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RIDGEFIELD PARK---Bergen Catholic was one strike away from losing to DePaul Catholic on BC's senior day, but managed to rip victory from the jaws of defeat with a thrilling come-from-behind victory on Wednesday afternoon, beating their Big North United Division foes in 9-8 walk-off fashion on BC's Senior Day.  In a span of two days the Crusaders have beaten the Bergen County and Passaic County Champions. 

                                                                                                                                             DePaul opened the game's scoring with a 2-run home run from the game's second batter and led 2-0 after their half inning.  BC scratched across a run in the bottom of the 1st inning thanks to 4 consecutive base hits, including an RBI single from senior Mike Rucereto, but still trailed after one inning.  BC would eventually take their first lead of the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning thanks to a costly fielding error that led to 2 BC runs.  Joe Scancarella's 2-run homer to left center field added to the Crusader lead that eventually swelled to a 4 run advantage after 4 innings of play at 6-2. 

                                                                                                                                              Just when it looked like BC was about to cruise to an enjoyable win on Senior Day, the undermanned DePaul Spartans, who missed several of their senior starters due to their senior prom on Wednesday night, fought back in a big way in the 5th and 6th innings.  DePaul scored 3 runs in both innings, and shocked the BC faithful by grabbing their first lead of the game since the 3rd inning with a 8-6 advantage.  When DePaul quickly dismissed BC in the 6th inning and retired the first two batters of the bottom of the 7th inning, things started to look bleak for the Red & Gold, but on Senior Day, the Crusader veterans would not go down without a fight. 

                                                                                                                                              Senior captain Danny Tattoli drew a walk and then Zach Cerbo hit a slow grounder to third base which was fielded and thrown errantly pass the DePaul first baseman's glove which kept BC alive for one more batter.  Eric Flanagan, a senior who has played 3 seasons on the varsity level, delivered a huge 2-run RBI double in left centerfield which notted the game up at 8-8 and delighted the BC crowd.  Junior Mike Sutherland put the icing on the cake with a pinch hit single that drove home Flanagan with the winning run and capped off an amazing comeback victory for BC. 

                                                                                                                                          The Crusaders 21-8 joyfully celebrated after the game, enjoying two of the better games in their careers in back-to-back games against county champions, and now will have some time to prepare for their next huge game on Friday against Seton Hall Prep. 

                                                                                                                                           DP     2     0     0     0     3     3     0     {8}

BC     1     0     2     3     0     0    3      {9}

                                                                                                                                           DL

Congratulations to the BC varsity baseball team for their 3-1 upset win over previously unbeaten Don Bosco Prep in the state quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon.  Toby Schwartz pitched 6 sensational shutout innings against the Ironmen, while Ryan Kelly provided a huge 2-run homerun that gave BC the insurance runs it needed late in the game.  Dylan Reid came on for the save and closed the game for the emotional win.  The Crusaders will now take on Seton Hall Prep in the state semifinals on Friday afternoon in West Orange, with a chance at advancing to the state finals on the line. 

                                                                                                                                            DL

RIDGEFIELD PARK---In what could be considered their best played game of the season, Bergen Catholic jumped out to an early and used sensational pitching to quickly dispatch of Roselle Catholic in the first round of the North A Playoffs on Wednesday afternoon.  The victory sets up the fourth and final match up between BC and top-seeded Don Bosco Prep in the quarterfinals. 

                                                                                                                                        From the game's beginning, Roselle Catholic looked overmatched against BC's starter Toby Schwartz who displayed pinpoint accuracy and extra velocity on his fastball.  Schwartz breezed through the first 3 innings, retiring 6 of the first 9 batters via strike out.  While their ace was dealing, the BC offense continued to swing the hot bats they displayed the day before in their comeback victory against Hudson Catholic.  BC plated 2 runs in the 1st inning thanks in part to a fielding error in the outfield to lead off the bottom of the inning.  The Crusaders would strike for 4 more runs in the 2nd inning, 2 of which came courtesy of a long homerun to dead centerfield by Eric Flanagan.  BC would use a moonshot of a home run by Mike Rucereto to pad its lead even more in the following inning and approached a mercy victory with a 9-0 lead after 4 innings. 

                                                                                                                                      When the BC staff decided to relieve Schwartz in the midst of the blowout, the visiting Lions received no relief when they had to contend with Dylan Reid.  With a fastball that found the corners routinely, Reid mowed through the Roselle Catholic lineup as well in his 2 innings of work.  The Crusaders would officially end the game courtesy of Reid's RBI single in the bottom of the 6th inning with the bases full and no one out, and BC finished their quickest home contest of the season with a dominant 10-0 playoff win.  Up next is Bosco, and another shot at redemption. 

