'Stangs Lose Tourney Nail-Biter to Jackson

Any sports fan would have appreciated the boys’ baseball Ocean County Tournament finale between (6) Brick Memorial and (1) Jackson Memorial Thursday night.

Before a noisy crowd at Toms River High School North, Jackson’s 6’7” senior ace Brandon Holup and the Jaguars blanked the opposing Mustangs, 1-0. 

It was a pitchers' duel from the start, as Brick Memorial also had an ace on the mound in Brian Cottrell (6-0).

After Holup struck out two Mustangs in a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, Jackson scored the only run of the game in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI groundout by junior Spencer Young that plated senior Nick Petrizzo.

That was all the offense Holup would need, as he carried a one-hitter into the fifth inning, where he would surrender a hit but strike out the final batter of the inning, stranding a runner on second base. 

The Jaguars appeared to be threatening in the bottom of the fifth until they bounced into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to end any threat of extending their lead.

Following a scoreless sixth inning, Holup took the mound in the top of the seventh, looking to retire three Mustangs and clinch the title for the Jaguars.

After a leadoff single by first baseman Kevin Corris, his replacement, Kyle Skoog, stole second base to advance into scoring position for the Mustangs. 

Once the first putout of the seventh was made, Holup took care of the rest, striking out the final two Brick Memorial batters to seal the deal for Jackson.

After throwing a complete game, three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts, Holup was named Most Valuable Pitcher of the tournament.

Cottrell pitched admirably for Brick Memorial, surrendering just five hits and the one run in the first inning in a complete game effort.

Holup’s teammate, senior shortstop Joe Ogren, was dubbed Most Valuable Player of the OCT for the Jackson Jaguars, who earned their first OCT title since 1972.