Mount Olive, Randolph baseball ready for state semis

When the high school baseball season began in April, Doug Anderson was a new head coach, taking over the program in his beloved hometown of Randolph. At the same time, Jim McDermott was an established head coach at Mount Olive, hoping to build on two highly successful runs in the NJSIAA Tournament.

Today, Anderson and McDermott are the final two Morris County coaches still in uniform, having led their respective teams to sectional championships with the challenge of state semifinals looming.

McDermott will lead the Marauders (20-10) to Kean University, where they will face South Plainfield (22-8) in a Group III semifinal Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Rams will take on Millburn (24-6) in a NJSIAA Group IV semifinal at Belleville High School on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

The Randolph game was postponed from Tuesday due to the torrential rain that fell Sunday and Monday.

The Rams (15-14) are in the midst of an improbable and highly unlikely postseason run, having entered the North 1 Group IV playoffs with a sub-.500 record and a No. 14 seed, but somehow managed add another sectional title to the school's already burgeoning baseball legacy.

"People kept telling me how tough this job would be," said Anderson, who was part of a 10-year-old Little League team that won the District 1 title, coached by his father, Dennis.

"I come from a baseball family in Randolph. I grew up in Randolph. I know what baseball is all about there. It pained me to see how last year went for them. I know how important baseball is taken in Randolph. ... I happened to go to Delbarton and played baseball there, but a lot of my friends played at Randolph and took pride in it. I was willing to take the time to teach the kids the right way. I knew that it was going to be a process and that it would take some time."

For McDermott, the season has been business as usual. The Marauders went to the North 1 Group III title game in 2013, then won the section advanced to the overall Group III championship game in Toms River last year.

"This is just the next game on the schedule," said McDermott, who has former Randolph head coach Ryan Casey and Randolph assistant Paul Ottavina on his staff.

"That's the mentality we have. We won the game Friday and had a nice bus ride back (from River Dell), then went back to work Saturday morning. We just try to do the best we can with our kids and hope they do a good job of executing at the right time."

The Marauders lost their top pitcher from a year ago, All Daily Record First Team honoree Chris Grillo, to an arm injury. They also lost promising sophomore Joe McNally to a hip injury.

Grillo was the winning pitcher in the sectional title game against River Dell Friday. Senior Matt Buzzelli had a big day in the sectional semifinal against Paramus, collecting four hits and four RBI, scoring three runs.

"I'm the ultimate pessimist," McDermott said. "But every year, I think (we can win). I thought this could be a special group, but then we got hit with injuries. ... We just needed to get healthy. We're fortunate to have both kids come back."

The Rams have been brilliant in the postseason, outscoring their four opponents by a collective margin of 36 to 3. They've received great pitching from both Peter Huber and James Bertelle, and timely hitting from people like second baseman J.J. Melillo — a junior varsity player last spring — and sophomore first baseman Stu Backer.

"Our point of emphasis has been pitching and defense, but we were getting absolutely zero timely hitting all year," Anderson said. "I knew that we did have two really good arms in Peter and James. I think we hit a good streak after we beat Roxbury, 10-2. It showed them that they were able to beat a good team. It was a huge confidence booster. We then put up a 10-spot on West Morris and I think our kids realized what they needed to do. They were able to put some runs on the board and put us in a positive light."

South Plainfield, which knocked Roxbury out of the North 2 Group III playoffs last week, is a tough foe. But the Marauders have not lost to another public school team since Wayne Hills in early May. Their only losses came to Delbarton (twice), Pope John and Seton Hall Prep.

Greg Helmlinger will likely get the start Tuesday with standout lefty Connor Henry ready in relief.

"What's great about this team is every day, someone else steps up and helps to lead this team," McDermott said. "We have a bunch of really good kids who like each other and understand what they need to do. They're willing to get up at 6 a.m. for pitchers' and catchers' sessions. They understand what's asked of anyone who comes from the Mount Olive program and puts on the uniform."

1. Roxbury (21-7-1)

2. Delbarton (21-7-1)

3. Montville (21-7)

4. Mount Olive (20-10)

5. Pequannock (20-6)

6. Jefferson (19-9)

7. Morris Catholic (18-9)

8. Morristown (16-11)

9. Whippany Park (15-6)

10. Hanover Park (14-10-1)