By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
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HADDON HEIGHTS — There was a lot of meat left on the bone for the Haddon Heights High baseball team on Tuesday afternoon. What probably should have been a 5- or 6-run, easy victory over visiting Sterling turned into an extra-innings nail-biter.
But the Garnets showed flashes of what could be this spring, and when it’s 45 degrees in early April, any win is a good win.
With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the eighth, junior outfielder Cole Simon — a transfer from Bishop Eustace who has been plugged into the cleanup spot for the Garnets — delivered a sacrifice fly to center that plated Ryan Govito with the winning run in Haddon Heights’ 6-5 win. Simon and Govito combined for five hits, four runs scored and a pair of RBIs as the top of Haddon Heights’ lineup did a lot of damage. No. 3 hitter Kevin Clark, the Garnets’ senior catcher, added three hits and a pair of runs scored.
“We were just trying to take it one batter at a time and keep the line moving. I was just trying to look for a fastball early because I knew he was going to throw it,” Simon said. “I was just sitting on one pitch and trying to hit it hard. My job was just to hit the ball hard somewhere.”
Simon, a sweet swinging lefty, surprisingly came into this season with just one varsity at-bat during his time at Bishop Eustace, but in the early going with the Garnets he’s hitting .400 and has been on base five times in the first two games.
“No doubt, if me and Cole got up (in the eighth inning) we knew the game was going to end. But I just have so much belief in this team — the guys behind me, everyone just does their part. Big guys make plays, and that’s what Cole does. He’s a stud,” Clark said. “It’s awesome (that he’s back). I remember talking to coach (Eric) Newell before our state playoff game last year and he said, ‘what would you think about getting Simon back here?’ And I said, ‘I love it!’ He came back, he’s one of my good friends and he’s one of our brothers out here on the field.”
Heights (2-0, 0-0 Colonial Liberty) gave up a 5-1 lead and Sterling’s Aidan Gates — who did a tremendous job in 3 1/3 innings of relief of starter Nate Schwarz — got the first out of the eighth before Govito reached on an error and then Richard Farruggia walked. A wild pitch put runners at second and third, so the Knights elected to walk Clark to load the bases. It was pick-your-poison situation — pitch to either Clark or Simon. The duo had already combined for five hits and four runs scored. Simon promptly ended the game as Govito trotted home on his deep fly to center.
Haddon Heights took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first on RBI hits by Sion and Jaxon Motta and scored three more times in the third to take a 5-1 lead. But Sterling (1-1, 0-0 Colonial Patriot) battled back, cutting the deficit to 5-4 in the fifth on an error and a bases-loaded single by Pat McVeigh and tying the game, 5-5, in the seventh on a topper down the line by McVeigh, again with the bases loaded.
The Garnets didn’t have their best day on the mound, surrendering 10 walks, but did enough in key situations to limit Sterling’s ability to rally. Carter Zetusky, a sophomore, fanned six in his four innings of work and Andrew Weag struck out two and didn’t allow a hit in the top of the eighth to pick up the win.
“All these guys — that’s our strong spot, our pitching. Our arms are going to limit runs. I don’t even think our guys had their best stuff today but they still did a great job on the mound,” Clark said. “The expectations for this team are high. We know what we have, we know the talent is good. It’s just about keeping our egos in check and getting good leadership. The energy has been great. It doesn’t matter the way that we win, it just matters that we get a ‘W’ on the scoreboard.
“We just want to see wins and putting Haddon Heights baseball back on the map,” he added. “Winning that Group 2 state title is the goal. From my freshman year, this year’s team can go toe-to-toe with any team that I’ve been on.”
“The kids, the environment. It’s cool to be back with my friends who I’ve played with. It’s good to be back this year,” Simon said about his decision to come back to Haddon Heights. “I think everybody we have here is capable of hitting the ball hard and we have a great pitching staff. I think we’re going to go pretty far this year. I want to see us all working together. No person is bigger than the team and if we all work together I think we’ll do pretty well.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Haddon Heights travels to Collingswood on Thursday at 4 p.m. Sterling travels to Haddon Township on Thursday at 11 a.m.
