Beat Marlboro 6-0 Behind Maguire Gem
By Mike Ready
RUMSON – Pitching in weather hardly conducive to spring baseball, junior righty Morgan Maguire ignored the elements while tossing a one-hit shutout in Rumson Fair Haven’s 6-0 win over Marlboro in first-round action of the Monmouth County Tournament.
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Maguire struck out eight in the complete game win, including the final batter of the game for his fourth win of the season. The Old Dominion recruit recorded seven first-pitch outs, relying on his changeup early in the count inducing Marlboro’s aggressive lineup into swinging early.
“Morgan’s a bulldog, he throws strikes and doesn’t go deep into counts,” Rumson coach Kevin James said. “His approach today was, just let them put the ball in play and let our defense take care of it; our defense has been playing much better. He threw his fastball and his changeup; they’re a very aggressive offensive team so they were swing early in the count at his off speed stuff. When your’re getting seven first-pitch outs that’s a great day; it saves a lot of pitches.”
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In the first four innings, Maguire gave up his only hit, but retired 12-of-the-13 batters he faced before the weather really took a turn for the worse.
“It was cold and hard to get a grip on the ball,” Maguire said. “As soon as the rain started coming down the ball really got slippery, but I just kept trying to throw strikes. My changeup and fastball were really working today; my changeup was my out pitch. Even with the weather the way it was, I felt great out there today.”
The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the fourth until the Bulldogs (8-5, 6-5) put three runs on the board.
Leadoff batter Billy Lyons drew a walk and advanced to second on a passed ball, only to be picked off on a disputed play at second. First baseman Alex Riguardi then reached on an infield single before Maguire lined a single into right centerfield to put men on first and second. Third baseman Thomas Culligan walked to load the bases and Max Goione brought in a run on a fielder’s choice when he was safe at first.
With runners now on the corners, Marlboro starting lefty Cory Goldstein uncorked a wild pitch with Goione advancing to second. Designated hitter Chris Jewett then lined a single to drive in Lucas Scinto – running for Maguire – and Culligan was allowed to score on an interference call to make it 3-0 Dog’s.
As the rain intensified, Maguire issued walks to the No.1 and No.2 batters in the top of the fifth. He then struck out the final two hitters after Marlboro’s Kyle Ondar was caught in a run down and tagged out for the first out of the inning.
In the sixth, with one out and runners at first and second after walking two and striking out one, Maguire induced a grounder to second for a perfect 5-3 double play to end the inning.
The Bulldogs gave Maguire another three runs to work with in the bottom of the sixth. Lyon’s led off with a rocket that ricocheted off the third baseman for a single, and after two ground outs, two walks loaded the bases. Pinch hitter Kenny Ferrare then came up to bat and drilled a three-run double over the center fielders head for a 6-0 lead.
Maguire retired the side in order in the seventh; striking out the final batter to put an exclamation point on the win.
“We’re now in the next round; the quarterfinals of the Monmouth County Tournament,” James said. “Any time you have a playoff game it’s really nice to win. We're very fortunate this year to have two arms in Shane McCarthy and Morgan Maguire, and that every time you hand them the ball we have a good chance to win.”
“Survive and advance, that’s what it’s all about now,” Maguire said. “A lot of my teammates are seniors and I’d love for us to make a run for them. We’ve got to ‘pick up the ball’ like coach says, and have good at bats.”
Maguire, also one of the top hitters in the Shore Conference, went 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Riguardi went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Jewett had the 2-run single.
Rumson, seeded No.5, moves on to play No.13 seed Freehold Township (9-4, 5-4) in the quarterfinals. The Patriots are ranked No.2 in the latest Shore Sports Network top ten poll, but lost a 4-1 decision on Monday to one of the hottest pitchers in the Shore Conference, CBA’s Luca Dalarti. Before that loss, they had won six games in a row and eight-out-of-nine.
