Chris Loniewski had an RBI single in the first inning for Montgomery Superior.

By Rich Bevensee

As highly regarded as Zoran Milich is in New Jersey baseball circles for his knowledge of the game, he’s not against stepping back and allowing his older players to learn the game as it’s played. He’d much rather sit back and take on an advisory position, always ready to teach when it’s most important. 

All of that means he’s a perfect fit for the Diamond Nation High School Fall League, which is known mostly for serving as an outlet for players to hone their craft. Milich loved what he saw from his Montgomery Superior players on Tuesday evening. 

By using extended, patient at bats to string together four runs in the first inning and five runs in the fifth, Montgomery rolled to a 10-3 victory over Bucks County Phillies Scout on Thursday evening at ‘The Nation’ in Flemington.

“I thought our guys had really good at bats,” Milich said. “They were very patient. We had a lot of 0-2 counts and they rallied to get a hit or walk, so I’m really happy with the approach at the plate.”

Montgomery evened its record to 1-1, and sent Bucks County (1-1) to its first loss. 

Henry Maddox, a senior at Montgomery, led the Superior offense by driving in three runs, via a fielder’s choice RBI in the first inning and a two-run single in the fifth. 

Maddox is one of the ballplayers Milich cited as having a patient approach, one that he hoped the other Superior players would take note of.

“For me I look at the Fall League as a good time for good competition and to stay ready for the high school season,” Maddox said. “I’m up there to find a pitch I like and hit it hard. I tend to thrive on two strikes. It’s about trusting my two-strike approach, ready to fight off anything I don’t like and find something I do like and put it in the gap.”

Peyton Jaffe leads off first base after his fourth inning single for Bucks County.

Matthew Ressa had an RBI single and a sacrifice fly RBI, and Patrick Fogarty drove in two runs with a fifth-inning sac fly into the right field corner. 

E.J. Onyschak, who sparked Montgomery’s four-run rally in the first inning with an RBI single, said his approach at the plate usually remains the same, even when his position in the batting order may change. Last spring the Union Catholic senior batted in the lower half of the order for the Vikings, and he was batting cleanup for Montgomery. 

“I may look at good pitches, but I would say as a four hitter, four hitters get curveballs on the first pitch,” Onyschak said. “There’s a certain thing about knowing your role and the situation. First and second with one out as a four hitter, your job is to drive in a run, and with a passed ball all you have to do is hit a fly ball. So you have to make sure you’re swinging at your pitch.”

It’s that kind of thinking that will serve UC coach Anthony Colletti well next spring. Onyschak is one of three seniors – Brayden Morrison and Brian McCabe are the others – who were regulars in the lineup last season. And he’ll be counted on to lead by example as early as this winter when team conditioning begins. 

“We don’t put a label on it – Coach doesn’t pick captains – but he expects the seniors to lead the team,” Onyschak said. “I almost feel like I stepped into that same role last year. I played right field and batted in the bottom half of the lineup, but I felt leadership was lacking and I had to do something to wake up the team. That’s definitely something I’m comfortable with.”

In Montgomery’s four-run first inning, Onyschak’s bloop single was followed by Maddox’ fielder’s choice RBI and two straight run-scoring singles by Chris Loniewski and Ressa. 

Bucks County cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the third thanks to back-to-back doubles. Steve Pio ripped a line-hugging double into the left field corner to drive in a run and Pierce Perry doubled into the left-center field gap to score two more runs and bring the Phillies within 4-3. 

Montgomery tallied a single insurance run in the fourth when Maddox walked and eventually scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch. 

After Maddox pitched a scoreless bottom of the fourth, Montgomery salted the game away with five runs in its next at bat. 

After three batters walked to load the bases to lead off the inning, Maddox belted a two-run double to center. Loniewski walked to reload the bases and Ressa drove in a run with a sac fly. Fogarty earned a rare two-run sac fly when he sent a tailing liner into the right field corner.