                                                                                                                                           RC     0     0     0     0     0      0     (0)

BC     2     4     2     1     0      1     (10) 

                                                                                                                                           DL

RIDGEFIELD PARK---Bergen Catholic trailed by four runs with four outs left in their game on Tuesday afternoon, but still managed to push across five unanswered runs to complete a thrilling 11-10 come-from-behind victory against Hudson Catholic at New Overpeck Park in a non-league regular season game. 

                                                                                                                                            The game resembled a back-and-forth prize fight, as both teams traded blows and offensive rallies throughout the day.  BC (18-8) fell behind early in a game at home yet again this season, trailing 2-0 going to the bottom of the 2nd.  The Crusaders responded with 3 runs themselves in the bottom of 2nd to grab their first lead of the game.  The visiting Hawks would later tie the game with a run in the top of the 3rd, only to see the Crusaders retake the lead with 2 runs in the bottom half of th 3rd.  Hudson Catholic would use two 3 run innings in the 4th and 6th innings to jump out to a 10-6 lead late in the game, and had BC fans worrying about another loss at home.  Hudson Catholic had hit four homeruns off of 3 different BC pitchers and the Crusaders were faced with a hill to climb late in the game. 

                                                                                                                                              When BC's first two hitters struck out quickly against Hudson Catholic's relief pitcher in the bottom of the 6th, the Red & Gold faced a four run defecit with only four outs left, and no one on base.  That's when BC rallied and completely changed the game around.  After drawing back-to-back walks, pinch hitter Rob Quigley got a base hit to pull BC to within 10-7.  BC's next batter was Zach Cerbo, who fell behind early in the count and eventually waited for his pitch.  Cerbo got exactly what he was looking for and drove the ball over the opposite field fence to dramatically tie the game at 10 runs apiece. 

                                                                                                                                          Despite notting up the score heading to the seventh inning, BC still had to find a way to hold the Hawks scoreless for the first time on the afternoon.  With runners on first and second with one out Hudson Cathlic hit a single to shallow centerfield and sent their runner home from second.  Thanks to a perfect throw from center fielder Ryan Kelly, catcher Mike Rucereto hauled in the throw and tagged out the runner in time to preserve the tie game.  Anthony Apreda would retire the final batter via strike out and gave BC a chance to win the game in walk off fashion.  BC led off with a walk, followed by an infield single, and then added another walk to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 7th.  With BC's Charles Chen at the plate, Hudson Catholic's relief pitcher walked in the winning run on 5 pitches and BC capped off an amazing rally victory, and hope to use this momentum with their playoff game on Wednesday. 

                                                                                                                                           HC     1     1     1     3     1     3     0     (10)

BC     0     3     2     1     0     4     1     (11) 

                                                                                                                                           DL

Due to the fact that North Jersey has resembled the Amazon Rain Forest in recent weeks, and that county and now state tournaments alter potential make up games, the BC Baseball schedule has been in a state of constant change in the last week.  The BC Radio Network plans on bringing Crusader fans the final 3 home games of the 2011 season against Hudson Catholic, Roselle Catholic, and DePaul Catholic.  As always it will depend on the weather, but be sure to always look for the updated broadcast schedule on the right side of your screen for all details. 

                                                                                                                                        Thanks for listening in as we come towards to the end of our inaugural season of BC Baseball on the BC Radio Network! 

                                                                                                                                               DL

Bergen Catholic's Round of 16 opponent has changed from Ramapo to Dumont, due to Dumont's recent forfeit of a victory it had against Rutherford earlier this season due to the use of an ineligible pitcher.  That forced the BCCA committee to change the seedings and dropped Dumont from the #4 seed to the #8 seed, and setting up a rematch against the same BC team they recently beat 14-3 at home. 

                                                                                                                                              Here is the link to the entire story blogged by Jim McConville on Varsity Aces: Dumont Story 

                                                                                                                                            Despite the new opponent BC will still play at 10 am on Saturday at Emerson HS. 

                                                                                                                                           DL

Bergen Catholic qualified for the 2011 Bergen County baseball tournament and was awarded the #9 overall seed on Monday night, setting up a Round of 16 match up with Ramapo, the #8 seed, and a team that the Crusaders will wind up playing twice over a three day span.  The Crusaders will first take on the Green Raiders at Ramapo for a regular season game on Thursday, and then will face off at Emerson High School on Saturday.  If BC were to find a way to beat Ramapo, it would most likely set up a quarterfinal showdown with top-seeded Don Bosco Prep. 

                                                                                                                                            DL

RIDGEFIELD PARK---Bergen Catholic played one of its best all-around games of the season on Tuesday afternoon, scoring 14 runs at the plate, while Toby Schwartz threw his first no-hitter of his season, and Bergen Catholic dominated Hackensack 14-0 in a mercy-shortened Big North contest. 

                                                                                                                                               BC used its super aggressive base-running style to bedevil the Comets all game long.  The Crusaders stole 16 bases in 4 innings, and routinely pushed the envelope and forced Hackensack into several throwing errors.  Eric Flanagan went deep with a 2-run homerun and the offense provided a quick cushion for their senior pitcher who was firing on all cylinders. 

