.

If it weren’t for Montclair State – bound Aiden Supp reaching first base batting in front of Sheehy with two outs, Sheehy’s heroic’s might’ve never happened. Supp hustled down the first-base line on a ground ball to shortstop Keith Apostolos that the junior double-clutched and bobbled just long enough for Supp to beat the throw to first by the blink of an eye.

“That definitely gave us a little momentum,” Sheehy said of Supp’s play. “Anytime, someone makes an error, you have something good going for you.”

Supp’s heads-up base running kept the inning alive for Sheehy and he made the Lions pay dearly lofting a two-out, 0-2 breaking ball high into the sky that eventually landed on the other side of the left field fence. It was one of the few mistakes that Lacey starting pitcher Tom Corragio (3-3) made all day and Sheehy took advantage.

“Honestly I think I messed up, the first pitch was right down the middle but I didn’t swing,” Sheehy said of his game-winning at bat. “I thought I was in a little bit of a hole, so I was just looking for a mistake. He (Corragio) just left one over the plate and hung a curve ball.

“I thought I just popped it up. I didn’t think it was going out. I just had my head down and when I looked up that’s when I thought it was going out.”

Sophomore Vincent Bianchi came in relief of starter Austin Nappi in the top of the seventh and set the side down in order on nine pitches including striking out the first two batters he faced to preserve the win for Nappi, who picked up his ninth win of the season against only one loss.

Nappi was limited to 78 pitches Wednesday by NJSIAA rules and that might’ve hurt him in the top of the sixth when Lacey pushed across its only run of the game.

With his pitch count approaching his limit after hitting leadoff batter Miles Feaster, who was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Justin Thompson and then to third on a ground out to shortstop by Brandon Haggerty, Nappi was facing hot-hitting right fielder, Anthony Elefante – who entered the game 9-for-his-last-14 plate appearances.

Elefante wasted no time jumping on Nappi’s first pitch lining it back through the box into centerfield scoring Feaster with the go-ahead run.

“I made sure he knew he had a base open and not to give him anything close to the middle of the plate,” Hausmann said. “But Nappi is always around the plate and he knew he was running out of pitches. We tried to tell him it’s okay if he leaves a guy on base – we have good pitchers to back him up. I’m sure he thought he could go after him and that’s what he does – he just got beat.”

Both pitchers benefited from some spectacular play by their defenses.

In the bottom of the third with one out, Lacey centerfielder Anthony Tobia laid out to make a stunning diving catch on a line drive into the right-centerfield gap off the bat Aaron Ahn and Elefante then made a leaping catch of Anthony DeRosa’s rising line drive to right field that seemed to take off on Elefnate to end the inning.

Then in the fourth, Apostolos made a diving back-handed stop on a hard-hit ball up the middle, got up and threw out JonMichael Rotondo at first to end the inning.

The Caseys defense bailed Nappi out in the fourth with runners on the corners turning a one-out, 5-4-3 double play to get out of the inning unscathed.

“With the pitchers we have we have to play defense for 21 outs,” Hausmann said. “You can’t give outs away in games like this, when you’re playing teams that pitch and catch the ball like Lacy did today. I’m not asking guys to make diving plays or to end up on the highlight reel. I just want them to make 21 routine plays. If our pitchers are throwing strikes and we can swing the bat a little bit, that’s usually going to be enough.”

Red Bank Catholic will be making its fourth straight trip to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals in search of its first final appearance since 2015 and are attempting to win its second title in program history since it won its initial title in 2011.

“In the beginning of the season, we were ranked high and everything,” Sheehy said. “We lost a couple of games and everyone doubted us and now we’re really hitting our stride when it counts. It’s a good time to start winning games.”

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