EWING-It was a tough end to the 2015 season for the Flemington Post 159 baseball team, as the Indians fell just one game short of winning a second state title since 2009. But the Indians are back in the 2016 New Jersey American Legion State Final Eight, once again held at Moody Park. With a new format for the tournament...
EWING-It was a tough end to the 2015 season for the Flemington Post 159 baseball team, as the Indians fell just one game short of winning a second state title since 2009.
But the Indians are back in the 2016 New Jersey American Legion State Final Eight, once again held at Moody Park. With a new format for the tournament this season, consisting of two divisions of pool play, there is some added spice.
Flemington was drawn in the American Division, with six-time defending state champions Brooklawn Post 72, Bordentown Post 26, and Haddon Heights Post 262. The National Division has Hopewell Post 339, Rochelle Park Post 170, Washington Township Post 521, and Gloucester Township Post 281.
Each pool sees the top two teams advance to the semifinals, with the second place team in one division playing the first place team in the other.
The tournament kicked off on Saturday morning, with a rematch of the 2015 state final. Brooklawn held off Flemington 6-3, to put the Indians in a tough spot heading into their Monday afternoon contest with a very good Bordentown team that was 1-1 in its first two games.
After falling behind 4-3 after four innings, Flemington struck right back to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth. With the game played in stifling conditions, which saw the heat index rise close to 110 degrees, the Indians continued to tack on runs, and ran away with a 9-4 win.
"I think if you look at the teams that are left, they are all good," Flemington head coach Steve Farsiou said. "Bordentown is well-coached. I knew they were missing some guys, and it was really hot. I mean it was really hot."
"We had to take Austin Arndt out of the game, because he was dehydrated," Farsiou said. "At this point, you just do the best you can to try to get out of innings, and keep them down."
"If you notice in our games, we have had one bad inning," Farsiou said. "Fortunately, it didn't kill is today. I have to give (pitcher) Pat Clare a lot of credit today. He is a guy that has been with us for three years, and Phil (Demartino) has been with us for two, and I thought they did a tremendous job on the mound."
"Pat is our go-to guy for bulldog games, and he did a really good job," Farsiou said. "I can't say enough about him. And Phil did a great job coming in. He has come in and pitched awesome for us, after not getting a lot of innings in college this year. I am proud of those two guys."
FLEMINGTON, BROOKLAWN PLAY TWO FOR 2015 NJ STATE TITLE
Mike Maguire was the key offensively for the Indians, as he reached base five times out of the leadoff hole.
"It is a mindset through the whole team," Maguire said. "We have to stay focused on what we have to do, and right now, that is winning. We always have that one inning where the wheels kind of fall off the bus a little bit. If we can eliminate that, and stay focused, we are in good shape."
Manager Doug Moore's Bordentown team, which ended pool play at 1-2, now has to wait to see the results of Tuesday, and have a lot break in its favor, to move on to the semifinals.
"I will be around to watch, and hopefully the stuff goes our way," Moore said. "But we let up a lot of runs, so it is really a long shot. It was fun this year. We are missing some guys, on vacation, and we had some players suspended."
"We just had a couple of bad innings at the tournament," Moore said. "We had some chances, down 6-4 today, and we can't execute a bunt. We had a base stolen, and someone swung at the pitch. After that, I just think we lost a little fire."
It moved Flemington to 1-1, and with a 4 p.m. game Tuesday against a Haddon Heights team that will have to play a double-header in brutal temperatures, it could be a huge advantage for the Indians.
"Same mentality tomorrow," Farsiou said. "For us, now it is a matter of, with a win under our belt, I think the guys realize what the sense of urgency has to be. I think, if we can get in (to the semifinals), I think we will be a dangerous team. I think we have a good lineup, good kids, and a lot of pitching left."