MANALAPAN-- Langan Baseball hosted Frazier Baseball Thursday night in a crucial Shore
Division matchup.

Langan entered the evening coming off an emotional 15-12 loss to NJ Elite on Tuesday, marking
their ninth loss in their last 10 games. The free fall in the standings put them in a three-way tie
for the last two playoff spots in the Shore division.

Frazier began the night trending in the opposite direction, as their 14-9 record put them
comfortably in second place in the Shore Division, poised to clinch a playoff spot very soon.
Part of the reason for their strong record is not only some of the best starting pitching in the
league, but also a very balanced offense in which six different players are batting over .300 on
the year.

Langan put the ball in the hands of Henry Escandon to try and turn around their season, while
Frazier entrusted Jeremy Bruner to keep them in the hunt of a Division crown.

The game did not start how Escandon and Langan would have liked, surrendering a 3-0 deficit
in the first inning.

The first two Frazier batters reached safely on an error and a single, setting the table for some
of the team’s best hitters to do damage. Trevor Coltenbeck drove the first run in on his RBI
single, and was followed up by Ryan Duffy’s sacrifice fly. Shane Sajewicz put the final touches
on the inning, driving in Coltenbeck on a double off the centerfield fence to give Frazier a 3-0
lead that they never lost for the remainder of the game.

Langan fought back and began to turn some momentum in their favor, started by two different
catches Dom Salot made crashing into the fence in the third and fourth innings. Langan
scratched a run across in the bottom of both of those innings, but squandered chances to
potentially take the lead in addition.

In the third inning, Langan got on the board via Bartolo Rodriguez’s leadoff triple and Peter
Falconite’s sacrifice fly. With the bases cleared and the top of the order up, another rally began
when Tyler Hmielewski laced a double into right field and Sam Angelo followed up with a single
in the same direction, only for Hmielewski to be gunned down easily by Frazier’s Ryan Turner.

In the next inning, Langan cut the lead to one after beginning a two-out rally when Nick Campisi
and Salot walked and James Monaco plated one with a ground-rule RBI double over the right
field wall. With the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, Salot would attempt a straight
steal of home to tie the game. Although it appeared he got under the tag by the catcher, Salot
was called out to put an end to what would be Langan’s best scoring chance for the rest of the
game.

With the wind taken out of the sails of Langan a bit, Frazier relief pitching would settle in. From
the fifth inning on, relievers Jake Bilheimer and Nick Desiderio combined to allow just three hits
and one walk, while striking out five batters. Desiderio pitched the last three innings, and
comfortably got the unconventional save, paired with three Frazier insurance runs over the
sixth and seventh innings.

Langan lost not only the game 6-2 against Frazier, but lost ground in the standings as well with
the Wall Clippers and NJ Elite both emerging victorious on the night. Langan now sits a full
game back of both teams and out of a playoff spot. Luckily for Langan, they get a date with Wall
this Sunday at Marlboro High School in a doubleheader that can make or break each other’s
season. Both teams now have three games remaining in the regular season.

NJ Elite’s win came against the Garden State Junebugs, meaning Frazier now sits just 0.5 games
back of first place. Just like Langan and Wall, the top two teams in the Shore Division will clash
in a doubleheader in what is sure to have some of the best pitching in the ABCCL on display.
Both games will be broadcasted on the ABCCL YouTube channel.