HOME OF THE CHARGERS

NJSIAA BASEBALL GROUP II FINAL: SPOTSWOOD 11, INDIAN HILLS 1 (5) Spotswood's win displays complete package By JOHN HALEY STAFF WRITER jhaley@thnt.com TOMS RIVER — On its way to a storybook season in 2007, the Spotswood High School baseball team won certain games because of its talented pitching staff, it won others because of its relentless hitting attack, and others because it chose to be the aggressor and made the opposition react. Fittingly, in the NJSIAA Group II championship game on Saturday, it was all on display at once as the Chargers belted Indian Hills 11-1 in five innings before a pro-Spotswood crowd at Toms River High School South. The Chargers completed a magical season which included a 26-4 record and the school's first Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, NJSIAA Central Group II and Group II championships. "Oh my God," was the first thing out of the mouth of John Michael Berner, who powered a nine-hit attack with an RBI double and a two-run homer. "It's kind of weird because on the first day of practice, I was saying, "State championship, state championship.' Then we lost the first game of the season (to Ewing) and I was like, "What's going on here?' But because of our coach (Glenn Fredricks), we got here and we did it. I've been dreaming of this day ever since I heard about high school sports." Pitching, hitting and aggressive play were all on display, especially the latter, as Spotswood scored six runs in the third inning, helped by six Indian Hills (19-10) errors, to blow the game open. Pitching Willie Beard, who entered the game 11-1 with a 2.06 ERA, didn't have to be overpowering because his team gave him a 2-0 lead in the first inning, then 8-0 after just 2 1/3 innings. But the Rutgers-bound right-hander got the job done by yielding three hits with three walks and two strikeouts. "I know they're a scrappy team and they put the ball in play," said Beard, who admitted to being nervous pitching in front of Rutgers coach Fred Hill. "So I was trying to hit the corners. I was getting squeezed a little, but I just relaxed and let my defense take care of things. I don't care if I struck out the whole team or no one as long as we got the win." Offered Fredricks: "I've used every adjective to describe Willie, but all I know is I was able to get a good night's sleep knowing he was pitching this game. Here he was on the biggest stage pitching in front of his college coach who gave him tens of thousands of dollars and he was outstanding once again." Hitting If the Chargers, who have just one batter hitting under .300 in the lineup, did have one weakness this season it was their ability to hit the crafty left-hander. But facing that type of pitcher in Ryan Furbeck (7-1, 2.30 ERA coming in), Spotswood knocked him out of the box after just 2 1/3 innings. Spotswood finished with nine hits, including hard doubles by Berner, Joe Petosa and Phil Spina, and home runs by Berner and C.J. Mooney. Seven different Chargers collected a hit, including two each by Anthony Addone and Berner. "We learned a lot after facing (Nick) McNamara from Somerville in the sectional final (a 1-0 Spotswood win)," Fredricks said. "Plus, in practice, we brought in a lot of lefties to work against and that helped." Aggressiveness In the decisive third inning the Chargers helped force six errors by stealing on every chance they had, by taking the extra base to force an extra throw, and by baiting the opposition with large leads and delayed steals. "I don't think they gave us anything in that inning. I think we put the pressure on them and made it happen," Fredricks said. "We work on gadget plays over and over and over in practice. I think the kids were so sick of it, but we pulled out everything from our bag of tricks and caused them to make those errors." While Indian Hills committed six errors, the Chargers were error-free. In every category, Spotswood performed like a state champion. "What you saw out there was three years of preparation," Fredricks said. "These kids are seniors and they gave their heart and soul to the program. I'm blessed to have kids who know how to play the game the right way. I'm just upset there's no more games left."