Sepa's Pinch Hit Single Lifts Woodbridge Over Colonia 8-7 at TD Bank Sports Center

The Colonia Patriots baseball team appeared to have pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind win Sunday afternoon at TD Bank Sports Center in Bridgewater, but Mike Clarke’s leadoff triple in the bottom of the sixth sparked a two run inning that gave Woodbridge an 8-7 victory.

After squandering a 6-0 lead in the top of the sixth, the Woodbridge Barons managed to put together a rally during the bottom half of the inning to nip the surging Patriots. After Clarke’s leadoff triple, Dan Kacsmar hit a blooper over the head of the drawn-in shortstop to plate the tying run.

After a sacrifice and a walk, pinch-hitter Steve Sepa drove a first pitch fastball into right field, scoring Kacsmar to put Woodbridge ahead for good. Nick Stallone, in relief of Clarke, retired Colonia’s last four batters to earn him his third win of the season.

Mike Clarke was 2-for-4 with a double, triple, two RBI and two runs scored in the White Division showdown, while teammate Dan Kacsmar was 2-for-4 with two singles, two RBI and two runs scored.

 “We fought hard, we played hard, but in the end it wasn’t enough,” said Colonia head coach Tom Hennessy.

The Patriots found themselves down 6-0 after two when their starter, Alex Villon, yielded six runs on seven hits and two walks in his second consecutive start where he was pulled early.  Clarke’s two-run double sparked the Barons’ four run first that was followed by an RBI double by Stallone and an RBI single by Jake Fasario. Woodbridge added two more in the second with RBI singles from Kacsmar and Jesse Lammers.

Colonia put its first two runs on the board in the fourth when Andrew Neich and Frank Gaydos started the inning with back-to-back singles before being driven in by a two run single by Tim Filzen. The Patriots added four more in the fifth when Anthony Joe hit a one out double and was driven home with a single by Joe Coutinho. Matt Wagner drove in Coutinho with a single to center and Neich drove in Wagner to cut the lead down to one. Freshman Ryan Pennell knocked in the tying run with a shot to right, scoring Gaydos who was on second after a single and a stolen base.

“I was just looking to do whatever I can to bring in the tying run,” said Pennell. “I saw the ball real well and I wanted to hit hard somewhere.”

Colonia took the lead during the top half of the sixth when Anthony Joe worked a one out walk and was driven home by a sharp single by Neich, who was 2-for-3 on the day with two RBI and a run scored.

“I did what I could to help the team, I knew they needed me in that spot and I wanted to come through,” said Neich.