In The Dirt 052909

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Friday, May 29, 2009 – C5

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PAIRINGS

Allen Rivera Sacred Heart P/SS

Group I South May 22 — Quarterfinals (1) Pitman 4, (8) Riverside 3 (4) Pennsville 13, (5) Penns Grove 2 (6) Glassboro 5, (3) Maple Shade 3 (2) Gateway 9, (7) Gloucester City 1 May 26 —Semifinals Pitman 7, Pennsville 6 Gateway 6, Glassboro 4 May 29 — Sectional final Gateway at Pitman Group II South May 18 — First round (9) Audubon 8, (8) Barnegat 4 (6) Woodstown 11, (11) Sterling 9 (7) Buena 12,(10) Pennsauken Tech 2 May 22 — Quarterfinals (1) Haddonfield 11, Audubon 10 (4) Cinnaminson 3, (5) Middle Twp 2 (3) Haddon Twp 15, Woodstown 10 (2) Haddon Heights 6, Buena 5 May 26 — Semifinals Cinnaminson 10, Haddonfield 3 Haddon Township 12, Haddon Heights 0 May 29 — Sectional final Cinnaminson at Haddon Twp Group III South May 18 — First round (9) Winslow Twp 7, (8) Moorestown 2 May 22 — Quarterfinals Winslow Twp. 6, (1) Central Reg 1 (5) Clearview 10, (4) Seneca 5 (3) Highland 3, (6) Hammonton 0 (7) Shawnee 8, (2) Cumberland 0 May 26 — Semifinals Clearview 11, Winslow Twp. 2 Shawnee 5, Highland 0 May 29 — Sectional final Winslow Twp at Shawnee Group IV South May 18 — First round (16) Toms River East 5, (1) Millville 4 (8) Cherokee 2, (9) Washington Twp 1 (5) Cherry Hill East 5, (12) Vineland 3 (4) Eastern 10, (13) Lenape 5 (3) Toms River North 3, (14) Absegami 2 (6) Toms River South 11, (11) Egg Harbor Twp 0 (10) Cherry Hill West 9, (7) Rancocas Valley 4 (2) Williamstown 9, (15) Mainland 4 May 22 — Quarterfinals Cherokee 3, Toms River East 2 Cherry Hill East 8, Eastern 6 Toms River North d. Toms River South Williamstown 6, Cherry Hill West 5 May 26 — Semifinals Cherokee 14, Cherry Hill East 5 Toms River North 10,Williamstown 2 May 29 — Sectional final Cherokee at Toms River North Non-Public A South May 22— First Round (8) Mon. Donovan 6, (9) Camden Catholic 2 (10) Notre Dame 6, (7) Red Bank Catholic 5 May 26 — Quarterfinals Mon. Donovan 8, (1) Bishop Ahr 6 (4) St. John Vianney 5, (5) Gloucester Catholic 2 (3) Christian Bros 5, (6) St. Joseph-Metuchen 3 (2) Holy Spirit 5, Notre Dame 1 May 29 — Semifinals Mon. Donovan at St. John Vianney Christian Bros at Holy Spirit June 2 — Sectional Final TBD Non-Public B South May 26 — Quarterfinals (1) St. Rose 8, (8) St. Joseph-Hammonton 5 (5) Holy Cross 19, (4) Cardinal McCarrick 0 (3) Bishop Eustace 12, (6) Moorestown Friends 0 (2) Sacred Heart 6, (7) Mater Dei 1 May 29 — Semifinals Bishop Eustace at Sacred Heart Holy Cross at St. Rose June 2 — Sectional Final TBD

Question: Is there more pressure pitching in a the playoffs? n Answer: Yes, there’s a lot more pressure, especially since we’re playing Bishop Eustace. That’s d always a big game. I know I’ll be nervous. Q: Where did you grow up? A: South Vineland, on Chestnut Avenue. Not that far at all from the field we play on now. Q: What is your first memory of playing baseball? A: Tee ball. I hit it to the fence. That was a pretty exciting moment. Q: Which of your pitches is the most reliable? A: I’d probably have to say my fastball. Out of the junk, I’d have to say my spliter or curveball. FastRivera ball I always have confidence in, especially against big batters. My splitter and curveball, they’re pretty nasty, so I have a lot of confidence in them. Batters seem to have a hard time with them. Q: Who’s the most likely teammate to get the big hit? A: Most likely Juan. It’s his senior year. He wants to come out and win. Q: Why do you wear No. 24? A: My favorite number is 20, but when I came here, J.T. Triantos already had it. So I just took 24 and kept it. Q: What is the most overlooked thing catcher Juan Velazquez does behind the plate? A: There’s not much he lacks. He’s a little quicker this year, but he’s always been pretty good all around. Q: What’s your personal goal in today’s game? A: My biggest goal is not to walk batters and just hit spots. — Ben Watanabe

The Daily Journal’s

SJ Mean 15 1. Cherokee (18-5) 3 2. Bishop Eustace (21-6) 2 3. Holy Spirit (20-2) 4 4. Williamstown (18-3) 7 5. Gloucester Catholic (19-6) 1 6. Cherry Hill East (13-7) 8 7. Haddon Twp (23-4) 9 8. Shawnee (16-6) 10 9. Millville (19-4) 5 10. Sacred Heart (24-6) 11 11. Pitman (16-6) Unr 12. Seneca (11-6) 12 13. Eastern (15-9) 13 14. Gateway (16-5) 15 15. Cumberland (14-3) 6 Under consideration: Pennsville (14-7); Cinnaminson (19-5); Glassboro (12-7); Delran (19-6). *Rankings are set by Ben Watanabe and based on records reported to area newspapers through Wednesday.

