By Scott Stump - Senior Editor


     TOMS RIVER - From a charged-up Bryan Soloman circling the bases after his first varsity home run to the laser focus of Kevin Needham on the mound during a resounding win over previously undefeated Toms River North on Wednesday, Jackson's baseball team certainly looked like it had found what coach Frank Malta said it had been looking for since the season started.
     "We always talk about having that swagger, and I think we're starting to get that a little because we think we play the best baseball around here in the Shore,'' Malta said. "You know what? We're 8-2, so we deserve to have a little bit of swagger and say, 'You know what, we're coming to play today.'''
     They certainly did so on a beautiful spring day at Ryan Field on Wednesday, taking it to the Mariners (9-1, 8-1), ranked No. 1 in the DigitalSports Top 10 since the first week of the season. They polished off the 5-2 win behind Needham, an all-around star who threw a complete-game five-hitter and also rapped out two doubles to continue a nuclear stretch of hitting. In his last six games, the reigning DigitalSports Player of the Week has gone 13-for-19 with 12 RBIs, four doubles, and two homers, while batting over .600 for the season for the No. 5 Jaguars (8-2, 7-2), who have won five in a row.
      "He's really been locked in,'' Malta said. "Nothing seems to bother him. He steps up, he's a big-game player and he always seems to have a smile on his face.''
      There were smiles on plenty of faces on Wednesday as the Jaguars avenged an earlier loss to Toms River North and kept their hopes alive for the Class A South title, as they have two divisional losses to trail the Mariners, who are the defending Class A South champs, by just one game in the loss column.
      They kept hope alive by knocking Toms River North ace Zach Brebner (3-1) out of the game in the fourth inning while leading 5-0. The Jaguars jumped on Brebner early, as Needham, who throws right-handed but bats lefty, punched an RBI double the opposite way down the third base line to score Steve Spino in the first inning. The double also advanced designated hitter Ryan Guarino to third, and he scored on a one-out RBI groundout by catcher Edgar Jennings for a 2-0 lead.
      Jackson kept attacking, as it made it 3-0 with two outs in the second inning when Mark Asta scored from third when an errant pickoff attempt by Brebner to try and get Spino at first got away. This was after Toms River North second baseman Steve Nyisztor had already thrown a runner out at the plate to prevent a run.
      The biggest blow came in the third inning, when Needham doubled with one out, and then with two outs, Jackson sophomore third baseman Bryan Soloman walloped a slider over the fence in right center field for a two-run blast and his first varsity homer to make it 5-0.
      "They were talking all that smack that Brebner was going to shut us down, and they couldn't prove it,'' Soloman said. "We showed them today. That (home run) was a big momentum shift, and it just took all the gas out of them.''
      That turbocharged the Jaguars and Needham (3-1), who went out and recorded a 1-2-3 half inning in the bottom of the third.
       "Whenever you're pitching you like to get a lead, but 5-0, that's a nice lead,'' Needham said. "That (home run) took a little bit of wind out of them. The next inning was 1-2-3, and we wanted to just come back and hit the ball more.''
       Jackson had a chance to make it 6-0 in the fourth inning when outfielder Jon Koslowski led off with a triple, prompting reliever Scott Shan to enter in place of Brebner. Shan then made a great play when he flipped a squeeze bunt to catcher C.J. Alonso to nail Koslowski at the plate and end the threat.
       That could have been a sign that the tide was turning for the Mariners, a resilient and talented team that has several comeback wins to its credit this season. That's where Needham's bulldog mentality on the mound and the burgeoning swagger of the Jaguars came in to play to head off any comeback off.
        "We wanted to jump on this game early and try to take their heart with Kevin on the mound,'' Malta said. "They made their charges. Good teams are going to do that, and they are a very good ballclub. They weren't going away, and we didn't expect them to.''
        Jaguars shortstop Pete Kelish made a nice catch on a line drive to save a run in the fourth inning before the Mariners finally nicked Needham for two runs in the fifth. A walk by outfielder Ryan Fontenelli, a single by first baseman Anthony LaCava and a bloop single by outfielder Matt Mancini loaded the bases with one out, resulting in an RBI groundout by leadoff man Paul DeMartino for the first run. Outfielder/third baseman Mitch Johnson then nailed an RBI single to center field for his second hit of the afternoon to cut the lead to 5-2.
        However, Needham was able to come up with an inning-ending grounder before pitching a 1-2-3 sixth inning. In the seventh, the Mariners put a pair of runners on with two outs when Needham plunked Mancini and walked DeMartino, but he was not backing down with Mitch Johnson up as the tying run at the plate despite being on his way to a 102-pitch afternoon.
       "(I was thinking) to just lay it on the line and go after them,'' Needham said.
       Malta was ready to pull Needham for Kelich if Needham couldn't get Johnson out, but his faith in his ace was rewarded when Johnson hit a grounder on a breaking ball that resulted in a game-ending forceout at second base.
       "(Needham) was on blood and guts at that point, but we wanted to give him every opportunity to be on the mound and savor that victory,'' Malta said. "I think he deserved it.''
       "Needham is our ace, a big-time pitcher,'' Soloman said. "He always gets it done.''
       The Jaguars have lately been getting it done consistently in a Shore Conference season rife with parity, but it's not like the newcomers aren't used to winning as Jackson is incorporating a host of players from a jayvee squad that went 25-1 last season. It also helps to have Needham, an early Player of the Year candidate who is tearing up opposing pitchers while using his great command and good breaking stuff to get it done on the mound. It all adds up to a team playing as well as anyone in the Shore Conference.
       "Our energy,'' Soloman said when asked about the biggest difference in the last two weeks. "After our first couple games, we were like, 'They're Toms River North, they're No. 1 in the Shore and No. 2 in the state.' I think we were a little scared a little bit, but we've stuck together.''
       On Wednesday, they stared down a formidable team on the road, knowing that the Mariners would test them in the later innings and coming right back at them rather than wilting like most of North's previous opponents.
       "We looked that right in the face, and I think that's where that confidence really showed,'' Malta said.

Box score
Jackson 5, Toms River North 2

Jackson (8-2, 7-2)     2 1 2 0 0 0 0 - 5 9 1
TR North (9-1, 8-1)   0 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 2 5 1

Doubles: (J) Needham 2, Spino, Jennings; (T) Johnson. Triples: (J) Koslowski. Home runs: (J) Soloman. WP: Needham (3-2); LP: Brebner (3-1).