By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher DEPTFORD — Mainland Regional baseball coach Billy Kern could have made a bunch of excuses on Sunday afternoon after his Mustangs were eliminated from the Diamond Classic after a 7-5 loss to Eastern Regional in the semifinals at Deptford High School: having to throw untested pitchers with the state playoffs looming on Monday afternoon; playing six games in seven days; burnout from a frenetic schedule in the month of May. But Mainland doesn’t make excuses. As far as Kern is concerned, the Mustangs had as good a shot as anybody to win the Diamond Classic, they simply didn’t get the job done. The Vikings, ranked No. 5 in the state by nj.com, took advantage of nine walks, a pair of infield errors, and racked up five runs in the bottom of the second inning, forcing Mainland (18-4) to play catch-up the rest of the way. The 10th-ranked Mustangs eventually cut the deficit to 6-5 with a pair of runs in the fifth, but senior righty Tyler Dixon — on in relief — got out of the inning and twirled two more scoreless innings to shut the door. “It’s unfortunate that (the tournament) is not spaced out a little differently. Obviously, the public schools are at a little bit of a disadvantage with the state playoffs starting (on Monday). That being said, we walked nine and committed two crucial errors,” Kern said. “I don’t care who is on the mound, our expectations for the guys we put out there are a lot higher.” 
Mainland Regional second baseman Kyle Gerace turns a double play during the Diamond Classic semifinals at Deptford High School on Sunday. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Mainland sophomore Sal Colangelo got through the first inning unscathed, but the Vikings rallied for five in the second inning, as their patient approach at the plate began to pay dividends. A single and two walks loaded the bases before a walk to Matt Woods and a two-run single by Joe Caruso gave Eastern a 3-0 lead. Corey Kreston added a 2-run single of his own later in the inning as the lead reached 5-0. Mainland began to chip away, however, scoring three runs in the fourth and a pair in the fifth to make it a 6-5 game. Jack Loefflad plated the Mustangs’ first run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and Kyle Gerace followed with a two-out, two-run single that was just off the glove of a leaping Kreston at shortstop. Eastern took a 6-3 lead by scoring on an infield error in the bottom of the fourth, but Mainland answered in its half of the fifth when Tyler Wray scored on a groundout by Rob Wood, and Matt McLaughlin drove in Dean Deveney with an infield single. The Vikings stretched the lead to 7-5 on an RBI groundout by Ryan Keen in the bottom of the fifth, and Dixon retired six straight to nail down the win. Junior Steve Gagnon pitched well in relief for Mainland, allowing just two runs in four innings of work. Kern said what the Mustangs could take out of the experience was that playing top-notch competition gets his players in postseason mode. “It was nice to get through the first weekend, then we had a nice game against Kingsway yesterday. It kind of gets everybody focused for the playoffs,” Kern said. “It’s nice to play in these games that have meaning late in the year. To have a do-or-die game is nice, because in the playoffs, from here on out it’s one-game elimination.” 
Dean Deveney takes a rip during the Mustangs’ 7-5 loss to Eastern Regional. “It’s awesome, especially since none of us have ever been here before. We loved every minute of it and we just kept riding the ship. Unfortunately, it came to a close. But tomorrow is where it all begins. This was a good preparation for the playoffs,” McLaughlin said. “There weren’t any bad teams in this tournament and we had to bring our ‘A’ game every game. So we got used to that, and hopefully that will carry over (into the playoffs), which it will. I have enough confidence in our team to bounce back. It was good competition and got us ready for the playoffs.” McLaughlin, a senior, said the Diamond Classic experience will be valuable for some of the younger players, particularly those on the pitching staff. “We’re going to need all hands on deck during the playoffs, so it’s good for them to get the work in here, where it does count, but not as much as playoffs,” McLaughlin said. The Mustangs’ shortstop also credited Mainland’s large contingent of fans who made the trek not only to Deptford this weekend, but also to Maple Shade to watch the Mustangs’ first-round win over Riverside. “That helps us out a lot, knowing that we have a lot of people behind us and it makes us go that extra level,” McLaughlin said. “We don’t want to disappoint.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]
Mainland Regional’s Diamond Classic run comes to an end with semifinal loss to Eastern
