St. Mary second baseman Danny Wagner had never tried the play that he worked out on Sunday.
With Wagner on first base and pinch runner Anthony Pontererro on second base, the Gaels senior second baseman tried stealing, and Ramapo reliever Jake Flax had the senior caught in a run down between first and second.
It is an old play where your try to get the fielder to play the runner between first and second with the hope of scoring the other runner.
With the game tied, 2-2, Wagner headed back to first, and Flax’s throw to first went wild that in turn scored Pontererro with what would be the winning run.
The move gave the 10th-seeded Gaels a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning against the Green Raiders.
And relief pitcher Tom Genuario came in and shut the door on Ramapo in the bottom of the eighth inning with the one-run victory at the Lyndhurst Recreation Center.
The victory was St. Mary’s 12th in a row and more importantly earned it a trip to the county quarterfinals against second-seeded Indian Hills. The game is scheduled for Saturday. With the win it raised the Gaels record to 16-4 on the season.
– See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/boys-baseball/trick-play-puts-gaels-into-finals-1.1014305#sthash.LVbZR00V.dpuf