Baseball Defeat St. Joe's

This wasn’t the NNJIL Division C championship game as was the recent custom when Don Bosco and St. Joseph played a regular-season baseball game. Heck, these teams aren’t even in the same NJTCC division.

And there is a good chance the Ironmen and Green Knights could meet twice more this season with the stakes monumentally higher.

But that doesn’t mean Friday’s 5-1 win by Don Bosco, ranked No. 3 in the North Jersey Top 25, over No. 1 St. Joseph wasn’t significant. It was one of those big-picture games that both teams will be mulling for quite some time.

"To get the first win of this series is big," said Bosco senior ace Eric Stevens, who tossed a six-hitter. "This gives us a real confidence boost. And if we see them in the County or State tournament, well, so be it. We’ll come out ready again."

This was a nice bounce-back win for the Ironmen (12-3), who may have got caught looking ahead when they lost to DePaul on Wednesday. They played crisp defense behind Stevens (2-2), who was pitching for the first time since losing to Delbarton two weeks ago, and were able to string together some hits against St. Joseph ace Artie Lewicki (5-1).

"In the big picture, it’s a big win," said Bosco coach Mike Stanton. "It doesn’t matter what league we’re in. These are the games the kids get up for. They showed up and played."

Bosco took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on RBI singles by Ken O’Donnell and George Iskandarian. The big play in the inning was an errant pickoff throw by Lewicki with one out that set the stage for the rally.

"That pickoff changed the whole complexion of the game," said St. Joseph coach Frank Salvano.

The Ironmen scored two more runs in the fifth on an error and a controversial play in the outfield when a ball was kicked out of bounds. Salvano argued the call and was ejected from the game, which means he’s automatically suspended for the next two games.

That means Salvano won’t get to coach against Joe Cervino of Paramus on Monday in a matchup of 500-game winners. That’s also a game that should have a huge impact on the seeding for the Bergen County tournament.

"This game means we have to go out now and play harder," said Lewicki, who allowed 10 hits and struck out eight. "We had a chance to make the plays, and we didn’t get it done. Now we’ve got to bounce back Monday.

The Boston College-bound Stevens struck out eight and walked two. His one mistake was turned into a long home run by Tyler Fortanascio in the top of the sixth.

"That was the one pitch I wanted back, but it didn’t hurt us in the end," Stevens said.

"Eric has thrown that way the whole year," Stanton said. "He has been, without a doubt, our horse, and he showed it again . I don’t think I could’ve taken him out even if I wanted to."

By: MARK J. CZERWINSKI

Photo Credit: MICHAEL KARAS/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Record