Baseball: Somerville rallies to advance to N2G3 final
BRIDGEWATER – The Somerville High School baseball team's bats may have been silent for the majority of the game, but they came alive when the game, and their season, was on the line.
After a leadoff triple in the bottom of the seventh inning from junior second baseman Mike Miceli, sophomore left fielder Tom Babalis smacked a RBI single to left field to plate the winning run as second-seeded Somerville topped third-seeded Governor Livingston 2-1 in the North 2 Group III semifinals.
The Pioneers (18-9) will face fourth-seeded Cranford in the sectional final on Friday.
With the score tied at one, Babalis had a simple approach when he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh: hit it where there aren’t any fielders.
“I just wanted to get the ball in play, and hit it to where they weren’t.” Babalis said. "The kid elevated a pitch, I got a good swing on it and it went over the fielder’s head. I knew we were going back to the sectional finals for the second time in a row, I was just so happy.”
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Somerville trailed Governor Livingston 1-0 for the majority of the game as Highlander left-handed starting pitcher Nick Cocchia allowed only one hit through the first five innings.
That utter domination changed when Somerville first baseman Kellen Hardy hit a single with one out in the top of the sixth. Babalis and Devin Hack followed with two more singles to load the bases, and Hardy scored when a Paul Huff fielder’s choice was misplayed at second base.
“Kellen is the kind of guy that everyone looks to, he’s our best hitter,” Somerville coach Chris Banos said. “Once Kellen broke the ice, the kids were like, ‘alright, Kellen is going, let’s start getting some good swings.’”
Somerville starter Tom Disch was virtually unhittable, allowing one run on three hits and one walk through six plus innings. The lefty had to battle the Highlanders and congestion as he sat with a cool rag on his neck in between innings to combat a lingering cold.
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The clutch hits from Miceli and Babalis were able to take the pressure off both Disch and his sinus.
“I have a cold, so I was breathing through my eyes like a lava lizard,” Disch said. “Miceli and Babalis, they’re something like 17 for their last 38, so it was pretty ridiculous the way they stepped up.”
Cocchia tossed a gem as well for the Highlanders (21-10), allowing two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out eight in 6 1/3 innings.
“He pitched like the ace of the staff, but you have to give him more than one run,” Governor Livingston coach Chris Roof said. “I was a little disappointed in what we did offensively. Bottom line is we should have scored more than one run to put more pressure on Somerville and ease the tension on us.”
A dark horse to repeat as sectional champions, the Highlanders seemed to surprise every one by making it this far in sectionals and winning their first county title earlier in May.
“Nobody, including myself, would have thought this team would have won 21 games, won the Union County championship and gotten to the state semifinals with a really good chance to get to the finals,” Roof said. “I tip my cap to the kids and the coaching staff, they were really great.”
Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice: dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.