Sheehan leads Manasquan To B North Win Over Red Bank Catholic

Photo above: Tommy Sheehan

RED BANK - Senior lefty Tommy Sheehan went five innings allowing one earned run and cleared the bases with a fifth inning double that broke a 2-2 tie in leading the Warriors to a 5-2 win over Red Bank Catholic in Class B North action Thursday, at Count Basie Field.

The win vaulted Manasquan (5-3, 4-2) into a second place tie with Wall in the topsy-turvy Class B North and left the Caseys (4-3, 3-3) alone in fourth place a half a game ahead of Middletown South, Ocean Township and Middletown North. Surprising Monmouth Regional (7-1, 5-1) is all alone on top of the division.

“Every single team up-and-down the division is really good and can win any game,” Sheehan said of the rugged B North). “You got to be ready for anything.”

“The division is a really tough division and it’s one after the next after the next in the B North,” said Manasquan head coach Bob Waldeyer. “We all have three or four games this week and we’re all going to be in the mix till the end.”

Senior Tommy Antonucci led the game off with a single through the 5-4 hole and freshman Will Hopkinson was safe at first on a sacrifice bunt after Caseys pitcher Blaise Panzini’s throw pulled first baseman Mike Veit off the base.

Centerfielder James Harmstead then drilled a two-bagger down the third-base line bringing Antonucci home and moving Hopkinson to third with no outs. Panzini got Sheehan on strikes before Adam Schreck’s ground-out to third base drove in Hopkinson for the second run of the inning. Panzini prevented any further damage inducing Ethan Thomson to groundout to second base to end the inning.

The Caseys tied the score with two runs in the bottom of the third after senior’s Connor Caizza and Mike Veit led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Sitting at second, Caizza stole third base and scored when Schreck’s throw sailed into left field and Veit came home on Rutgers-bound Anthony DeRosa’s one-out double into the left-centerfield gap. Sheehan got out of the inning with a strikeout and fly ball to right field.

Manasquan had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the fourth but failed to score after Sheehan was forced out at the plate on a ground ball to third and Connor Mully’s grounder to third was turned into a 5-3 double play.

In the bottom half of the fourth, the Caseys had runners first and second with two outs when Veit flared a sinking liner into short right that looked like it was going to drop for a two-run double but junior right fielder Ricky Flynn got a great jump on the ball and fully extended for a diving catch to end the inning.

“That really was a great catch,” Sheehan said of Flynn’s play. “I thought that was going to drop for sure and two runs were going to come in but he got a good read on the ball and came up big.”

“Ricky Flynn made a great play out in right field,” Waldeyer said of Fynn’s catch. “2-2 game, that ball bounces on the turf it’s a whole different scenario. I think we looked much better in the field today as a whole.”

In the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out the Notre Dame-bound Sheehan used his bat to help his cause cracking a long double into the right-centerfield gap that cleared the bases and gave the Warriors a 5-2 lead.

“I think the count was 0-2 on that at bat so I was pretty much just trying to get the bat on the ball,” said Sheehan. “That was a big weight off my back in a 2-2 game.”

“He’s been clutch all year for us,” Waldeyer said of Sheehan’s at bat. “He’s really been hitting the ball hard to the gaps in centerfield and has been seeing the ball really well; that was our difference maker.”

Senior shortstop and Navy commit Aaron Ahn led off the bottom half of the fifth with a line double that rolled to the left field fence and moved to second on a one-out walk to senior catcher Brian Sheehy. However, Sheehan got senior second baseman Aidan Supp on a pop up to first and completed his day’s work by striking out Steven Turk to get out of the inning unscathed.

After 105 pitches, Sheehan turned the game over to Harmstead in the bottom of the sixth and he picked up his second save of the year with a 1-2-3 sixth before giving up a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh facing the top of the order but ended the game impressively with two strikeouts.

“James Harmstead has really emerged,” said Waldeyer. “He’s our everyday first baseman but he’s definitely emerged as someone who goes in there and gets outs. He did exactly what we could’ve asked of him at that point.”

Sheehan (2-1) allowed two runs (one earned), five hits, five strike outs and five walks in picking up his second win of the season and went 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and three RBI while Harmstead got his second save of the season going two innings without allowing a run while giving up one hit and striking out three without a walk. At the plate he finished with a double, RBI and run scored in three at bats. Flynn went 2-for-3 with a run scored to compliment his fourth-inning catch.

Ahn finished 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base but committed two errors at shortstop while DeRosa added a double and a RBI. Panzini (1-1) – a West Point commit – was charged with the loss allowing five runs (three earned), seven hits, BB, three strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

“Red Bank Catholic is a great team but I think we stepped it up today and raised our level. They’re a terrific hitting team so anytime you can beat a gritty team like that I think we’re very fortunate.”

Follow @getmready