Xavier Cortez walk-off homer lifts Vineland baseball past Williamstown in playoffs
VINELAND – Xavier Cortez had one thought has he trotted around the bases Wednesday night.
“Look cool, stay serious,” the Vineland High School junior said.
That wasn’t easy after Cortez crushed a walk-off, two-run homer as the seventh-seeded Fighting Clan took down 10th-seeded Williamstown 4-2 in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs.
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“I’m just lost for words right now,” Cortez said. “This is actually my first walk-off home run. It just felt really good. I knew it was gone right off the bat. I just looked at my teammates and seeing them excited really made me feel good.”
Cortez, who was 0-for-3 to that point, had worked a 3-1 count with teammate Enzo Descalzi standing on second base, representing the winning run.
“Sitting fastball dead red,” Cortez said. “I saw it, little below the chest, just threw the barrel at it.”
“That right there is what you live for,” added Descalzi, who threw his arms up immediately as the ball sailed well beyond the left-field fence. “That’s what baseball is right there. How can you not be romantic about baseball?”
Vineland has now won 10 consecutive games, making it one of the hottest programs in South Jersey.
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“We feel like we can win every single game,” Cortez said. “After beating (St. Augustine), we feel like nothing can stop us.”
It’s why Cortez didn’t want to celebrate the achievement. He’s expecting to get the call in the quarterfinals against second-seeded Shawnee, and he’s already preparing himself for that contest.
“Go home and sleep,” he said of his celebratory plans. “I’m going to sleep good. I’m going to sleep good tonight.”
Descalzi, Andreoli deliver
Descalzi felt some nerves as he stepped on the mound Wednesday, and it showed.
He needed 38 pitches to get out of the opening inning, which Williamstown scored twice in. However, Descalzi was able to strand the bases loaded with a strikeout and that gave him the confidence he needed moving forward.
He set down 11 straight batters starting with that K and went five strong for the no-decision.
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“First-inning jitters, little butterflies getting to you a bit, but it’s really just about keeping everything calm and staying under control, staying within yourself,” he said.
Benedetto Andreoli replaced him in the sixth and showed his grit, ending both of his frames with a runner on second base.
“He’s a great arm,” Descalzi said of Andreoli, who recorded the win. “The stats speak for themselves. Under one ERA (0.21). He’s definitely that number.”
Game notes
► Williamstown jumped ahead 2-0 on a Jake Slusarski RBI single and a bases loaded walk in the first, but Vineland made it 2-1 on Nikolas Bancroft’s single in the second and evened it at 2-2 on David Ortiz RBI knock in the third.
“We’ve been through these games all year,” head coach Kyle Jones said. “Getting behind and just guys never give up, coming back, working back. I knew once we got deeper in the game, the seventh inning it’s still tied, I knew they always come through for me.”
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► One of the key moments came in the top of the seventh as the Fighting Clan’s Alex Rodriguez made a stellar play at third base to throw out Caden Dulin and end the frame.
► Vineland’s victory avenged last year’s 8-5 setback to Williamstown in the same round.
“To come back, play the same team, get some revenge, it’s great,” Jones said.
What’s next
Vineland (20-5) travels to second-seeded Shawnee for the South 4 quarterfinals. Date and time are still to be determined.
Williamstown closes the campaign 12-8.
“We battled, they battled, and they just came out on top,” head coach Jim Slade said. “But the way we overcame adversity all season and battled back from a slow start, I’m proud of these guys.”
Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Vineland Daily Journal: Vineland baseball beats Williamstown on Xavier Cortez walk-off homer
