Michael Rueger struck out 10 and got plenty of offensive support as Teaneck topped Tenafly 9-3 in opening round play of the Bergen County Baseball Tournament.
"We hit the ball in clutch spots," said Teaneck coach Ed Klimek. "I thought we hit the ball well with men in scoring position - some real big hits. And at the bottom of the lineup too."
The Highwaymen scored two in the first on two singles, a hit batsman and a wild pitch.
They added a third run in the third inning when left fielder Mike Chiaradio smacked a home run over the left center field fence.
"The last couple of days we have been hitting the ball real well," said Klimek. "We are getting more confident. We were banged up, we had a few guys out, but everyone is back."
One of the players who recently came back is junior pitcher Anthony Berroa who was hit above the right eye with a line drive off the bat of a Bergenfield batter April 22. There was no damage to his eye but he missed a few games.
In this game Berroa played second base and contributed three hits and an RBI.
"It stunk having to sit out those games," he said. "I was dying. Then finally to come back out and play and help the team. It feels great."
Berroa said he pitched against Barringer two weeks ago, although he admitted he was not in top form..
"It was not my best," he said. "I still have to build up and get stronger. And I was a little nervous in the first inning."
Tenafly closed the gap to 3-2 in its half of the fourth inning.
Andrew Abahoonie walked and moved to second on Chris Brown’s base hit. Brian Sherman followed with a grounder in the hole and Brown beat the throw to second from shortstop John Bowe.
The Tigers had bases loaded and nobody out.
Rueger struck out opposing pitcher Zack Durr for the first out. Jon Sobo followed with a liner to center and Ahahoonie scored. Brown scored one batter later on Pete Loconte’s single to right. [Full Story]
