HILLSDALE − Glen Rock was down to its last inning of the season and fought back to win the program’s first sectional baseball title since before the players were born.

Glen Rock struck for five runs in the seventh inning and knocked off defending champion and top-seeded Pascack Valley, 6-3, in the North 1, Group 2 final on June 5.

“We knew this game was not over, and the last three outs are always the hardest,” junior Sean Spitaleri said.

Glen Rock’s first sectional title in more than 20 years had a decidedly Spitaleri family flavor. Steve is the coach, Sean was the designated hitter, and Jack is a freshman right fielder for the No. 6 seed.

“I cannot give my dad/coach enough credit,” Sean Spitaleri said. “He comes in day in and day out and give his all. It’s a great thing and we have a great family bond.”

The Spitaleri brothers were right in the middle of the five-run rally. Sean’s bases-loaded, two-run single down the right-field line tied the score, 3-3. He drove in senior Evan Lagemann, who reached on a leadoff single, and Jack, who was hit by a pitch.

Glen Rock made it 4-3 on sophomore Daniel Stutzke’s infield grounder that senior and starting pitcher Nick Atme, who reached on a walk, beat the throw home.

Sophomore Wyatt Morrissey’s no-out single to right drove in Sean Spitaleri to make it 5-3. Senior Maddox Tennant’s grounder scored Stutzke to make it 6-3.

Glen Rock outlasted Pascack Valley’s All-Bergen County senior left-hander, JT DeRiso. He was approaching his 110-pitch limit and departed in the seventh with a 3-1 lead, no outs, and runners on first and second. He got a no decision.

“That’s a great baseball team over there,” Pascack Valley coach Will Lynch said of Glen Rock. “They swing one through nine, and we knew that coming in, so it was going to be tough. They just put something together in the seventh inning.”

What it means

Glen Rock (24-5) hails from the small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference and Steve Spitaleri said winning this sectional title gives his program – and the league – a significant boost.

Glen Rock will host North 2, Group 2 sectional champion West Morris in a state semifinal June 9.

“We needed this. We’re trying to be up-and-coming,” the coach said. “People don’t take us that seriously sometimes because it’s the NJIC. And there’s some really good teams in the NJIC. And we represent NJIC and we think we play good, quality baseball and we play hard.”

By the numbers

Glen Rock had eight hits, with Lagemann producing three singles in four at-bats and scoring twice. He also threw a scoreless sixth and seventh for the win, allowing no hits, one walk and inducing a game-ending, 6-4-3 double play.

Sean Spitaleri was the first player on either team to drive in a run with a hit. Only two of the nine total runs scored on hits.

“I had a rough day today before that last at-bat,” said Sean Spitaleri, who walked, struck out and flied out in his first three appearances. “And I always go by, ‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.’ And I was thinking that and I knew my time was going to come, because it was reps, and reps, and reps, and I was seeing the ball well.”

Pascack Valley (22-7) only managed three hits, but it drew five walks. The hosts scored twice in the fifth for a 3-1 lead, with senior Trevor Kirkby driving in the first run on a groundout and sophomore Max Stalb driving in the other on a bases-loaded walk.

They said it

“This Group 2 section has been running through them,” Steve Spitaleri said of Pascack Valley. “Coach Lynch does an unbelievable job with his program, and we knew we were going to have a hard game today. A first-team all-county pitcher [DeRiso] we were facing and the kid was excellent. We just wanted to draw counts and keep it close late in the game and we had a shot.”

“We didn’t hit well,” Lynch said. “A mistake here or there, but nothing tragic in the field. We didn’t do anything that hurt us, we didn’t make any mental mistakes, we really didn’t do anything wrong. They beat us.”