Devils had magic in the win over the Falcons

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Making a great tag at second base is Trevor Doremus (1) of Shore Regional on Beckett Langdon (10) of Monmouth Regional.

April 22, the Falcons of Monmouth Regional hosted the Blue Devils of Shore Regional in a Shore Conference B North divisional baseball game. It was a back-and-forth game all afternoon, but the Devils earned the 5-4 win in the ninth inning

“It was a total team win, a program victory,” said Jay Kuhlthau, head coach at Shore Regional. With the win his team improved to 5-5 overall and are 3-4 in the division. “We faced one of the best pitchers in the Shore Conference in Monmouth Regional’s Collin Denton, and we knew that we would need the entire team to contribute to them.”

Both team scored a single run in the opening inning. Then Monmouth Regional added another in the third off a rocket that was hit into the football stadium by Bobby Davidson, his second homerun of the season and fourth in three years on varsity.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Falcons scored two more additional runs. “It was a tough loss, especially the way Collin pitched. We had a 4-1 lead with one out in the seventh when he took Collin out of the game,” said Paul Crivello, head coach at Monmouth Regional. Denton threw 111 pitches in 6.1 innings and struck out 14 Blue Devil batters.

In the top of the seventh inning the Blue Devils scored three runs, to even the game at four. After Monmouth Regional was held scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, extra innings were required. It was the top of the ninth when Shore scored the winning run, taking the 5-4 victory.

Monmouth Regional had the top hurler on the mound to face the Blue Devils of Shore Regional. Collin Denton threw 111 pitches in 6.1 innings of work.

“We have to get better at finishing games. Shore did a nice job grinding out at bats and got big hits in the late innings. They did it all with two outs,” said Crivello. With the loss, Monmouth Regional drops to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the B North. “We had similar opportunities but unfortunately, we didn’t come through. I understand we have a young inexperienced team, but we must learn from games like this and keep getting better moving forward.”

Kuhlthau gave credit to his players on the mound. “Our pitching staff, led by Cruz Rosario, Luca Delonardo and Mike Russomano, set the tone early, and matched Denton pitch for pitch early on,” said Kuhlthau. He knew that something special would be required to get the win. “We needed a little magic, and we would find a way to win. With some clutch two-out bases hits by Andrew Barham and Braden Calandriello in the top of the seventh inning, we were able to tie the game.”

In the bottom of the eighth inning Ryan Barham made a great diving play to keep the game deadlocked at four. “In the top of the ninth inning Rory Burkhardt used a little more magic with a clutch two-out base hit to give us the win. Mike Russomano was phenomenal in his four innings of relief to earn his first win. It was also his varsity debut,” added Kuhlthau.

Shore started the season with a win, then lost four straight games. “I am very proud of how this team has shown great mental toughness to persevere and to be at their best when their best is expected,” Kuhlthau said.

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