Baseball: Highlights from the opening round of the state tournament in North Jersey

LYNDHURST – Bergen Catholic’s dramatic turnaround now features a state tournament win, significant for a program whose disappointing first month prevented a bid to the Bergen County tournament.

The Crusaders opened the North Non-Public A baseball tournament with a 9-6 victory over St. Peter’s Prep on Wednesday at Breslin Field, and they advance to Tuesday’s quarterfinal at top-seeded rival St. Joseph.

Junior Jamie Zee’s three-run triple propelled eighth-seeded Bergen Catholic (15-10-1). Zee’s first-pitch smash to right-center came with two outs and gave the Crusaders a 6-3 lead in the middle of an eight-run rally that provided a 9-3 advantage.

“You always love to be in moments like that,” said Zee, who flied out to left in his first at-bat. “So I just put a smile on my face and I was thinking, ‘It’s the same bat, the same ball, just go swing it.’ And I got my pitch and I didn’t miss it.”

Bergen Catholic’s front of the order was stellar. Zee, batting second, was 3 for 4, with a run and three RBIs. Sophomore leadoff hitter Petros Rouggeris had three hits and scored twice. Junior cleanup hitter Tyler Yoo had three hits, including two in the fourth, and he scored two of his three runs during that eight-run rally.

“We had a chance to put our tail between our legs, or we had a chance to turn it around,” Bergen Catholic coach Bob Muggeo said, referring to a 6-9-1 start. “And I’m so proud of our guys. We’ve won 11 of our last 13 games and we’ve turned our season around.”

Bergen Catholic, playing its third game in three days, needed every last run, because it ran out of pitchers. Senior Daniel Spierer, making his season debut on the mound, earned the save with a bases-loaded, game-ending strikeout. Spierer replaced sophomore reliever Joaquin Rivera, who replaced senior starter and winner Luke Dellentash.

“Never take anything for granted,” said Muggeo, whose Crusaders lost back-to-back games to St. Joseph last month. “I like the inning where we put a bunch of crooked numbers on the board. Jamie came up with the bases-loaded triple, and we were able to extend it a little. And at the end, we were just hanging on.”

Keep checking back for more first-round highlights.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ baseball: Highlights from opening round of state tournament