Colts Win In Extras To Advance in State Tournament

The  Colts continued their successful season as they came back from a 5-0 deficit to move past the first round of the North Jersey Section 1, Group 2, State Tournament. 

Pascack Valley

(11-9)

Kinnelon

 (13-6-1)  

IN SHORT
After a rough start which saw the Kinnelon pitcher allow five runs on eight walks and three hits in the first three innings, Head Coach John McDonald went to his closer Sophomore RJ Gianetti to stop the bleeding. Gianetti did just that, pitching 5 1/3 scoreless frames with seven strikeouts, baffling the Pascack Valley hitters. After trailing 5-0 in three innings, the Colts got one run in the fourth on Ben Van Put's sac fly, followed by another two runs in the fifth capped by designated hitter Jake Spenadel's RBI single. After going scoreless in the sixth, the Colts loaded the bases in the seventh, and ended up scoring two runs in the inning to tie the game  and push it into extra innings.

Gianetti shut the Pascack Valley Cowboys down again in the top half of the 8th, setting the Colts up for victory. The bottom of the eighth started off with third baseman Dan Collins delivering a basehit. That was followed by a well-executed sacrifice bunt by right fielder John Spatidol to move Collins over to second base. Shortstop John Mamary was then inentionally walked to create a force play at second and third and it worked, as Dan Collins was thrown out at third after second basemen Trever Peden hit a a grounder to the shortstop. With two outs and runners at first and second, center fielder Billy O'Brien came to the plate. He hit a high fly ball to right field and Pascack Valley's rightfielder could not track the ball down. The ball dropped and Mamary came around to score as the Colts came away with the victory and completed their impressive comeback. 

COLT OF THE GAME
RJ Gianetti —Five and 1/3 scoreless innings allowing just two walks and one hit while striking out seven and earning the win.

Gianneti came in the top of the third with the bases loaded and two outs but induced a ground-out to end the inning. 

OTHER KEY PERFORMANCES

Billy O'Brien (Kinnelon)-2-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and the game winning RBI. O'Brien started a relay which ended up throwing a runner out at home in the sixth and he also made a great catch in the 8th, both times preventing Pascack Valley from taking the lead; Jake Spenadel (Kinnelon)-2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI single; and Brandon Branchini (Pascack Valley), 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored .

THEY SAID IT
"Just a great comeback, we battled, in the 5th inning. We chipped away at their starter and we got into their bullpen and we just chipped away and put pressure on them. And what can you say about RJ shutting them down? He did a fantastic job."–Head Coach John McDonald

"The fog was crazy all day. Sometimes it was real bad, other times it wasn't real thick. The line drives you could actually read a little bit better because the fog was a little bit higher, but when the ball was in the air it was a battle for both teams."-Center Fielder Billy O'Brien

"The coaches have just told me to get in there and throw lights out and don't think about anything. That's all I do, I just go out there and just throw.- Pitcher RJ Gianetti

Up Next—Winner of Pequannock vs. Hopatcong on Friday at 4 p.m. at Hopatcong High School.