Early lead helps Ardente, Absegami put away Oakcrest in season opener

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher MAYS LANDING — Spotting Absegami’s Matt Ardente, one of the best pitchers in South Jersey, three runs in the first inning is generally not a good idea. When the visiting Braves scored three times in the top of the first in Wednesday’s season opener, Oakcrest coach Sean Olson knew it was going to be a long day for his Falcons. Absegami picked up three runs in the first and two more in the third to take a 5-0 lead, and that was plenty for Ardente, who allowed just two hits while striking out eight and walking four in five innings in an 8-0 Braves win. The senior right-hander struggled a bit in the first two innings and worked out of some jams, but once he found his rhythm there wasn’t much Oakcrest (0-1) could do to close the gap on Absegami (1-0) and make a game out of it. “The first couple of innings, I had to get the kinks out and find the strike zone, but after that everything starts rolling and you find your outs,” Ardente said. “At the beginning of the third inning, I knew I had to adjust myself, stride out a little bit and find the zone. But once the fastball was there, everything was good.” Oakcrest catcher Troy Manno forces Branco out at the plate during Wednesday’s game in Mays Landing. Olson said that if the Falcons are going to compete in a loaded Cape-Atlantic League American Conference, they are going to have to start getting some clutch hitting. “It’s going to come down to getting competitive in the box. We’re going to have to prove ourselves offensively. We get two runners on base every inning and we’re failing to execute,” Olson said. “The pitcher’s level of intensity heightens and he bears down, and we have to match that or exceed it, and we fell short. It comes down to clutch hitting with runners on base and batters doing their job to put the ball in play and make things happen.” Absegami made plenty happen on offense, as Barnett, Ardente and Roesch each finished with two hits and a pair of RBIs, and Matt Branco added a couple of hits and an RBI. Hewa said Branco’s scrappy approach at the plate is what makes him such a valuable player. “We’re trying to carry the same philosophy from last year, just come out and hit the ball hard and beat every team that we play,” Hewa said. “(Branco) likes to hit the ball all around the field, and after Bucky Amend left last year he moved over to shortstop, and he’s picking it up pretty well.” Ardente said the Braves are focused on getting on the scoreboard early and making teams come back against a veteran team with a good defense, which isn’t an easy task. “That’s one thing we work on is getting up on teams and have them play chase. Once we’re up, we just want to keep tacking on runs,” Ardente said. Absegami is back in action on Thursday for its home opener against Ocean City at 4 p.m., while Oakcrest travels to Mainland for the Mustangs’ home opener. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]