By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
After a sluggish start, Peter Mueller was looking for more consistent play from his Montgomery High baseball team.
The Cougars have responded just perfectly to what their coach was looking for and are playing their best baseball at just the right time.
“We are playing more consistently,” said Mueller, whose sixth-seeded Cougars will face third-seeded Somerville in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday. “We are playing now like I expected us to play from the start of the season. We came out of the gate and we would win one and then lose one. Part of that was that we play a real tough schedule. But it was mostly our own doing because of the way we were playing.
“But over the last three weeks we’ve gone 3-1, 2-1 and 3-1 so we are playing much better. That’s three straight weeks that we have played well. We are playing more consistent baseball and it us showing up in the results.”
The Cougars opened the SCT with a 10-0 win over Rutgers Prep last Saturday. Gavin Hollowell tossed a two-hitter over five innings to pick up the win on the mound, while Ryan McKenna drove in four runs to lead the offense.
“Our goal is to always be playing our best in the tournaments and right now we’re playing pretty good baseball,” Mueller said. “I feel like when we are playing well we can compete with anybody. We just have to take care of our end of the bargain.”
The shutout was the second straight for Montgomery, which was scheduled to play North Hunterdon on Thursday. Montgomery has won eight of its last 11 games and heads into the SCT quarterfinals riding some solid momentum.
“We have had a good couple weeks,” senior outfielder Matt Rubayo said. “We are really excited. We’ve had great pitch and our defense is playing well. We’re having a lot of fun.
“We have the same goals this year that we set every year. We want to try to win the conference, the county and states. We didn’t win the conference but we can still win the other two and that is our goal right now. We want to win as many games as possible.”
Rubayo, who will play at Marist College next year, has been a big part of the team’s success. He leads an offense that is starting to come together.
“Matt is having a great year,” Mueller said. “He’s hitting in the high .300s and he has four home runs. He’s also pitched a little bit for us when we need it. He’s a three-year starter and a guy we need in the lineup. He’s a good player who works hard.”
Rubayo, like the rest of the Cougars, is just looking to finish the season on a strong note.
“I feel like I been playing well,” he said. “I have been able to drive in my teammates when they get in position to let me do my thing. It’s crazy to think our careers are winding down but it has been good ride.”
