2015 North Jersey Eagles Review

By Dominick Savino

Now that the final pitch of the 2015 ACBL season has been thrown, the North Jersey Eagles have a few weeks to reflect on their summer campaign before returning to their respective collegiate squads.

Finishing with a record of 18-21, the Eagles contended for a playoff spot throughout the season, battling in the thick of the wild-card race before a rough start to July spoiled the team’s late-season revival.

While North Jersey was unable to hoist a third ACBL Championship trophy, a collection of clutch victories and myriad individual successes will serve as positive takeaways for the ballplayers returning to school this fall.

Back to .500 (and Beyond)

After an uneasy first two weeks of June saw the Eagles stumble to a 2-6 record, the pitching staff took charge to right the ship, surrendering runs at a rate of less than three per game through the end of the month.

With opposing lineups silenced night after night, North Jersey caught fire and won seven of the following nine matchups, inching over .500 (9-8) before the start of July.

The spark was lit on June 17 in a road matchup against the Jersey Pilots, a game in which starter Dan Rajkowski was in line for the loss despite tossing 5 innings of one-run ball. However, outfielder Shane Woelfel proved he can deliver in clutch moments, scoring the game-tying run in the top of the 9th and blasting a bases-clearing double in the 10th that ripped the game open. Closer Jordan Fontenelle punched out the final two batters in the bottom of the 10th to leave the tying runs on base and seal a 6-4 victory that shifted the course of the Eagles’ summer.

Ten days later, on a rain-shortened Saturday afternoon at Overpeck Park, starting pitchers Justin Valdespina and Austin Solecitto capped the team’s late June romp with one of the best single-day pitching performances in Eagles history. The tandem of Bergen County natives combined to toss 12 scoreless innings in a doubleheader sweep of the Lehigh Valley Catz, ringing up 14 total strikeouts while each notching a complete game shutout.

The Eagles’ Last Stand

Riding a wave of strong baseball into the month of July, North Jersey had secured prime positioning for an aggressive postseason push. Yet, despite a newly-minted winning record, the turn of the month did little to sustain the team’s hot streak.

The good fortune stopped on a dime in July, as the Eagles dropped back-to-back home doubleheaders and an additional road contest to start the second month of ACBL play.

Even so, just as they did whenever victories were in desperate need, the pitching staff slammed the door on the opposition, maintaining another seven-game stretch of less than three runs allowed per game. The Eagles’ hitters followed with timely hitting, producing some of the season’s most dramatic victories as the team sought to regain ground in the chase for the 4th and final playoff spot.

A morale boost by itself, North Jersey’s long-awaited first win in July packed an extra shot of confidence for the team, lasting into extra innings before a walk-off secured the victory against Quakertown. After relinquishing an early lead, the Eagles composed themselves in the first extra frame, putting two men on base in the home-half of the 8th so that Paul Rufo could deliver a stress-busting, game-ending RBI single.

Sitting just two games below even (14-16) entering the final week of the regular season, the North Jersey’s good fortunes seemed to slip away as quickly as they appeared. Two doubleheader trips to Pennsylvania in three days ended with four crushing losses, both for the Eagles’ momentum and their playoff chances.

Still, with their proverbial backs pressed against the wall, the Eagles rallied to play some of their best baseball of the season.

North Jersey began its final push with a doubleheader sweep of the Pilots at Overpeck Park, inching closer toward what seemed no longer attainable. Six consecutive hits resulted in a five-run 5th inning—the most runs scored in one inning by the team in 2015— and provided a angst-free 6-3 Eagles victory in Game 1. The latter of the evening’s two contests packed enough drama for both, though, as Luis Amaro punctuated a late-game rally with a seeing-eye single into right field that brought home Matt Stalter and the second walk-off win of the summer.

Less than 24 hours later, North Jersey traveled to Berkeley Heights for two more games against the Pilots, clinging to a still-tenuous chance at playoff baseball. However, six and a half innings into Game 1, the final thread of hope was emphatically cut, as the Eagles failed to protect a large lead in the bottom of the 7th and dropped the contest by a score of 9-8.

Mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, North Jersey fought admirably until the end, winning 7-5 in Game 2 against Jersey and mashing its way to a 9-1 victory against Trenton to close out the season on a high note.

Looking Ahead

As the summer draws to a close, the individual players that formed the 2015 North Jersey Eagles will return to their own collegiate baseball teams, further equipped and prepared to play the game of baseball.

Each of them will take their blue road Eagles uniforms with them as a physical memento from their season at Overpeck Park, and a few (Paul Rufo—Games Played [39], Shane Woelfel—Triples [4], and Luis Amaro—Walks [27]) have etched permanent places in the Eagles’ brief history as single-season record holders.

Most importantly, though, each Eagle exits the summer of 2015 with a season’s worth of memories and a few less steps to go on the path to the ultimate baseball goal.

---

On behalf of Professional Baseball Instruction and the entire North Jersey Eagles organization, the Eagles Media Team would like to thank you for following and supporting the 2015 Eagles ballclub. As always, follow us on Twitter at @NJ_Eagles to see who will join the team as the Eagles hunt for a 3rd ACBL Championship in the summer of 2016.