Wayne Valley Holds Off Rival In County Baseball Tournament (video)

For Wayne Valley, advancing to the Passaic County baseball semifinals was anything but a walk in the park. But the Indians were able to hold off an upset-minded Passaic Valley team for a tough 7-4 win.

The Indians scored five times in the first inning, then saw the Hornets threaten to erase that advantage time after time. Pitcher Vin Gleason hung in to finish the job, despite allowing 13 hits, thanks in part to some big defensive plays.

"It was a gutsy performance," said Indians coach Jeff Hoover. “We made enough plays to win the game. We did what we had to do to win."

Matt Marks made a running catch near the fence in the sixth inning with the tying runs on base to squelch a Passaic Valley rally.

Marks also had a two-run double as part of the first-inning outburst for Wayne Valley.

Gleason also drove in a pair of runs for the Indians and Mike Elia had an RBI double. Wayne Valley had 14 hits overall in the contest.

Passaic Valley put runners aboard in each inning after the first but stranded 12 men on base.

Alex Lux had three hits and an RBI, and Brian Stanton had two hits and drove in a run.

Wayne Valley advances to meet Pompton Lakes in the county semifinals on Saturday at Passaic Tech. The Indians are also the top seed in North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 tournament They open state tournament play against Paterson Eastside on Monday.

— Jersey Sports Now is a multimedia website covering high school and youth sports in Wayne and the Passaic County area.  Featuring game video highlights, scores, standings, and more.

Download the movie