Sanchez's return has Piners feeling good
Lakewood gets a game closer to .500 with state playoff cutoff looming
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

LAKEWOOD - At the start of the 2007 season, John Sanchez was expected to be one of Lakewood High School's top starting pitchers. A fractured ankle, however, sideline him for three weeks.

The time off apparently had little effect on Sanchez's command. Sanchez was brilliant Monday afternoon as LHS defeated Barnegat, 4-3, in a Shore Conference game. Sanchez tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and striking out four.

"He did a really nice job for us," LHS assistant coach Vinnie Currao said. "He was really sharp with his pitches. He was hitting his spots in the early innings and not giving Barnegat's lineup much to hit."

Unfortunately, Sanchez was not credited with the win. Relief pitcher Charlie Cunliffe got the victory. Cunliffe pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing one unearned run and one hit.

"Our pitching was on mark today," Currao said. "Charlie came in and shut the door. Our defense was pretty solid behind both guys. We made a couple of mistakes, but for the most part, we did a good job. This was a nice win for the kids."

Barnegat tied the game at 3-3 in the top of seventh. LHS, however, rallied for a run of its own in its last at-bat to win their fourth game of the season.

Justin Rafferty, who finished the game with two hits, walked leading off the seventh. Kenney Nieves laid down a sacrifice bunt, sending Rafferty to second. Jim D'Aloia was issued an intentional walk and Max Wolfe drew a walk to load the bases with two outs.

Cunliffe was hit by a pitch on a 3-1 count and Rafferty scored with the game-wining run.

"It was a dramatic way to end the game," Currao said. "We scratched our way on base and played small ball to get runners in scoring position. We had a number of good at-bats in that last inning."

Earlier in the season, Barnegat knocked off Lakewood by a score of 8-3. Avenging the early-season setback was sweet.

"They handled us pretty easily the first time we met," Currao said. "They even used the same pitcher who gave us all kinds of problems. In today's game we came through with timely hits and our pitching was terrific."

Lakewood took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Rafferty singled and later scored on a two-out RBI single by Wolfe. The Piners notched two more runs in the second.

Chris Guzman reached on an error and Rafferty followed with another single. Nieves blasted a two-run triple to center field to give Lakewood a 3-0 cushion.

Lakewood is 4-7 overall and is scheduled to square off against Monsignor Donovan Friday before traveling north to Bayonne High School Saturday.

"We're trying to string a few victories together," Currao said. "We're playing pretty well and we've gotten past a few injuries to some of our pitchers. If we can continue to play consistent baseball, we'll surprise a few teams."