With one week to go before the state cutoff, there were a few South Bergenite teams already entrenched to make it like Lyndhurst and Becton, but teams like North Arlington and Queen of Peace were battling to stay in shooting distance for the .500 record needed to qualify.
The Vikings are trying to get back into the state tournament after a few years absence. North Arlington helped its cause on Saturday with a 13-2 victory at Saddle River Day School. The win raised the Vikings record to 5-7. After going down 1-0 North Arlington took it the rest of the way with six runs in the top of the second inning. Joe Monahan had three RBI for North Arlington while Luis Gomez went 4-for-5 on the day. Janota Bruno got the victory on the mound for the Vikings and went the distance in the shortened five-inning game while scattering four hits and striking out seven.
Queen of Peace held on in the end against South Bergenite and BCSL American rival, Rutherford, 4-3.
Pitcher Tom Seickendick got the victory for the Golden Griffins as the team raised its record to one game under .500 (7-8) as they look for its third straight state tournament bid.
The loss did not help the Bulldogs as they dropped to 10-4 as they try to parlay a Bergen County Tournament bid. Chris DeCarter had a pair of RBI to lead Queen of Peace’s offense in the April 23rd contest.
While the likes of Becton, Lyndhurst and Rutherford appear to be set for the state tournament, they are looking to qualify for the Bergen County tournament. The deadline for that tourney is May 12.
Lyndhurst bolstered its county resume as they defeated Belleville, 9-8, on Sunday at Yogi Berra Stadium. The Golden Bears appear to like the Little Falls stadium since they defeated Becton on April 17th in their other Yogi Berra appearance. The Golden Bears were down 6-0 in the early going, but came from behind with seven runs in the second and third innings to go ahead.
Junior Kevin Smolensky's successful suicide squeeze in the bottom of the seventh gave the Golden Bears the independent victory and raised their record to 11-3. Danny Lisanti had a pair of RBI for Lyndhurst.
St. Mary’s of Jersey City defeated Rutherford, 2-0 as Rutherford dropped to 10-5 overall. Baseball teams need to have at least a .650 winning percentage by May 12 to automatically qualify for the Bergen County tournament.
In a battle of teams in the BCSL National, Lyndhurst won a critical game over St. Mary’s, 3-2. After the Gaels took a 2-0 lead, the Golden Bears took advantage of the St. Mary’s miscues and scored a run in the top of the seventh inning for the victory. The Gaels were 7-5 last week.
Lyndhurst ace Glenn Flora rebounded against St. Mary’s with a complete game performance while giving no earned runs and firing a two-hitter while striking out 10. Offensively, Danny Lisanti had an RBI double for the Golden Bears. For the Gaels Anthony Luberto and C.J. Gonzalez produced a double and a triple in the loss.
