HOME OF THE CHARGERS

SPOTSWOOD GUTS OUT SECTIONAL CROWN By KEVIN WRIGHT STAFF WRITER BRANCHBURG — The second-seeded Spotswood High School baseball team rode the right arm of senior stopper Mike Hohman to a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Somerville in Friday's NJSIAA Central Group II final at White Oak Park. The Chargers, who improved to 23-4, will face Sterling in the state Group II semifinal at New Egypt High School on Tuesday at 4 p.m. "It was a well-played game on both sides," Somerville coach Rick Sabol said. "Defensively, both teams were great. That was a sectional final-quality game. That was two great teams today." Four times the Pioneers put multiple runners on base in an inning, and four times the Pioneers failed to score. The lack of timely hitting spoiled the effort by Somerville ace Nick McNamara, who limited Spotswood to four hits while walking none. He retired the first 10 batters he faced, keeping the Spotswood hitters off balance all day with an array of curveballs and change-ups. The Monmouth-bound McNamara finished with six strikeouts and only faced one batter over the minimum. "He pitched a great game," Sabol said. "He only allowed four baserunners all game. He left his heart out there today." The game's only run was unearned and came in the top of the fourth. With one out, Spotswood catcher Anthony Addone singled and moved to second on a passed ball. McNamara then struck out third baseman John Michael Berner for the second out of the inning. With two strikes on cleanup hitter Joe Petosa, McNamara spun and attempted a pickoff at second. His throw bounced off Addone's helmet and into center field, allowing Addone to move to third. Petosa hit a hard ground ball on the next pitch that glanced off McNamara's arm. The left-hander could not recover in time to get Petosa at first, allowing Addone to score. After the game, Sabol talked about the pickoff play. "A lot of guys have been running on Nick from second base," Sabol said. "We had decided that when the first guy got to second we were gonna show him we could keep him close. He kind of forced the throw and it got away." Somerville threatened to score in the first two innings, putting men on first and second each time. Right fielder Len Rutledge grounded into a double play to end the threat in the first. In the second, designated hitter Brian Marone lined a one-out single to right field. Joe Petosa charged the ball and came up firing, nailing Somerville first baseman Mike Mottes at the plate. Marone tried to take second on the throw home but was gunned down for the final out of the inning. " "There was no hesitation there," Sabol said about sending the runner home. "The guy had to make a perfect throw, and he did." Hohman hung tough after the rough start and settled down after the first two innings, retiring the next eight batters he faced. "Mikey Hohman is 100 percent guts," Spotswood coach Glenn Fredricks said. "He's a gamer, and I knew when I saw the look on his face in school today that he was not gonna let this team lose." The Pioneers mounted one final rally in the bottom of the seventh. After consecutive singles and a ground out, Somerville had runners on the corners with two outs. Fredricks went out to the mound to gather his team. "We talked some strategy — first-and-third situations," Fredricks said. "Then I told him we had the matchup we wanted at the plate, and it relaxed him a little. Then Mike took the ball and made the pitches." Hohman got Dan Reynolds to fly out to left field to end the threat and the game.