DENVILLE TWP. – Weather put a dent in the Morris Knolls High School sports schedule, but the Golden Eagles baseball team was able to split the two games they were able to get in last week, including a dramatic extra inning affair in Bloomfield on Tuesday, May 2.
Connor Eppel went 4-for-5 with a double and drove in five runs, including one in the ninth that touched off a four-run outburst that gave Morris Knolls a 15-11 decision over Bloomfield.
Nick Rupp was the winner in relief, working four innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts. Sophomore Connor Chegwidden delivered three hits, including the one that launched the rally in the ninth. Jon Opalewski, a junior who is hitting .441 on the season, collected two of his three RBI with a two-run hit in the ninth.
“It was a back and forth game, it was incredible windy and the defense was sloppy both ways,” Morris Knolls coach Eric Mindrebo said. “But it was a pretty exciting win. Rupp pitched four innings in relief, but after he gave up runs in his first inning, he pitched three shutout innings.”
Rupp, a senior, surrendered three hits and two earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts in the outing. Rupp, junior Christian Bornemann and senior Ryan Lee finished with two hits apiece and David Kaiser had a hit and an RBI to contribute to Morris Knolls’ 20-hit attack.
The club dropped to 9-7 the next day coming up on the short end of a 14-6 score against Morristown in Denville. Kaiser and senior catcher Connor Walsh each had two hits and an RBI for Morris Knolls and Nico Santora, a junior, had a hit and drive in two runs.
Kaiser, a junior outfielder, recently broke into the starting lineup.
“He’s been an important player for us all season off the bench for us in a number of ways,” Mindrebo said of Kaiser. “We had one player who was sick and he got a couple of starts and ran with it.”
Kaiser is hitting .455 with four RBI and had three hits and drove in two runs in the two games last week.
The Golden Eagles will take to the road this week with games at Parsippany Hills on May 10, at West Morris on May 15, at Montville on May 16 and at Morris Hills on May 17.
“We’ve already played 15 games and the rest of our results don’t affect our state seeding,” Mindrebo said. “At this point, we’re trying to get our pitching ready, work hard in practice on the things that we need to and be ready.
“At this point, our goal is that we are constantly getting better. From the first day of March practice, we're never satisfied where we are and are constantly seeking to be a better baseball team. Our goal is that when we get to state tournament time that we’re playing at our best.”