Willie Beard expected to throw 110 pitches in the oppressive heat Monday at Roxbury Park.
He made it to 102 pitches, but that was good enough for New Brunswick to gain a tough 5-4 win over New Orleans in the opening round of the AAABA Tournament.
Beard struck out four and allowed seven hits over seven innings before giving way to reliever Connor Henderson, who pitched the final two innings.
In the second round today, New Brunswick will face Columbus, a 4-3 winner over Altoona. New Orleans plays Altoona in an elimination game.
Beard induced New Orleans hitters into 10 ground-ball outs, and started a 1-6-3 double play to end the fourth.
“Willie was a first-team all-stater back in Jersey and he’s a front-end starter for Rutgers University,” New Brunswick Manager Glenn Fredericks said.
“Anytime he goes out there, we feel he gives us a chance to win.”
New Orleans had three hits in the third inning and three more in the sixth, but managed just single runs each time against Beard. One run came in on a passed ball and the other on an infield hit.
“They seemed to be catching up with my fastball, so I had to rely on my breaking pitches,” Beard said. “I was able to get a lot of ground balls and my fielders made the plays for me.”
“He’s got a lot of bulldog in him,” Fredericks said of Beard.
“Until the scoreboard says we lose, he’s never done out there.”
Dylan Laguna, Beard’s battery mate, had two hits and two runs batted in for New Brunswick.
Laguna’s triple to right plated Andrew Rivera in the sixth, and an infield out knocked in a run in the seventh. The catcher singled in the ninth and eventually scored when teammate Alberto Ruiz got caught in a rundown between first and second after a steal attempt.
New Orleans starter Joe Zimmerman worked six innings and left with the game tied at 1. Zimmerman got plenty of help from left-fielder Mason Katz, who robbed New Brunswick’s Dave Avella of a potential three-run homer in the first, and then threw out a runner at the plate to end the sixth.
New Brunswick scratched out three runs against a trio of New Orleans relievers in the top of the seventh. Elijah Yarborough, Pat Sweeney and Andrew Rivera all had infield hits to go with a walk and an error.
A two-run home run by Beau Boudreaux pulled New Orleans to within a run in the ninth before Henderson got the final out. Boudreaux finished with three RBIs and added a stolen base to lead New Orleans.
“Baseball can be a funny game,” Fredericks said. “In the first, Davey (Avella) hits that ball and it’s almost a three-run lead for us before they ever get up to bat. Instead, it’s still 0-0.
“Later in the game (in the seventh), we had two bunting situations where our guys worked the count and ended up getting bleeder base hits. Sometimes, the breaks are on your side.”
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New Brunswick, Beard advance
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