Warriors eliminated

FOREST CITY - Tyler Deaton's two-run double gave East Rutherford its first lead. Michael Milam's two-run home run gave East some breathing room. But it was Seth Baldwin's two-run, home run that broke the game wide open as the Cavaliers advanced to the second round, with an 11-3 win over West Caldwell Thursday.

The loss ended West Caldwell's season at 9-16.

Warriors head coach Kevin Abee was proud of the effort his charges gave, not just in the game, but throughout the course of the season.

“We started this (season) 1-7. We battled tonight like we battled throughout the season,” said Abee. “We had to fight through some things. Injuries and what-not.

“But only one team ends happy. We have some disappointment, tonight, but in life you have to battle through things. I'm proud of them for the way they battled.”

Jake Benfield took the complete-game loss, allowing 11 hits including three home runs, for the Warriors.

Gordy Hendrix, Jeff Rouselle and Caleb Gragg drove in the Warriors' three runs with Benfield, Hendrix and Scott Brown crossing in the loss.

“That's a fine ball club over there,” said Abee. “They are the defending state champs and we battled with them for four innings there. They just out hit us in the end.”

The Cavaliers (18-8) await the winner of Brevard-Bandys.

“We survived. We rushed a force out, gave them a run and got behind,” said East skipper Bobby Dale Reynolds. “It seems like we have started jittery. It is like that has been our M.O., where we start a little jittery, get behind and then have to come-from-behind.

“The coaching staff doesn't like it, but that's what it's been.”

East trailed 2-0 after an inning-and-a-half. West Caldwell took advantage of a Cavaliers' error in the first, then took advantage of a free pass in the second to claim the early lead.

East's Deaton, with one out and the lead narrowed to 2-1, smacked a 2-2 offering by the Warriors' starting pitcher Jake Benfield into right-center field. Deaton's jolt sent Tyler Byers, who had reached on a walk, and Seth Arrowood, who had singled, across the plate to give East a lead, 3-2, that was never challenged.

The Cavaliers added a lone run in the fourth, three in the fifth and four more in the sixth.

“You want to survive each round,” Reynolds said. “We got colored-boxes up-and-down the scorebook and that's a good sign. We got production from the bottom half of the line-up early and some big hits from the top half late. That's what you want. You want everyone contributing.”

Milam's two-run shot in the fifth, with pitcher Cullen Park aboard, lifted East to a 6-3 lead.

Park tossed 120 pitches over seven full innings of work. The tall righty struck out 10, walked two, scattered six hits and allowed all three West Caldwell runs for the win.

Baldwin's two-run homer in the sixth was followed by a solo homer from Park that pushed the lead out to 10-3.