McLinskey saves the day in Don Bosco’s BCT semifinal win by Greg Tartaglia of The Record
DEMAREST – There is a reason the Don Bosco baseball team uses its best pitcher, Ryan McLinskey, as a reliever.
“I get a sense of relief every time he comes in,” teammate Casey Dana said, “because I know he’s going pound the strike zone and get outs.”
McLinskey did so for a career-high 3⅓ innings, and Dana played a role in plating both Ironman runs Saturday in the Bergen County semifinals at NV/Demarest. The Seton Hall-bound seniors led No. 4 seed Don Bosco past No. 1 St. Joseph, 2-0, and into the tournament final for the fifth time in seven years.
The Ironmen (20-6) will meet No. 2 Bergen Catholic (20-5) in a rematch of the 2015 title game Sunday at 1 p.m. on the same field. The rivals split their season series and are scheduled to square off in the North Non-Public A playoffs on Tuesday.
“This weekend is our county weekend,” said McLinskey, who threw 52 pitches Saturday and will be eligible to pitch again after two days rest. “We’re going to focus on counties, throw the guys that we need to throw, and then move on to states.”
Don Bosco coach Mike Rooney went to McLinskey with two outs in the fourth and his team ahead, 1-0. After an infield hit loaded the bases, the right-hander induced a liner to shortstop Daniel Helfgott to end a potential rally by St. Joseph (20-4).
“It’s really simple, he [McLinskey] is our best option,” Rooney said. “If we’re going to win, it’s because of him, and if we’re going to lose, we’re going to go down with him on the mound.
“We have kids that are gamers, and Ryan McLinskey is one of them,” the coach added.
Another is junior Matt Semon, who went the first 3⅔ before turning things over to the Ironman closer. Semon stranded five Green Knights in innings one through three and struck out five.
“He didn’t have his best stuff, and he battled the whole game,” McLinskey said. “I was just trying to pick up where he left off.”
Dana gave Don Bosco the lead in the third by laying back on a curveball and lacing it down the right-field line for an RBI double, which scored Tommy Courtney.
“We got him out on curveballs earlier in the game,” St. Joseph coach Mark Cieslak said. “He made a nice adjustment, put that ball in play, and it found the line.”
In the sixth, Dana led off by blasting a triple to left-center, and one batter later, he scored on a Ryan Carr sac fly.
“Our coach gets on us every day, [swing] down through the outer half,” Dana said. “If we stick with that approach, it can work out real well like it did for me [Saturday].”
Senior Nick Cantone pitched 6⅓ innings of four-hit ball for St. Joseph, which also remains alive in the North Non-Public A tournament. The Marist commitment led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to help his team mount a final threat.
With two on and one out, McLinskey fielded a grounder back to the mound and threw to second for a force. Helfgott – who wowed the crowd with a diving snag of a line drive in the fifth – smothered a low throw to get the out. The sophomore then fielded a grounder and threw to first for the final out.
McLinskey, who entered the game with five saves, was credited with a win by the official scorer since the starter did not complete four innings.
“The win went to Don Bosco, that’s the most important thing,” Rooney said.