James Scott answers the call, leads Hunterdon Central baseball to second straight HWS title
PHILLIPSBURG – When James Scott learned ace pitcher and teammate Kyle McCoy wasn’t available to start the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex final, the Hunterdon Central lefty immediately went into go mode.
So with a few days’ notice, Scott shifted his attention to Pope John and focused on delivering the Red Devils another championship.
Scott allowed three hits and three runs over four innings to lead Hunterdon Central past Pope John, 12-3, in the HWS final on Saturday at Phillipsburg High School.
“I found out Monday night, the day before I was supposed to pitch against Montgomery on Tuesday," Scott said. "Maybe around 9:30 p.m., Coach texted me to let me know. He said, 'McCoy is a little sore and stiff' and that I would have to start Saturday. I was ready as soon as he texted me that I had to pitch. I was just ready to do it for the team.”
Top seed Hunterdon Central (16-3) clicked on all cylinders, racing out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning. The Red Devils banged out 11 total hits, four in the first inning.
Hunterdon Central struck first when Logan Mason hit a hard ground ball off Lions’ pitcher Anthony Bubba to right field scoring Christian Petino and Mike Contiliano.
Two batters later, Brandon Padre laced a double to left field, plating Mason to give Hunterdon Central a 3-0 lead.
Padre, a four-year starter at catcher, finished with a team-high three hits in four at-bats to earn Most Valuable Player. His experience and pitch calls behind the plate helped Scott and two other Red Devils' pitchers sail through seven innings.
“My family has been a part of this program for eight years. I’ve been to a lot of these county games and it doesn’t get any better than playing in it,” Padre said. “Hopefully a win like this only keeps us moving forward in the right direction.
“I wanted Scott and our pitchers to attack the hitters and keep the ball down. It’s hard to get hurt when you keep the ball down in the zone. They executed perfectly.”
The Red Devils tacked on three more runs in the third inning to take a 7-0 lead and added a run in the fourth and a four spot in the sixth.
Third-seeded Pope John (12-8) scored its runs on a three-run homer by Nick Buchman in the fourth inning.
What it means
This is the Red Devils second straight HWS title and third since 2018. They have won six championships since Sussex County schools were added to the tournament in 2010.
Hunterdon Central has the most HWS baseball titles (16) since the tournament’s inception in 1985, when only Hunterdon and Warren County schools were involved.
Last year, the Red Devils defeated Pope John, 2-1 in the final.
They said it
“Scott is as good as anyone in the state. He can be any other school’s No. 1. He’s efficient and smart. This is a veteran team with a lot of seniors and we’ve been in this situation before. This is not their first time through it. We had somewhat of a relaxed approach coming in knowing what to expect.” – Hunterdon Central coach Kevin Cuozzi
“This year’s mood is definitely different than last year. Our bats came alive in the first inning and that was a big part of it. The energy was the same. Everyone was up and cheering. It didn’t matter if anyone made an error, someone on the team was going to pick us up.” — Scott
Nick Gantaifis is a high school sports reporter for Dailyrecord.com and NJHerald.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.
Email: gantaifis@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ngantaifis1
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: NJ Baseball: James Scott leads Hunterdon Central to HWS title
