Bats Stay Quiet as Madison Baseball Falls in Final

BERKELEY HEIGHTS–Take one slumping lineup, add a talented opposing pitcher and sprinkle in a little bad luck. It's a recipe that has worked against the Madison baseball team for three straight games.

Governor Livingston was the latest team to take advantage, defeating Madison 6-0 in the Highlander Tournament championship game Saturday afternoon at Governor Livingston High School.

Four Highlander hitters picked up at least two hits, led by left fielder Jake Skinner, who was 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored.

The Madison bats struggled to get much off of GL starter Mike Cranston, who pitched a complete game six-hit shutout, striking out seven.

The Dodgers, who have lost four straight, were shut out for the second consecutive game. They have not scored since the first inning against Hanover Park on Wednesday, nearly three full games ago.

"We've been put in situations to break through, but we need someone to help us break through," said Madison coach Mickey Ennis. "We've tried a number of different things, but hitting is contagious. And the opposite is true, too. No one is swinging the bats particularly well at this point."

Cranston, who was named tournament MVP, dominated in the first four innings, allowing just two hits. But Madison had its chance to close a 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the fifth.

A single and a misplayed grounder set up Madison second baseman Alex Brownlee with two on and one out in the inning. On a 3-1 pitch, Brownlee hit a sharp grounder down the third base line, which would have likely been an RBI double.

The ball appeared to bounce over third base in fair territory, but it was called foul over Ennis' protests.

Still, Brownlee walked on the next pitch, bringing up the tying run with one out. Jake Meister struck out looking for the second out. The next batter, Tom Tracy, hit a rocket, but he hit it right at the center fielder for the third out.

"That's going to happen," Ennis said. "Nothing seems to be going right for us. We've had some hard hit balls, and they've all been at people. And it seems like every ground ball they hit has been just out of our glove's reach."

After a Kevin Stumpf home run made it 5-0 in the top of the sixth, Madison had one more chance to keep it close. Back-to-back solid hits by Jamie Hunter and Connor Higgins set up Mike Haughey with runners on the corners and one out. But the right fielder bounced a 1-0 pitch right back to Cranston, who started a 1-6-3 double play to end the threat.

Meanwhile, as Ennis noted, it seemed as if every ball put into play against Meister, Madison's starting pitcher, found a hole.

Governor Livingston did most of its damage in the top of the first, with the game's first five batters picking up a hit. Billy Worswick scored the game's first run after Meister picked off Paul Mirabelli at first base. Mirabelli was caught in a rundown, enabling Worswick - who stood on third - to scamper home.

On the next pitch, Skinner crushed a high fastball over the right centerfield wall to make it 2-0. Back-to-back groundballs by Joe DiSarno and John Jennings found empty space, and the Highlanders led 3-0 after a half-inning of play.

"Everyone came out tight, Jake included," Ennis said. "Maybe I put too much pressure on them to win a championship, and this being one of our four opportunities."

Meister pitched well for most of the rest of his 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs and five hits from the second inning on.

"He started to get his second and third pitches over," Ennis said. "He relied too much on his fastball early. And against a team that can swing that bat as well as Governor Livingston, you have to get those other pitches over for strikes."

But he got little offensive support. Cranston was excellent early, showing a dynamic fastball and a tough-to-hit curve. The hardest hit ball he gave up over the first four innings was Alex Ruiz's flare single over the head of shortstop Jennings in the third.

It was on the same field a week ago Saturday when Madison pounded out 14 runs in the seventh inning of a win over New Providence. But that seems like eons ago, as the Dodgers came up empty in four straight games against highest-quality opponents.

Ennis said next week's four-game stretch - against Chatham Monday, Mendham Wednesday, Dover Friday and either Newton or a preliminary-round Morris County Tournament game Saturday - will give Madison a chance to return to winning form.

"We play teams we need to beat to stay in the state hunt, to stay in the conference hunt," Ennis said. "I feel like we can really get on a roll. We're putting a lot of importance on winning four games this week, putting pressure on ourselves. But as I told the kids, we can't win four games next week unless we win Monday."

NEXT UP
The Dodgers return for the first game of a three-game homestand Monday against Chatham.

Connor Higgins will be Madison's probable starter, pitching on four days' rest. Higgins was excellent last time out, holding Hanover Park to two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings, even though the Dodgers lost, 3-1.

Chatham is off to a 2-6 start, having lost five in a row since a 13-12 win over Mendham on April 7.

The game will be the last one that will count towards county tournament seeding; Morris County's coaches hold their annual seeding meeting Tuesday night, with preliminary-round games taking place next weekend.


BOX SCORE
Gov Livingston    3  0  1  0  0  1  1  -  6  12  2
Madison             0  0  0  0  0  0  0  -  0   6  3
W: Mike Cranston (4-0)
L: Jake Meister (1-2)

GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON (8-2)
-B Worswick, CF  2-4, R
-Mirabelli, RF       1-3, BB
-Skinner, LF         3-4, 2 R, RBI, HR
-DiSarno, 1B        2-2, R, RBI, SB
-Jennings, SS      2-4, 2 RBI
-Stumpf, DH        1-4, R, RBI, HR
-Rielly, 3B           0-3, BB, CS
-Z Worswick, C    0-2, BB
-Martis, 2B          1-3

-Cranston, SP     7 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 3 BB, 112 pitches (68 strikes)

MADISON (3-6)
-Brownlee, 2B      0-3, BB
-Meister, SP        0-3, BB
-Tracy, 1B           1-4
-Allen, 3B            0-3
-Hunter, DH          1-3, 2B
-Higgins, LF         1-2, BB
-Haughey, RF       1-3
-Kluge, CF           1-3, 2B
-Ruiz, C               1-2
---Dias, PH           0-1

-Meister, SP        5 1/3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 10 H, 2 K, 3 BB, 99 pitches (57 strikes)
---Hunter, RP       1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 23 pitches (16 strikes)