Bayonne wins sixth in a row

Dave Jakubowski, Bayonne

Bayonne's Dave Jakubowski struck out seven in his first varsity start.

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By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

BAYONNE – Despite leaving five runners stranded on base over the first three innings, there was little doubt in the minds of the Bayonne lineup that those big hits were going to come just like they had during their current winning streak.

The Bees wouldn’t squander those future scoring chances, plating four or more runs in each of the following three innings to cruise to a 15-3 victory over Ferris at Caven Point yesterday.

The win marked the sixth in a row for Bayonne (10-4).

“I thought we were going to get good swings,” manager Phil Baccarella said. “I thought as the game went along we would get better and better swings. We finally found a couple of holes.”

“The problem was that we were ahead of a lot of pitches (early),” shortstop Mike Santana said. “As long as we stayed back, we hit the ball hard, so I was just trying to stay back and get some RBI for the team.”

After stranding two runners on in the second inning and leaving the bases loaded in the third with only one run to show for it, the Bees loaded the bases again in the fourth. But unlike the previous two innings, Bayonne would cash in, in a big way.

With two outs in the inning Nick Cordato was hit by a pitch to force in a run and Jared Ensmanger singled in another to make it 3-0. Left field Joel Ortiz delivered the big blow of the frame when he hit a sharp grounder down the third base line to score two more runs.

“It’s always big when you add on,” said Baccarella, calling Ortiz’s hit the biggest one of the game. “You’ve got to add on runs. (Ferris) came back to get two and now’s its 5-2 and then we jumped back on them.”

Not content with the fourth-inning outburst, the Bees batted around in the fifth, scoring four more runs as a two-run single from Santana chased Bulldogs (2-9) starter Jomar Casiano.

Bayonne would tack on six more runs in the sixth to end the game via the 10-run mercy rule.

Yesterday marked the third time in the past week the Bees scored 15 or more runs in a game. They have scored 77 runs during the current six-game winning streak.

“We’re putting the ball in play more on the ground,” Santana said. “A lot of times we’d pop out with runners on base. But now we’re hitting ball solid on the ground, beating out throws and taking the extra base if there’s an error.”

“I have confidence in everybody when they get up there,” said Baccarella. “It’s just a matter of swinging at good pitches and having quality at-bats.”

All nine Bayonne starters got at least one hit on the day. As a team they finished with 14 hits in six innings led by three from freshman 3B Frank DiPillo. Santana and Abreu had three RBI apiece in the victory. Santana also scored a trio of runs. Centerfielder Kyle Greaves scored four times.

The offensive outburst provided plenty of support for Jakubowski in his first varsity start on the mound. The sophomore right-hander kept Ferris off-balanced most of the day as he allowed just four hits and two hit batsmen. Jakubowski struck out seven batters in the win.

“I thought my curveball today was really effective,” Jakubowski said. “They just couldn’t really hit it at all. I threw it for strikes and it was working pretty well.

“I knew I was throwing it well in warmups so I knew it was going to be a really good pitch.”

Ferris 1B Sammy Garcia was the one constant problem for Jakubowski as he drove in all three runs in defeat. Garcia two-run triple to deep center cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to 5-2 in the fourth inning.

Sammy Garcia, Ferris

Sammy Garcia powered the Ferris offense with three RBI in defeat.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R 15 3
North Hunterdon Lions (9-11)	0	0	1	4	4	6
Bayonne Bees (17-8)	0	0	0	2	0	1

Hits: Bayonne: 7, North Hunterdon: 7.
HR: Bayonne: Jose Arias
RBI: Bayonne: Jose Arias, Kyle Greaves. North Hunterdon: Ricky Guile (2), Dylan Brown, Andrew Westlin.

W: Steve Bloodworth
L: Mike Santana