Pequannock stays alive in Section 1 Little League
HAMPTON TWP. – Nick Gronda couldn’t stop smiling. An hour had passed since he hit his first home run, part of Pequannock’s rally to a 10-8 defeat of Hobb Engler in the Section 1 Little League baseball tournament.
But Gronda was still savoring the moment.
“It feels awesome,” said Gronda, who sent a 3-2 fastball to right field. “I’m still in shock.”
Gronda’s homer came on the heels of a three-run shot by Pequannock pitcher David Farrell. Using a combination of fastballs and curves, he struck out six on Monday night. Left fielder Joe Mackawgy followed Gronda with a double, scoring on first baseman Jake Goldberg’s chip into center.
Pequannock scored seven runs with two out in the bottom of the third. Third baseman Eddie Markowski delivered the winning runs on a fourth-inning three-run homer, keeping Pequannock alive in the consolation bracket.
Hobb Engler, the District 20 champion from Byram, had its own late comeback — also powered by the long ball. Hobb Engler scored twice on Chase Dellosso’s bases-loaded grounder. Left fielder Trey Kaplan followed up with a two-out grand slam, bringing Hobb Engler within two runs.
Byram had a similar late rally against Randolph East in its sectional opener on Saturday.
“It’s a good experience,” said Bradyn Shaffer, Hobb Engler’s starting pitcher and shortstop. “I thought we were going to have a comeback. We were only down two runs.”
Pequannock will play the loser of Monday night’s Randolph East-Somerset Hills game on Wednesday. The winner of advances directly to Thursday’s Section 1 final.
“Pitching helps me out, because when I’m down and I need runs, I try to help myself out,” Farrell said. “We weren’t able to get runs in the beginning, but we were able to rally.”
Staff Writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@gannettnj.com; www.dailyrecord.com.writerjane/
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Monday night’s Section 1 Little League game between Randolph East and Somerset Hills ended too late for this edition. For details on the game go to DailyRecord.com.