5/23/98 Cranford @Home (UCT Final Game)

There is no joy in Cranford. For the second year in a row Cranford has lost only one game - both times to Summit in the Union County Tournamant. If you weren't there you have no idea of the tension, and excitement that was present. It was a great night for Summit baseball. Summit won the toss and was the home team so Cranford batted 1^st. After an out and a walk Cranford's star Baran singled to left and went to second when the ball was mishandled. With runners at 2^nd and 3^rd Starter, Jared Chellevold, struck out two of Cranford's biggest hitters (Weingart & Meyer) to get out of trouble. Fred Luberto led off for Summit with a towering fly to left center that looked like it might clear the fence, but Cranford's center fielder made a bare handed catch at the fence to rob Luberto of at least a triple. In the 2^nd with one out Cranford lofted a routine fly to center, but Luberto lost the ball in the twilight and field lights and it became a triple. The run scored when the next ground ball was booted. A walk put two on with one out. Chellevold got the next two hitters to ground out and escaped with only a single run. Kyle Bennett tied the game in the 2^nd when he opened with a triple and came home on a wild pitch. Summit added 3 more runs on 4 Cranford errors and a two-out single by Bennett that drove in two key runs. Chellevold pitched two great innings (3^rd & 4^th) as he got the six outs on only 19 pitches. In Summit's 4^th Joe Mormak led off with a double and then stole 3^rd base. After a strikeout, Coach Dietz called for a suicide squeeze. Mormak came barreling home and Josh Lipsey laid down a perfect bunt to allow Mormak to score what was eventually the winning run. In the Cranford 5^th a leadoff single resulted in a runner at third base when the ball got past Luberto. The next batter lofted a fly to left, but Duane Dates slipped and fell. The result, a double. One run scored, but that would have happened even if the ball had been caught. Another single turned into a triple when the ball got past Dates. Now the score was 5-3 and tension was mounting. A 3^rd run scored on a ground out. The next batter singled but was cut down stealing on a great throw by Mormak and a terrific tag laid on by Ben Wheeless. Wheeless got spiked in the leg in the process. Now there were two outs. A single and a walk raised the tension again, but Chellevold got the Cranford pitcher, Feeley, to ground out and end the inning with Summit still up by one.
For the start of the 6^th inning Jason Flores came in to relieve Chellevold. An opening strikeout was followed by a single and a walk. That brought up Cranford's two biggest hitters (Baran and Weingart) with runners at 1^st and 2^nd. Flores rose to the occasion striking out Baran and getting Weingart to hit a feeble ground out. In the top of the 7^th Cranford led off with a single. The next batter hit a possible double play ball, but the umpire ruled that Lipsey didn't touch 2^nd base. All runners were safe. The next batter hit into a perfectly handled double play (643). That left a runner on 3^rd base and two outs. The tension was almost unbearable. The count went to 3 & 2 on Cranford's ace, Feeley. The game ended when Feeley lofted a fly to left.
Bedlam broke out on the field as Summit celebrated, and Cranford stood in stunned silence. After a victory lap around the field, a small victory dance, the trophy award, and a team picture at the mound the team left the field with a stunning UNION COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP in their possession. You should have been there!

Jared Chellevold picked up the win and Jason Flores got a great save. (Note: Flores has now pitched 26 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run)

PLAYER	POS	AB	R	H	RBI	E
Luberto	CF	3	1	0	0	1
Reilly	3B	3	1	0	0	0
Chellevold	P	3	0	1	0	0
Bennett	RF	3	1	2	2	0
Wheeless	2B	3	0	0	0	0
Mormak	C	3	1	1	0	0
Campagna	1B	3	0	0	0	0
Lipsey	SS	2	0	0	1	3
Dates	LF	1	1	0	0	2
Flores	P	0	0	0	0	0
TOTALS		24	5	4	3	6