Baseball: Watchung Hills earns redemption with North Hunterdon win
CLINTON TOWNSHIP - Last June, the 14th-seeded North Hunterdon High School baseball team upset top-seeded Watchung Hills in the North 2 Group IV final. On Wednesday afternoon, the Warriors earned some redemption.
The Warriors pride themselves on their pitching and defense, and both were on display. Junior right-handed pitcher Mike Murray tossed five scoreless innings, allowing five hits, one walk and striking out seven, as the defense behind him was perfect to lead the Warriors to a 7-2 victory over the Lions.
Wednesday’s victory was a nice early-season lift, and it helped get the monkey off the backs of many Warriors.
“There’s definitely a chip on the shoulder for the guys that witnessed and played in that game,” Murray said. “We wanted to come out, play hard and play our baseball.”
Watchung Hills (2-1) graduated 14 seniors from last year’s 27-5 squad, and much of that came from the pitching rotation. Brian Reiss (11-1, 0.91) and Tyler Lombardo (6-2, 1.57) highlight the top pitchers that graduated in June.
Murray will be looked upon as one of the replacements in the Warriors starting pitching rotation. Senior right-hander Kevin Sylvestri, who tossed two shutout innings and struck out three Lions in relief of Murray on Wednesday, have impressed thus far in the young season.
“We lost 21 wins with senior graduation on the mound, and it opens up competition. Doors are open for these kids to compete, and that’s all they’ve done,” Watchung Hills coach Joe Tremarco said. “Michael is right on pace to be where we know his potential is as a No. 1, 1-A with him and Sylvestri. That’s a good pitcher tandem to have, but you’re only as good as deep as your staff is.”
While graduation also hurt the Warriors’ batting order, they still have some big bats. Junior Brandon Hylton (.373, two homers, 20 RBI) pulled a solo home run over the right field fence in the first inning, and junior catcher Jeff Poggi bookended Hylton’s homer with a round tripper of his own in the seventh inning.
Left fielder James McKenna also collected two RBI singles to help lead a squad that is not rebuilding, but doing something else.
“I don’t like the term ‘rebuild’ because we’re a Group IV program, it should be ‘reload,’ and that’s what I feel like we’re doing,” Tremarco said. “We’ve got key guys back in the right positions. Hylton is probably one of the best hitters in the state, and it’s only been our third game. Once we get that warm weather, I’m excited to see our order one through nine, we’ve got some guys that can swing the bat.”
The Warriors made it to both the county and sectional finals in 2016 but walked away with zero titles. A program of the caliber of Watchung Hills expects to make deep tournament runs every year, but last season’s shortcomings may motivate the Warriors even more in a conference and section with a ton of talent and parity.
“A 14-seed won our section last season, so we’re confident the competition in our conference will get us prepared for the postseason,” Tremarco said. “You just hope you get that little bit of luck on your side.”
Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice can be reached at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.