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Team looks to rebound after loss
(by Erin Patricia Griffiths - April 29, 2008)
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Photos By Robert S. Pytel
Mike DeCarlo lines a basehit. DeCarlo had one RBI on the day.
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Emerson - A 10-inning, 14-13 loss to Garfield High School on Saturday, April 26 has left the Emerson Cavos with a 6-6 record.
The benching of one of Emerson’s best players in the second inning left the team at a disadvantage, as they were unable to bring in their star pitcher to finish the game when the score was tied. Emerson Head Coach Bob Carcich benched Nick Ramagli after he threw his bat following a called third strike. After the game, Carcich responded to questions about his decision to bench Ramagli saying, “It was a loss for today, but a win for the program.”
The Cavos kept the Boilermakers off the scoreboard and held a 4-0 lead until the bottom of the third inning when Garfield picked up one run. Emerson increased its advantage with another four runs bringing the score to 8-1 before Garfield scored three more in the bottom of the fifth.
Controversy erupted in the sixth inning with a questionable ruling by the umpire while Jimmy Aramanda was up at bat. Carcich disputed the call arguing he had a count of four balls, which would have sent Aramanda to first base with a walk, while the umpire claimed a count of only three balls. The next pitch was ruled a third strike and Aramanda headed back to the bench.
The conflict preceded a home run by David Cassirer, which brought in Mark Sommerhalter to home plate from first base, increasing the lead to 10-4. Had Aramanda reached on the walk, he would have scored another run with Cassirers bleacher reaching blast.
Garfield scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 10. After a scoreless seventh, the game went into extra innings. In the 10th and final inning, the Cavos brought in three more runs, but were defeated by the Boilermakers who picked up four runs in the bottom of the inning.
The team may have been defeated in the high scoring game, but there were several key performances by Emerson players. Carcich said he was pleased with the performance by Kevin Crandall, even though he was charged with the loss. Crandall pitched the last inning and consistently threw strikes, an impressive achievement for his first game pitching this season. David Cassirer and Nick Ramagli each hit a homerun in the game. Shortstop Taariq Huggins demonstrated excellent reaction time with a skillful catch in the bottom of the fifth inning that made for the third out for Garfield.
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| David Cassirer, who drove in four of his team’s 13 runs on Saturday, is congratulated by his teammates after hitting a two-run homerun in the sixth inning. |
Carcich conveyed his disappointment at the end of the game, reflecting, “There were some good things. There were some bad things. But it leaves a real bad taste in the mouth because this is a shadow of our season, the same exact thing that has been happening. It is 90 percent mental. We are playing not to lose instead of playing to win, and that has never been a characteristic of a Carcich Emerson baseball team.”
With a past season that finished 23-5 and ended with reaching the semifinals of the Bergen County tournament, the Emerson Cavos still have the rest of the season to demonstrate their potential for success.
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