Shocking Results in New Jersey, East Greenwich Sitting Pretty

Written by Kyle Stackpole, contributing writer

East Greenwich 14, Toms River East American 4

In the first round of the NJ State Tournament, both East Greenwich and Toms River East American found themselves escaping from brutal situations late in their respective games. TREA had to score two runs in the sixth to force extra innings before winning 8-4 against Wayne National and if it weren’t for two errors by Nutley East, East Greenwich would have been playing for their lives today. Each team had their own reasons to be grateful of the opportunity presented to them. Only one team was able to take advantage of it.

When Shawn Dougherty stepped into the batter’s box in the top of the first, no one could have imagined the type of game he would have. He started it off with a solo bomb to put East Greenwich up 1-0.

East Greenwich extended their lead in the second. After an RBI single by Michael Mackley, Dougherty did some more damage with a two-run single up the middle. With four runs across in the first two innings, East Greenwich was sitting pretty.

Toms River East American responded in the bottom half though. With two outs and two men on, ninth-hitter Maximus Rivas ripped a double to cut the East Greenwich lead in half.

East Greenwich began to break it open soon after.  RBI singles by Ryan Mihlebach, Austin Crothers, Jonathon Burlingame, and Sean Szesto gave East Greenwich an 8-2 lead. Already two-for-two on the day, Shawn Dougherty came back up to the plate. As usual, he delivered with a triple and two runs batted in. East Greenwich was in double digits and TREA was in a heap of trouble.

Going 3-for-3 with five RBI and two runs scored would have been an outstanding day for any average ball player. For Shawn Dougherty, he felt that his performance needed to be enhanced even further. With the score 11-2 in the top of the fifth, Dougherty hit his second home run of the game, making the score an astonishing 14-2. He ended the day going 4-for-4 with eight RBI and three runs scored.


If Dougherty was the main reason for East Greenwich’s success, Sean Szesto could not have been far behind. Sean Szesto went four innings on the mound, allowing five hits and two runs to hold a devastating Toms River East offense at bay.

With the win, East Greenwich will play Sunday night in the state final. Toms River East American will play tomorrow against Nutley East. The winner will play in the final and the loser will go home.

Nutley East shocked Wayne National 14-1 in a mercy-rule shortened victory in the losers' bracket.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I expected two blowouts today. I did not expect either one to be in the direction it was. Wayne I can explain. They folded up shop and were finished. East Greenwich? Well maybe they just played to their potential on Friday, something they didn't do on Thursday. Toms River is the most talented team in the field still... we'll see if they can battle back with three straight wins.

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