                                                                                                                                 Schwartz was not overwhelming with his pitches on the day, managing to only have 5 strikeouts on the day along with his 3 walks, but his control helped him pitch to his defense, and created easy 1-2-3 innings against an overmatched Hackensack offense.  In one inning, Schwartz needed only 4 pitches to retire the side, and quickly got his offense back onto the field against a tired Comets pitcher.  Once Schwartz struck out the final batter of the game, he had accomplished his no-hitter and had given his team an easy victory, something BC needs with a busy week ahead. 

                                                                                                                                   HACK     0     0     0     0      0     (0)

BC        1     1     4     8      X     (14)

                                                                                                                                           DL

RIDGEFIELD PARK---Bergen Catholic has suffered its share of tough losses this season, losing close games late to Don Bosco Prep and St. Joseph Regional.  They have also been punished for slow starts like in their loss to Paramus.  But they at least had a shot to compete in those games.  On Wednesday afternoon, BC's chances faded away in the first inning and their archrival Don Bosco never took their foot off the gas on the way to an embarassing 17-3 victory over the Crusaders in a Big North United Divisional game. 

                                                                                                                                          Don Bosco displayed its dominance in all facets of the game, delivering clutch two out hits to propel multiple run innings, displaying power in the long ball, while setting down the Crusader bats with a brilliant pitching performance.  At points in the afternoon BC looked more like a JV squad compared to their Ramsey counterpart.  BC managed to get across a key run in the bottom of the 6th inning to prevent the 10-run mercy rule to go into effect at 11-2, yet proceded to walk in several runs and gave up 6 additional runs to the DBP reserves in the top of the 7th inning that seemingly felt like it would never end. 

                                                                                                                                           BC had played its worst game of the season, at home, against its biggest rival, and off of an emotional come-from-behind win the day before.  BC must be able to shake off their putrid performance from Wednesday and remain focused on their upcoming games, games that will become crucial in hopes of earning a top seed in the Bergen County Tournament and the Non-Public state playoffs.  It's only one regular season game, but deep this loss will hurt for awhile for the Red & Gold. 

                                                                                                                                        DBP     3     3     0     3     0     2     6     (17)

BC       0     1     0     0     0     1     1     (3) 

                                                                                                                                           DL

RIDGEFIELD PARK---Tuesday's game between Bergen Catholic and Passaic was sloppy in terms of the rainy weather conditions and the poor play on the diamond, but BC managed to find a way to again come from behind against an opponent at Overpeck County Park and defeated Passaic 7-4, snapping a two game losing streak in the process.  The cold, windy, and rainy weather wreaked havoc not only on the baseball field, but also played a part in temporarily knocking the BC Radio Network off the air due to a loss of power in the press box. 

                                                                                                                                           BC captured the initial lead of the game courtesy of a RBI single by Toby Schwartz in the bottom of the first inning.  After a scoreless second inning between both sides, BC became a victim of their own careless play in the field.  BC's starting pitcher Liam Flanagan was faced with a jam, having the bases loaded with only one out in the top of the third.  He then struck out the next Passaic hitter and had seemingly found his way out of trouble when he got the following hitter to hit a slow groundball to third baseman Dylan Reid.  Reid hesitated and instead of throwing to second or first tried to tag the runner advancing to third base, but missed and allowed Passaic to tie the game at 1-1 and kept the inning alive for the Indians.  Passaic eventually put across 4 runs in the third inning and led BC 4-1 going to the bottom of the third. 

                                                                                                                                          The Crusaders immediately began to fight back against Passaic and scored two runs in the bottom of ther third to make it 4-3, but the Crusaders ran themselves out of more runs by being caught at third base to end the threat.  The same thing happened for BC in the fourth inning when BC managed to tie the game at 4-4, but had one runner tagged out at home as part of a double steal which again cut short what looked like could be a big inning for the Red & Gold. 

                                                                                                                                       Once Flanagan left the game, Mike Parente came in and provided solid relief for the BC pitching staff and made sure to throw strikes against a Passaic team that was ultra-aggressive at the plate.  The Crusaders brought a patient hitting approach into the fifth inning and let the Passaic pitcher walk them from base to base and proceded to give BC the go-ahead run courtesy of a wild pitch.  James Orlando provided a key insurance run on a RBI single up the middle that gave BC a 6-4 lead that they eventually would increase to 7-4 by the end of the fifth inning.  As both sides took to the field to start the sixth inning, the sky became dark and began to open up with the hardest rain of the day.  At that point the umpire decided that was enough and called the game after five innings and awarded the game to BC.  It was a weird game, but BC will certainly take the bounce back win. 

                                                                                                                                        PAS     0     0     4     0     0     (4)

BC       1     0     2     1     3     (7) 

                                                                                                                                           DL