Hopewell Post 339 rallies for first win

Hopewell`s Doug Sensi (l) is safe at second base as Ewing`s Eric
Kondor drops the ball on a pickoff attempt/ Gregg Slaboda photo

By Jim Shay
For BucksLocalSports

Manager Joe Fuhrman may have owned the game ball after Hopewell Post 339’s comeback win last Wednesday, June 3, but it was his shortstop who provided the late-game heroics.
With the skies growing darker entering the bottom of the seventh inning, and talk of a suspended game growing louder, James Lauer broke a 3-3 tie with a two-out laser just past the outstretched glove of Ewing Post 314 centerfielder Joe Sgroi to seal a 4-3 win.
The win marked the first of Fuhrman’s managerial career.
“I was struggling the first few at bats with that lefty, and this kid was throwing a little bit harder,” Lauer said. “It was kind of hard to see, to be honest, but I just kept my weight back and tried to go the other way.”
What began as a slugfest quickly turned into a tightly-contested pitcher’s duel, as both Ewing southpaw Matt Ianni and Hopewell’s James McGraw settled down after a shaky first few outs.
Facing a 2-1 deficit entering the top of the third inning, Ewing emerged with the lead thanks to a two-run double from first baseman Asa Rodriguez.
Ianni held Hopewell hitless over the next three innings before issuing a pair of walks and a passed ball in the sixth.
Post 339 designated hitter Doug Sensi took full advantage and delivered the game-tying single.
From that point on, confusion ran rampant on the basepaths for Hopewell.
Ewing’s Steve Arnold delivered his first pitches in relief of Ianni before Sensi broke for second only to find himself well behind catcher Mark Metcalfe’s throw, killing the sixth-inning rally.
Eric Palin failed to advance to third in the bottom of the seventh after his one-out sintoward sent teammate Jeff Mulford flying toward home plate and into a run down.
But after Arnold followed by issuing a walk, Lauer stepped to the plate and took advantage of a Ewing shift that left a gaping hole in right centerfield.
“We had a great, great outing from James McGraw, he stepped up big, showed a lot of heart out there,” Fuhrman said. “As a team, we could have folded. We could have folded when they made that big out in the seventh in that rundown, but we came out and got a big hit.”
Despite watching the lead slowly slip away from his team, Ewing manager Jon Conant remained positive following the loss.
“It was a tough game to lose,” Jon Conant said. “We’ve got to hold our heads up, though, we played a good game, not to take any credit away from Hopewell. They did what they had to do to win.”

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Upcoming Post 339 games
Home Field: Hopewell Valley Central High School (HVCHS)
June 6 @ 11 a.m. West Windsor Plainsboro WWP-South HS
June 8 @ 5:45 p.m. North Trenton Post 458 Nottingham HS
June 9 @ 5:45 p.m. Lawrence Post 414 HVCHS
June 10 @ 5:45 p.m. Trenton/Mitchell Davis Post 93/182 HVCHS
June 12 @ 5:45 p.m. Robbinsville Post 530 Robbinsville HS
June 13 @ 11 a.m. Hightstown Post 148 HVCHS