Chris Loniewski was a perfect 5-for-5 with six RBI to pace Montgomery to a doubleheader sweep.
By Rich Bevensee
Before Monday, Chris Loniewski was having a solid fall season at the plate, establishing himself as a patient, disciplined hitter with eight walks and no strikeouts in 14 plate appearances.
Then he arrived at Diamond Nation in Flemington on Monday evening for Montgomery Superior’s doubleheader in the High School Fall League, and his bat exploded.
Loniewski concluded the nightcap a home run short of the cycle and he finished the evening a perfect 5-for-5 in leading Montgomery to a doubleheader sweep.
The senior catcher from South Plainfield went 2-for-2 with three RBI and three runs scored as Montgomery flattened the Top Corner Sports Blackhawks, 12-0, in three innings.
Loniewski followed that up by going 3-for-3 with a triple, double and three RBI to pace Montgomery to an 11-6, five-inning victory over Flemington Baseball Association Jays Blue.
“It’s a crazy feeling. I felt unstoppable,” Loniewski said. “Anything they threw me, I thought I could get a hit.”
Montgomery (4-3) moved above .500 for the first time this Fall League season. The TCS Blackhawks and FBA Jays Blue are both 1-4.
This past spring, Loniewski batted .289 for South Plainfield and chalked up 17 walks, third on the team.
He said he’s always been a patient hitter with a good eye for the strike zone. Monday was just different.
“I just got more strikes today,” Loniewski said. “I’ve had a lot of four-pitch and six-pitch at bats where I missed a couple fastballs early in the count. Today I didn’t miss anything. My first at bat I had a walk and then I got a hit on a pitch early in the count. The next at bat I was looking to do the same thing. Coming into this (second) game, I was looking for one down the middle and I got it.”
He drove that down-the-middle pitch for an RBI triple which gave Montogmery a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. He had an RBI double in the second inning to fuel a four-run rally, and he added an RBI single in the fourth inning.
Loniewski, who has never homered, was asked what he would have done had he gotten one more at bat in the second game, knowing he was a home run short of the cycle.
“I think I would have taken a big swing on the first strike and taken my one shot at it,” Loniewski said. “After that I would be looking to get a hit.”
Loniewski is now 8-for-11 this fall with a team-leading nine walks. He has not struck out.
“He’s been locked in the entire fall,” Montgomery coach Zoran Milich said. “He’s not swinging at any bad pitches at all.”
Right-hander Carter Olson, a 6-foot senior at Montgomery, got his team off to a solid start by allowing one run over his first two innings while the offense charged to a 6-1 lead. He wriggled out of jams in the first two innings in which he stranded runners on second and third both times.
“Going out there with a six-run lead makes it a lot easier to feel relaxed than when it’s 0-0,” Olson said.
Olson was relieved by Henry Maddox in the third after starting the inning with two walks and a hit batsman.
“In the first inning I was just missing,” said Olson, who threw a fastball, curveball and slider. “I felt like I had it but wasn’t in the game yet. I feel like I had it right there on the edge. I was happy where the balls were – they were located well – but I just wasn’t getting the swings I wanted.
Montgomery’s E.J. Onyschak breaks for second in the team’s 11-6 win over FBA Jays Blue.
“In the second inning I felt like I could rear back and throw it. I saw my second-to-last pitch hit 78 (mph). In the third inning I couldn’t find my fastball. When I can’t find it, I go to the slider and when I can’t find that, it’s a little more trouble.”
Nonetheless, Montgomery scored two more runs in the top of the third for an 8-1 lead. But the Jays rallied against Olson and Maddox in the bottom of the inning with five runs to climb within two at 8-6.
The Jays actually sent the tying run to the plate twice in the third, but Maddox buckled down and struck out two of the next three batters to end the rally.
Olson surrendered three runs in two innings on two hits, three walks and three hit batsmen and he struck out two.
Maddox allowed three runs (one earned) in his one inning of work on one hit and two walks with two strikeouts. Zac Davis closed out the game with two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk and striking out three.
For Montgomery, E.J. Onyschak had a two-run single, he walked twice and scored three times. Patrick Fogarty had an RBI triple, Christopher Knight and Michael Englert produced run-scoring singles, Navio Delgado doubled and Aaron Corcoran drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
For the Jays, Gavin Capanegro had an RBI single and both Phil Silvia and Hunter Keeth had an RBI fielder’s choice.
Starter Anderson Edie allowed five runs in 1⅔ innings on one hit, five walks and a hit batter and struck out one. Cole Carzima yielded three runs in 1⅓ innings on five hits and he struck out two. Nate Plebani pitched two innings and allowed three runs on two hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
Montgomery’s Onyschak, a senior outfielder and catcher at Union Catholic, verbally committed to Division 3 Moravian on Sunday after making a second visit to the Bethlehem, Pa., school.
Just two months ago, he swore off the recruiting process and wanted nothing to do with contacting coaches.
“I told my dad (Ed) I wasn’t leaning toward playing and he said, ‘I don’t think you should give up that easily,’” Onyschak said. “It kind of opened my eyes and made me think I could give it another shot.
“A month ago I was in the reaching-out process and now it’s done. It’s a great feeling, having the opportunity to play the sport I’ve been playing for 10 years. To play at the college level and get a great education is something I take pride in. Hopefully I can have a great senior year and then go to Moravian and keep it going.”
Onyschak is one of Montgomery’s top hitters this fall. He’s 8-for-14 with two home runs, one triple, two doubles, seven walks, 10 RBI and 12 runs scored. He’s got an on-base percentage of .714 and has struck out just three times in 21 plate appearances.