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Gaer’s four RBIs and Dreyfuss’ complete-game gem help Riverdale sweep season series from Fieldston
By Jason Eisenberg
May 12, 2011 -- After opening the season with 10 straight victories, the Riverdale Country School baseball team had cooled off a bit recently, losing three of the past six games -- including two in a row -- heading in to Wednesday’s meeting with Fieldston.
However, a matchup with their local rivals must have been exactly what was needed to get back on track, as the Falcons did just about everything right in a 5-2 win over the Eagles and completed a sweep of the 2011 head-to-head series between these two schools.
Both teams entered the crucial contest with identical league records, but Riverdale would leave with sole possession of second place in the Ivy standings, thanks to a four-RBI performance from junior clean-up hitter Shane Gaer and the second complete-game win of the season thrown by junior pitcher Cole Dreyfuss.
“It is big any time you can beat the team you are tied with, but this game could also very well decide who gets home field advantage in the tournament,” said Riverdale head coach Doug McDonald. “We had been generally sloppy recently and not fielding correctly, but we managed to regroup today and get back to playing our brand of ball. Shane has had some big games hitting for us and he did it again today. Cole is our sparkplug, he was getting ahead of batters all afternoon and it was great to see him get the whole job done.”
Dreyfuss actually ran in to some trouble early, allowing a two-out single by Fieldston senior Thomas Savage and then an RBI triple by sophomore catcher Kevin Fich, as the Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning. However, the pitcher immediately aided his own cause by leading off the bottom of the frame with a single and then came around to score the tying run on a double to the gap in deep right-centerfield by senior catcher Nat Irving.
From there, Dreyfuss settled in on the mound and was essentially un-hittable while holding Fieldston scoreless for the next four innings. In fact, one walk and a fifth-inning bloop single by Eagles junior Matthew Nunez were the only blemishes on the Riverdale hurler’s stat line over that period of time. Meanwhile, one of his teammates, in particular, stepped up and made sure to provide Dreyfuss with all of the offensive support he would need.
In the bottom of the third, senior shortstop Sam Kaplan doubled to get a Riverdale rally started with two outs already in the books. Then, Fieldston head coach Tony Marro made the decision to intentionally walk Irving, partially to set up the force at second, but much more likely with the purpose of avoiding the University of Virginia-bound slugger. However, the plan backfired as Gaer smashed a double off of Fieldston starter Thomas McCarthy to bring home both Kaplan and Irving.
Still only trailing 3-1, Coach Marro must have felt like he was experiencing deja vu just two innings later. Dreyfuss and Kaplan opened the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back singles, before Marro again put Irving on intentionally, this time loading the bases with no outs. Incredibly, Gaer would make Fieldston pay yet again, launching another two-run double -- this time off reliever Daniel Brickner -- that landed at the identical spot in right-centerfield and doubled the Falcons’ lead. These runs were attributed to McCarthy and Brickner would go on to record the final six outs of the game, but the damage had already been done.
“There is a little bit of that feeling, when they put Nat on base on purpose, that they are expecting me to get out, so it means a lot to me that I came through when the team needed it most,” said Gaer. “I just went up there looking for my pitch, got it twice and then put it in to the gap both times. It was nice to contribute in a really important game and help right the ship after our team had been off-track a bit recently.”
Last time these two teams faced each other, Dreyfuss began to wear down in the sixth inning and it appeared that the same thing might happen in this game. Will Savage reached base for Fieldston on a lead-off infield single and then Matt Schwimmer singled to right, but a fielding error gave Savage the opportunity to score all the way from first and get the Eagles on the board for the first time since the opening inning. But this was as close as Fieldston would get.
Determined to finish what he started, Dreyfuss recorded three straight outs to end the sixth, then conceded only a harmless double to Nunez during a scoreless seventh and calmly wrapped up the complete-game victory.
“I can tell you it is never a lack of effort or preparation for this team. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the opponent and today it was very simple, their pitcher pitched better and their hitters hit better,” said Fieldston head coach Tony Marro. “The ball just did not seem to want to drop for us, so everything we hit went right to a person and everything they hit was in the gap. I still think we are a fantastic team, and if we stay confident and mentally tough, we can absolutely compete against anybody, without a doubt in my mind.”
Three Stars of the Game
#1 - Shane Gaer, Riverdale - The junior clean-up hitter made Fieldston pay not once, but twice for intentionally walking Nat Irving immediately before him. On both occasions, Gaer hit two-run doubles and finished with four of Riverdale’s five RBIs in the game.
#2 - Cole Dreyfuss, Riverdale - Yet another fantastic performance, both on the mound at in the batter’s box, for the junior ace. Dreyfuss threw a complete game to pick up the win, allowed just one earned run on six hits and struck out seven Fieldston batters. In addition, he had a pair of singles at the plate and scored twice.
#3 - Matthew Nunez, Fieldston - Batting from the eight-spot in the lineup, the junior was Fieldston’s only player to finish with multiple hits in the contest. Nunez had a single and a double, while going 2-for-3 at the plate.
Coach’s Quotebook
Riverdale coach Doug McDonald on Shane Gaer and the intentional walks to Nat Irving:
“I am sure Nat is not happy when he does not even get the chance to swing, but it is huge for him and the team, when the guy behind him comes through with the bat. The bell was ringing for Shane and he answered it twice. Now people will realize that if you pitch around Nat, then you still have to throw to another solid hitter up next.”
Fieldston coach Tony Marro on intentionally walking Nat Irving twice:
“It was not meant as a knock on Shane Gaer at all, he is a great player and a great hitter, but I would take my chances any day in that scenario and would do the same thing again next time. It was the right decision to make, not only because Nat was at bat, but also because of the game situation. I think any other manager would have acted in the same fashion.”
Fieldston Report Card
Offense: C-
Fieldston actually started strong with two hits and a run in the opening inning, but then the offense went dead cold, with just four hits and an unearned run the rest of the way. Every ball the Eagles hit seemed to unfortunately go right to a Riverdale fielder, but going 6-for-25 at the plate as a team is not going to get it done.
Defense: B+
From an overall standpoint, the Fieldston defense had a solid game, did not do anything wrong and went without an error the whole day. The only criticism might be that the Eagles did not make an adjustment to where their outfielders were located, despite Riverdale hitting five doubles to the exact same gap in right-centerfield.
Pitching: B
Despite striking out six batters, this game was a struggle for McCarthy. The starting pitcher gave up seven hits -- four for extra bases -- and five earned runs, while lasting just four innings. Junior reliever Daniel Brickner did a decent job, allowing just one hit and striking out four in two innings of work.
Riverdale Report Card
Offense: A-
Three players provided most of the offense for Riverdale on this day -- Gaer, Dreyfuss and Kaplan combined for six of the team’s eight hits -- but when the Falcons made contact, they were crushing the ball. The team had five doubles in the game and earned all five of its runs against a talented, hard-throwing pitcher.
Defense: B+
In the field, Riverdale had a nearly-flawless day going until the sixth inning, when a misplayed ball in rightfield allowed a routine single to turn in to a triple and a Fieldston runner to score all the way from first base. Other than that, the Falcons made all the plays that were necessary to win the game.
Pitching: A
Dreyfuss was superb throughout the afternoon in picking up his second complete game win of the season. After allowing two hits and a run in the first frame, the junior hurler settled in and dominated the Fieldston hitters the rest of the way. Even when a defensive error led to an unearned run in the sixth, Dreyfuss did not seem phased and allowed just one of the final seven batters he faced in the game to get a hit.
