UNION, NJ- The Union High School Farmers varsity baseball team trailed in a close game and couldn’t quite solve Arthur L. Johnson High School freshman starting pitcher Kyle Adorno for most of the game. All of that changed in a matter of four batters in the order as the game shifted to the bottom of the fifth inning.
Union senior starting pitcher Brandon Bedlivy got through the top of the fifth inning with no damage and his players stepped into the batters’ box, trailing the Johnson Crusaders 2-1 through four and a half innings of action. The team huddled up together before going to work in the inning.
“We had to be aggressive in the zone, attack fastballs, hit them hard on the ground, line drives and pressure [Johnson’s] defense and eventually, the outcome will be good,” Union head coach Angel Navarrete said about what he told his players after the top of the fifth inning.
The Farmers scored three runs in bottom of the fifth inning, all with two outs, sparked by sophomore Dren Gojac and senior Anthony Farinha to rally past the Crusaders 5-2 Saturday morning in Union.
The Farmers got two straight hits from sophomores Nick Saraceno and Andrew Sanborn to put the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Adorno struck Union junior Zach Fernandez out looking, putting the Farmers in a two-out situation where they needed to get hits and get on base. Then, senior Jerry Gamone got plunked by a pitch, loading the bases.
