‘Plick’ goes Bosco in 12-0 Cranford annihilation
BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP — There are upsets, there are farces, and then there is what happened at TD Bank Park on Tuesday and—in at least my experience in the community—I don’t think I can say I’ve seen nor heard of its occurrence. “It” being Don Bosco losing a sporting contest by a margin of 12… to a public school.
The Ironmen (Diamondbacks in this tournament) were ousted from the Last Dance World Series by an unfamiliar competitor in Group 3 public school, Cranford—who advanced to the North final against Bergen Catholic. The Salesians of Don Bosco will be sure to see Cranford Senior, Aidan Plick, in their nightmares.
Plick was the first to illuminate the scoreboard with an RBI single in the third inning—a moment where the stadium thought the beast was sure to be awoken on the Ironmen end. But, before they knew it, it was Plick again driving in another off of a double in the fifth.
“The guys before me did a great job getting on base. I think there was a guy on base for almost all my at bats. When there’s guys in scoring position, it really takes the pressure off and they’re going to do the rest and score,” said Plick.
Bosco’s looming donut remained atop TD Bank Park when the Grim Reaper came and sealed their season in the sixth with six more Cranford tallies, including a solo shot to right field from Plick. It became open season for the Cougars who would tack on four more before game’s end, while Bosco ceased into thin air.
“We just really focus on ourselves coming into these games. We knew what we had to do: throw strikes, make plays, and have good at bats, and that’s what we did,” said Plick. “It’s always great to come in and give a silent beating like that. 12-0. It was quick. We wanted them to never have a shot and that’s what we did.”
Plick’s explosion came as no surprise to his team as the Scranton commit forged a reputation of stellar work ethics in his four years.
“Aidan’s a hard working kid. He’s a great kid. He’s had that type of success his whole life. We were fortunate to [have him] come in with runners in scoring position and he hit the shot up the middle. Then he hit another shot, then a home run. That’s not a surprise by Aidan though, he’s just a very talented kid,” said Head Coach Dennis McCaffery.
While Don Bosco had all of the arguments going for them on paper, there wasn’t even one slightly promising moment that arose for them. The truth of the matter was they were not only out-hit, but out-pitched by a Will Gallagher one-hitter, and out-fielded as they committed three errors to Cranford’s flawlessness.
“You have to do that against a lineup like that. That’s a lineup that hits one through nine. We were fortunate today that’s our guy on the mound was able to keep them off balance,” said McCaffery. “It was a team effort. We had a two-strike-clearing-triple (Ryan Jaros) that could have been a home run. You have two-strike hitting, you have a pitcher throwing a one-hitter—that’s a good day.”
Gallagher’s one-hitter was one outfield miscommunication away from a no-hitter, as he threw for eight strikeouts and displayed masterful command against a loaded lineup.
“I located my changeup and curveball low which got a lot of groundouts and strikeouts and I threw my fastball high which got a lot of strikeouts too,” said Gallagher. “Seeing a power house team like that go down like that… there’s nothing better.”
While Gallagher was in his groove retiring batters with five 1-2-3 innings, his mound counterparts became a three-piece revolving door each chased back into the depths of the dugout by Cranford. They’ve proven they can play with—and beat—anyone, and now they will draw a fierce Bergen Catholic team at 7 p.m. at Skylands Park in Augusta, NJ.
“I’ve been coaching Cranford for over 25 years for a reason. It’s a great place to coach and it’s a great community—I live in the community. I work in the school system. I have to give these kids credit; they are hard working kids,” said McCaffery. “They always want to practice and they work as hard as any team in New Jersey. I’ll put them up against everybody.”