Baseball Falls to Delbarton

Don Bosco’s baseball season probably can be best defined by a series of measuring-stick games leading up to the Bergen County and State tournaments.

Last weekend’s win over Calvert Hall in Maryland was one such game. So is the much-anticipated April 30 showdown with archrival St. Joseph.

Then there was Saturday.

The Ironmen got a chance to see how they measure up against Delbarton, one of the premier teams in New Jersey and one their chief rivals for a State title. For now, it’s advantage Delbarton.

"In baseball, you’re going to lose games," Bosco coach Mike Stanton said after the Ironmen, ranked No. 3 in the North Jersey Top 25, dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 decision at Delbarton’s Fleury Field. "There’s no way around it."

That may be true, but this one probably will sting for a while because of the way it ended. The Ironmen (6-2) allowed Delbarton (7-2) to score two runs with two out in the bottom of the seventh off ace Eric Stevens.

Stevens (2-2), who threw a strong game, had two outs with a runner on first when he walked leadoff hitter Matt Kastner for the third time. Kastner is one of Delbarton’s best hitters, and it was his long two-out triple in the fifth inning that tied the game at 1.

"Eric threw very good again," Stanton said. "He wasn’t quite as sharp as he was in his last outing [Monday against Wayne Hills], but he was aggressive and he stayed ahead of the hitters."

Stevens, a senior right-hander bound for Boston College, also did everything he could to finish the job. He got John Elson to hit a bouncer to second base that was misplayed as the tying run raced home.

Matt DeRenzi, Delbarton’s No. 3 hitter, followed with a sharp grounder back up the middle that was knocked down as Kastner came home with the winning run.

Just like that, Bosco’s six-game winning streak was history.

"That was a great ballgame; one of those games where it’s a shame someone has to lose," Stanton said. "I told the players right afterward that I thought they played a great game. There were a couple of mistakes that cost us, but that’s how baseball is."

This was a big win for Delbarton. The Green Wave were coming off Friday’s 4-3 loss to Pope John, and they came within one out of having their two top pitchers lose consecutive one-run games.

Delbarton was aggressive on the bases. The Green Wave stole five bases in six attempts, two by Kastner, and even tried — and failed — on a suicide squeeze.

By: MARK J. CZERWINSKI

Photo Credit: GEORGE MCNISH

The Record