Not overly happy with its performance last year with an 8-4 record in the Union County Conference Watching Division and 14-11 overall record, the Cranford High School baseball team was determined to achieve higher goals this season and it certainly did. Despite having a 7-7 record in the first half of their season, the Cougars turned up the juice to win 14 of their final 17 games, which included capturing the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 crown, finishing 8-4 in the Watchung Division and with an overall 21-10 record.
Under head coach Ryan Matlosz, the Cougars continued their tradition of massive thievery on the base paths with 123 stolen bases and backed it all up with some power at the plate, combining for 25 home runs, 43 doubles and seven triples. The Cougars also placed a number of personnel on the mound and came up with some pleasing results.
Things did begin well for the Cougars with a 12-1 muzzling of the Dayton Bulldogs and a 5-2 chilling of the Westfield Blue Devils. After a 7-6 setback to the Blue Devils, the Cougars got right back on track with fourstraight wins beginning with Hudson Catholic (10-1), followed by a 9-2 victory over the South Plainfield Tigers. After beating the Randolph Rams, 13-4, and the Brearley Bears, 12-1, the Cougars were sitting pretty at 6-1 but a 9-7 loss to the Somerville Pioneers would change their course quite a bit.
The Cougars lost to the Governor Livingston Highlanders, 7-4, but did come back to edge them, 6-5, in nine innings. Next came a 5-4 loss to the Watchung Hills Warriors and a nineinning 3-0 loss to the Union Catholic Vikings, who would beat them again, 11-1, two days later. After the Cougars dropped a 6-3 decision to the Bayonne Bees, their record sagged to 7-7 but the winds of good fortune would quickly return with eightstraight wins, beginning with St. Mary (Rutherford), 8-5.
The Cougars took down the Summit Hilltoppers twice (2-1, 15-6) then plowed under the Union Farmers, 13-0. The silence of the Rams came next with a 6-3 victory and a 6-2 victory over Oratory Prep. The Cougars shut out the Roselle Park Panthers, 13-0, in the first round of the Union County Tournament (UCT) then blanked the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders, 4-0, in a regular- season game. The streak ended in the UCT quarterfinal round with an 114 loss to the AL Johnson Crusaders, who would go on the claim the title.
In the final regular-season games, the Cougars stopped the SPF Raiders, 7-5, and Madison Dodgers, 11-0, before bowing to St. John Vianney, 72. The NJ2, Group 3 Tournament was next and the Cougars reeled off victories over Rahway (14-2), Summit (177) and North Hunterdon (9-3) before grabbing the crown with a 10-5 triumph over South Plainfield. In the Group 3 semifinal, the Cougars dropped a 2-0 pitchers’ duel to Old Tappan, the eventual Group 3 champs.
The Cougars had a vicious crew in the lineup and senior four-year starter Brayden Fry was atop the pile with a .475 batting average (BA) going 47for-99 with 27 RBI (2nd on team) and a team-leading 53 runs scored, nine doubles and 10 home runs, to go with 29 stolen bases (2nd on team), 21 walks (tied for 1st), a triple and six hit by pitches (HP). Junior Pat Bendert finished with a .379 BA (36-for-95) with 37 runs scored, 26 RBI, six home runs, six doubles, a triple, 19 walks, seven HP and 20 stolen bases.
Senior Mike Tripodi, who was the