Q A

Bishop Eustace (21-6) at Sacred Heart (24-6) Non-Public B South semifinal Today, 4 p.m. at Third and Chestnut Field Probable starters: Bishop Eustace: Kevin Casey (Sr, RHP, 8-1) Sacred Heart: Allen Rivera (Jr, RHP, 7-1)

Staff photo/Craig Matthews

Sacred Heart’s Carlos Sepulveda is congratulated by teammate Juan Velazquez earlier this season after scoring a run. Sepulveda has been the Lions’ most consistent hitter and a big reason why Sacred Heart is in the Non-Public B South semifinals. The Lions host Bishop Eustace today.

Just like clockwork Sacred Heart’s Sepulveda quietly keeps ticking away ome hitters are like Big Ben, the famous clock atop the House of Parliament in London. On a regular basis, they announce themselves with a big clang, like a home run or dramatic double, to remind everyone they’re very much in charge. Other hitters are like the wall clock above the couch in your living room. Quietly, without theatrics, they just keep ticking away, reliably serving their purpose. Carlos Sepulveda has been the Timex to Juan Velazquez’s Big Ben this season. The two seniors are the undisputed leaders for Sacred Heart, which faces Bishop Eustace in a Non-Public B South semifinal game today at Third and Chestnut Field. While Velazquez delivers loud hits and vocal leadership, Sepulveda quietly tops the team in batting average (.427), on-base percentage (.584) and doubles (10), and has the fewest strikeouts (5) of any

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Ben Watanabe Sacred Heart regular. “He’s just steady and solid,” Sacred Heart coach John Triantos said. “Very rarely makes a mistake at second base. Comes up with hits consistently. He’s been solid all year.” To Sepulveda, a man of few words, constant contribution is just as important as having a flair for the dramatic. “I just focus on getting on base and hitting the ball square, rather than hitting home runs or something like that,” Sepulveda said. “I just try to keep the lineup moving.” As stacked as the Lions were last year, when they won the Diamond Classic and spent time ranked No. 1 in South Jersey, they only returned three starters to this year’s squad. Younger players tend to be streakier, making a consistent presence like Sepulveda all the more important. “Hopefully, they look up to him and hopefully they can become that way,” Triantos said. “Guys like Chris Bell and Isaac Gonzalez, who are very

He’s just steady and solid. Very rarely makes a mistake at second base. Comes up with hits consistently. He’s been solid all year.” — John Triantos Sacred Heart coach

inconsistent, hopefully they see that’s where they need to be. Not hit a home run and then be satisfied with two fly ball outs, but hitting three balls on the money. That’s the difference. Hopefully they realize that and they see that.” Rest assured, coach. The younger players do notice. “That’s our man,” Bell said. “He just gets hits and big RBIs. If Juan doesn’t hit a home run, if he hits a double or something like that, Carlos will usually follow it up with a double to get him in. He’s our RBI man.” Like clockwork, Sepulveda delivers. Tick, tick, tick …

Staff photo/Craig Matthews

Millville's Mitch Grotti chases down a fly ball during the Thunderbolts’ 9-4 win over Vineland on Thursday.

PLAYER TO WATCH Ben Watanabe covers high school baseball for The Daily Journal. Contact him at (856) 563-5259 or [email protected]

Kevin Casey BISHOP EUSTACE Senior

P/ 2B Up years or down years, schools from Toms River and Cherry Hill remain forces to be reckoned with. All three Toms River schools (North, South and East) and both Cherry Hill schools (East and West) not only qualified for the Group IV South playoffs, but all advanced to at least the quarterfinal round. … The Haddons are just as dominant in Group II South. Three of the four sectional semifinalists were Haddonfield, Haddon Heights and Haddon Township. Haddon Township faces Cinnaminson in the final. … So much for Central Regional. The Golden Eagles were one of the top-ranked teams in the state early in the season, but suffered an early ouster in the Group III South playoffs with a 6-1 loss to Winslow. … Nobody in South Jersey has a better all-around

attitude than Santos Cintron. He’s like a mini, lefthanded version of Pedro Martinez — funny and friendly off the field, an assassin on the field. Talking about the curse of Babe Ruth, Martinez once said, “Tell him to step in against me. I’ll drill him.” It’s easy to imagine Cintron saying the same thing about Mike Trout or some other fearsome hitter. … This is the last edition of Chin Music for the 2009 season. Thank you to everyone who made this an entertaining and interesting season to cover. Feel free to keep in touch via e-mail until next spring, and follow all our other sports throughout the year at Playmakers (blogs.thedailyjournal.com/playmakers). — Ben Watanabe

Casey, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound right-hander, is the probable starter for the Crusaders’ sectional semifinal game today against Sacred Heart. In his most recent game, he held Moorestown Friends to one hit in Eustace’s quarterfinal win Saturday. The Crusaders seek their first Non-Public B South title since 2006, when they beat Sacred Heart in the final. Upcoming games: ➤ Today at Sacred Heart, 4 p.m., Non-Public B South semifinal

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