One game will not determine a season.
That is the point that Chris Glenn, the coach of the Bordentown Regional High School baseball team, has shared with his players.
Bordentown launched the 2019 season with a 3-1 defeat to Moorestown High School on April 2 in Bordentown.
“It’s the first game of the season, and I said to [the team] that last season, we started off 12-0 and wound up losing in the second round of the playoffs, so our ultimate goal is beyond this first game,” Glenn said.
With the temperature posted at the 40s and a solid, steady breeze passing throughout the game as well as defensive errors and a lack of hits, all played a factor in the Bordentown loss.
“Coming out this early in April, we battled through the elements and [Moorestown] battled through them, too,” Glenn said. “In spots, we played good defense and in other spots, we did not. In spots, we looked good at the plate and in other spots; we looked like a young team that was guessing up there.”
But even with a tough defeat to start off the season, the Bordentown coach pointed to key positives in the game to build on, particularly the effort of the pitching staff.
Going into the seventh inning, a single run separated the two teams in part to strong pitching performances from Bordentown’s Kyle Kato and Nick Nemes.
“I was happy with [Kato and Nemes],” Glenn said. “In this cold weather, it’s tough to get your grip on the ball – it’s tough to get into a rhythm, but both of them did a really nice job.”
Kato, who threw five solid innings, collected five strikeouts along the way as he worked himself out of several jams on the mound in his start, which included the pickoff of a runner at first to get his side out of the fifth.
As Kato exited by allowing just one run, Nemes came on in relief to pick up where the Bordentown starter had left off.
Although Nemes gave up no hits in his relief effort, walks and a throwing error at the plate enabled Mooretstown to strike for two runs in the seventh.
With only three hits allowed between both pitchers, the Bordentown coach felt it was defensive errors that costed his team in the end.
“Throughout the preseason, I preached to them to do the little things right. If you play good defense, good things will happen,” he said. “Unfortunately, in spots where [Moorestown] had runners in scoring position, we didn’t play our best defense.”
With a strong performance put in by the Bordentown pitching staff, the Scotties will look to build off several key at-bats in the game.
Providing the offense for the Scotties in the game were shortstop Chris Wade and first baseman Dylan Wood, who each recorded a single, and third baseman Luke Mabin, who connected for a double.
Mabin also supplied a pivotal ground ball in the seventh inning to help advance pinch runner Mike Giambelluca to third base. Giambelluca eventually scored Bordentown’s lone run on a throwing error.
For Glenn, there’s still plenty of ball left to be played this year as he’s optimistic about his team’s overall potential.
“Ultimately, we have got to learn from the mistakes. We have got to clean up our defense, and we have got to hit the ball better – plain and simple,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent out here on the field. We have just got to put it together and get moving in the right direction.”
