Rutherford National All Stars, District 5, edged Saddle Brook National last Thursday night in an exciting 3 to 1 cliff hanger which went right to the sixth inning in a one to one tie, only to have Rutherford’s big bats knock in two more runs to end the contest with finality.
Rutherford was paced by the cool hurling of Greg Pavick who gave up four well-spaced hits and three passes, but who closed the door on the Saddle Brook powerhouse with eight strikeouts.
Pavick was handsomely supported by outstanding defense which consistently frustrated Saddle Brook threats. The strong arm of Wes Chominsky in center field cut down a serious Saddle Brook threat in the 6th inning on a perfect throw to Tim O’Brien at third. Tony Schicchi’s shoe string catch in the 4th inning proved that Rutherford had come to play ball and win.
Aggressive batting and base-running by Greg Pavick, Tommy Zech and John Wilson put Sadddle Brook to the test, but the clincher came in the 6th when Timmy O’Brien got on by an error and moved to second on a single by Zech. Pavick reached first on a fielder’s choice when Zech was forced at second, but O’Brien moved over to third with some heads-up base running. Then came John Wilson with a game winning blast into right field, scoring O’Brien and Pavick and abruptly closing Saddle Brook’s 1976 baseball season.