Baseball: Madison Beats Union, 6-3, in Summer League Semifinals

MADISON, NJ -- Madison scored three runs in the fourth inning and withstood a sixth-inning rally by Union to defeat the Farmers, 6-3, in the semifinal round of the High School Developmental League summer baseball playoffs on Monday night.

Left-handed starter Nick Bertolotti allowed just one hit through the first three innings before Madison scored three times in the top of the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. Carter Ferris and Liam Melvin each had RBI singles for the Dodgers.

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Union had threatened in the bottom of the first, with Jayden Walton and Jeff Field each reaching base on one-out singles. But Madison executed a 1-6-3 double play to get out of the inning.

The first two Union batters in the third inning were hit by pitches, but Madison again escaped further trouble in a game that was exceptionally well-played defensively by both teams.

Union finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth to cut Madison's lead to 5-3. Zach Mott, Aaron Acevedo and Henry Solares all drew walks to start the inning. Ramon Contreras followed with an RBI single to left field.

The Farmers' next two batters each drove in runs with groundouts to second -- Ed Famarin and Nick Goncalves each hit the ball to the right side to get runs in and get Union back within striking distance of Madison. After Walton drew a walk, Field hit a groundball toward the 5/6 hole, but was thrown out at first on a brilliant play by Madison's shortstop.

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Walton pitched three strong innings of relief for Union, allowing one hit and one unearned run and striking out three batters.

Union's summer season under head coach Lou Clemente was highlighted by a pair of 8-7 victories over Bayonne, which will be playing Madison on Wednesday in the HSDL championship game. This was the first time Union has had a summer baseball team since the days of American Legion baseball in Union County more than a decade ago.

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