Defeats Roxbury to set up Group IV title showdown with Toms River East
For a while last Tuesday afternoon, it looked as if North Bergen’s baseball team had run out of miracles. Facing Roxbury in the NJSIAA Group IV state semifinals, three days after upsetting Memorial to capture the North Jersey Section 1, Group IV sectional title, the Bruins were down 2-0. The emotion was drained from the bench. Sophomore standout hurler Emil Fuda, who had been so brilliant down the stretch, couldn’t find the plate.
"We were in trouble," North Bergen Head Coach Brian Boyce said.
But the Bruins were in trouble before. They trailed Bayonne, in the sectional semifinals, last week, 5-1, before the skies opened, forcing the postponement of the game and replaying the game from the outset. Sure enough, the Bruins won the replayed game and moved on.
They were in trouble when they faced West Milford and Passaic in earlier round games, when the skies were as gloomy as the Bruins’ chances. But they somehow managed to survive and advance, the way good tournament teams are supposed to do.
They were down 2-0 to Roxbury in the third inning of a state semifinal – they weren’t in any more trouble than they were accustomed to. So what if the bases were loaded? Who cares if there were no outs? Did it matter that Fuda was unraveling on the mound? Think about it. This is North Bergen, a team that should have packed up the uniforms and the equipment weeks ago. The Bruins were playing with house money, getting another lease on life. Nothing else mattered.
Boyce went to the mound in the third inning, with his team down two runs and his sophomore hurler in shambles. He took the ball from Fuda and placed it firmly in the hands of the reliable Anibel Santiago, who has never backed down to a challenge and wasn’t about to do so again this time, even if the odds were definitely against him and his teammates.
"We’ve used Anibel in similar situations during the course of the season," Boyce said. "He’s done a fine job for us all year."
Santiago was on call in the bullpen, ready just in case anything happened to Duda.
"I was ready," Santiago said. "I wasn’t nervous at all and I was very confident that I could do the job. I just had to do one thing."
It was the one thing that Duda just couldn’t do – throw strikes.
"I just had to keep the ball down and throw strikes," Santiago said. "That was my job."
It was also his job to keep the Bruins in the game for as long as possible. Down 2-0 already, any further scoring would have meant that the fairy tale season would come to a crashing halt in Demarest.
Santiago got one out on a ground out, without allowing a run to score. The second out he recorded via strikeout. And when Santiago got Roxbury’s Roger Turley to ground out to second, the reliever had done his job. He enabled the Bruins to once again wiggle out of danger and kept the hopes alive for a comeback.
"When I got out of the bases-loaded situation, there was this sense of relief," Santiago said. "I knew we could come back from being two runs down."
"Anibel came in and did a great, great job," Boyce said. "It gave us a chance."
The Bruins made the most of that chance, scoring four runs on just one hit in the bottom of the third inning, sending 10 batters to the plate. An error led to one run, a wild pitch led to another. The Bruins didn’t get the ball out of the infield, but they managed to take command of the game.
"That’s how we won 12 of our last 13 games, capitalizing on the other team’s mistakes," Boyce said. "We were very opportunistic."
That is an understatement. Because without opportunity, without a little luck, the Bruins would have been dead and buried a week ago.
But thanks to the clutch pitching from Santiago, who eventually allowed just one run on four hits over five innings, striking out just that one batter in the third and walking one, the Bruins got the biggest opportunity in the school’s history – a chance to play for the overall Group IV state championship.
The Bruins’ 10-3 victory over Roxbury, capped by a monstrous solo homer from Mike Vijande and a clutch three-run triple from Omar Tavarez, enabled North Bergen to move on to face the state’s number one team, Toms River East, for the Group IV championship in Toms River over the weekend.
It marked the first time ever that North Bergen had the chance to play for an overall NJSIAA state title.
"Just getting that opportunity says a lot," Boyce said. "There aren’t a lot of teams that can say that they had a chance. We talked about having the opportunity and now we’re getting it. We’re a very opportunistic team."
"I think it’s exciting that we’re going to face the number one team in the state," said the hero of the hour Santiago. "You can’t beat that opportunity."
Maybe the opportunity to continue the dream season will bring a fairy tale ending this weekend.
CAPTION
MOVING THEM ALONG – Mike Vijande [4] lays down a perfect sacrifice bunt during the key four-run third inning rally last Tuesday in the NJSIAA Group IV semifinals in Demarest. Later in the game, Vijande belted a solo homer, capping the Bruins’ 10-3 victory, which set up a showdown against the state’s number one team, Toms River East, for the overall Group IV state title.