Caps break Quakertown curse
You didn't think it was going to be easy to break the Quakertown curse, did you?
For the second time in four days, the Capitals raced out to a big lead over the Blazers and lost it in the blink of an eye. But this time the visitors found the fortitude to rally for a run in extra innings on Jake Kmiec's RBI single and a crazy 11-10 victory in Game 2 of an ACBL doubleheader yesterday at Memorial Park. Q'town took the opener 6-4.
The win marked the first for a Trenton team in Quakertown since the Generals won there July 10, 2018. There have been 1-0 losses in there and Thursday's agonizing blown 10-0 lead. But no victories. Until yesterday. Marc Porpora was the hitting star yesterday - six hits in the two games, including 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles in the opener.
Jack Haynes got the job done in relief the final two innings. Jack is a starting outfielder for The College of New Jersey and last pitched for Hopewell Post 339 American Legion last summer. But the Caps needed an extra arm yesterday and Haynes is one of the ultimate gamers. He danced out of trouble in the bottom of the 8th, as Quakertown started with a runner on 2nd and no out as per ACBL tiebreaker rules. Three pop ups later, and a curse was lifted.
Meanwhile, the other two Wolff Division teams split at Moody Park, as the Gens dropped Game 1 to the Jersey Pilots by a 2-1 score before the bats arrived in a 10-5 Game 2 win. That gave Trenton a 2-1 win in the three game "series" over the weekend.
This is a recording: Hunter Curley threw another CG gem in Game 1. He needed 80 pitches to go the full 7, worked quickly, commanded his entire arsenal, and only ran into trouble in the 2nd when the Pilots found a few holes and bunched four hits into two runs.
But that was enough. Jersey's pitchers - Christian Capuano and Matt Stamford - were just as good. Giuseppe Arcuri launched one over the LF bullpen in the first but Trenton didn't get anything done after that, losing in a game that took just 1:22 to complete.
Game 2 was a different story. Trenton got the running game going with seven steals. Mark McNelly had three hits and drove in two runs, while Pete Vaccaro had two doubles and knocked in three. Nick Feretic threw the first four and pitched well after a tough first. Devin Sweeney made his return to the mound after elbow issues knocked him out of the 2021 college season. He threw a scoreless 5th, looked sharp, and felt strong afterwards.
NOTES - Curley is only the second pitcher in Generals history to throw back-to-back complete games. Peter Woltersdorf did it for the 2018 team (June 19 - July 1). The only other Gens pitcher to throw 2 CGs in an entire season is Sean Keenan, who did it for the 2014 squad. ... Gens are back in action tonight for a DH against the North Brunswick Matrix. This is the makeup of Saturday's washed out twinbill. Game time from Moody Park is 5 PM. Expect Jason Ramirez and Connor Takacs on the bump for the Gens.
