Writhing in pain, Chase Kaplan looked up at the Manasquan sky while lying on his back, in the dirt, for two minutes.
The left-handed starting pitcher for Manasquan applied a tag while running towards the third-base line to close out a chaotic rundown, recording the final out of the first inning in the opening round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 2 tournament against their rival, Rumson-Fair Haven.
Kaplan sacrificed his body to absorb a hard-hitting collision - which resulted in a player ejection - and for a moment, the Manasquan coaching staff feared that the junior star’s day was over.
However, Kaplan embodies every sense of his school’s nickname. He is a ‘Warrior’ to his core, and he stayed in the game, all while ignoring the pain in his glove-side shoulder.
Kaplan fed off the energy that sparked from the collision. The rush he was feeling eviscerated any pain he usually felt. A tough out on the mound all season, he twirled nine strikeouts in five innings, allowing two runs to guide seventh-seeded Manasquan to a 6-3 victory over 10th-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven on Tuesday.
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5/27 - 4:00 PM Baseball Final Rumson-Fair Haven 3 Manasquan 6
“There was no way he was coming out of this game,” Manasquan head coach Brenan Gordon said.
“There was absolutely no chance he was getting the ball taken from him.”
Along with a fastball that held plenty of life from the left side, Kaplan’s late-breaking curveball kept him in control all game. He struck out three batters in the third inning, then two apiece in the fourth and fifth frames.
“In a way, this is the perfect way to start off the tournament. A great rivalry, a great atmosphere. I couldn’t have asked for a better day,” Kaplan said. “It was intense, and that’s exactly how we want it.”
Kaplan now has 72 strikeouts this season, spanning 42 2/3 frames while boasting a 0.82 earned run average.
Keegan Hertel came on in relief for Kaplan, firing four strikeouts in two innings. Hertel has a 1.91 ERA in 14 2/3 innings with 20 punch-outs this spring.
At the plate, Dylan Vowteras catalyzed the offense.
He went 4-for-4 with a two-run home run to right field to open the scoring in the first inning, then doubled and scored in the third frame.
Vowteras added two more base hits in his final at-bats, adding on one stolen base.
Manasquan clocked three doubles in the third inning. Vowteras, Tristan Condon (2-for-4), and RT Runge (2 RBIs) each roped a two-bagger in that inning to plate two runs.
Manasquan (14-7) was a 15-seed last season in the state tournament. Yet, they won two games, overcoming the odds of a lower seed marching through a postseason bracket.
This program learned a lot about building upon each other’s success, keeping everyone involved and supported throughout a game, and knowing to not make any mistakes late in a contest.
Those attributes bled into Tuesday’s game, one year later in a home playoff game.
“Our teammates who graduated before us taught us everything. They passed down how to be leaders, and how to win games. They paved this path,” Vowteras said.
RFH’s DJ Ylagan hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to keep the Bulldogs in the ball game. They scored their two runs in the second inning on a game-tying pinch-hit two-run double from Lloyd Bush.
Cooper Jones started for RFH, striking out two batters in 1 1/3 innings. Owen O’Toole amassed seven punch-outs in 4 2/3 relief frames.
Manasquan will oppose second-seeded Robbinsville in the quarterfinals.
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PJ Potter may be reached at PPotter@njadvancemedia.com.