SUMMIT - For the Gov. Livingston coaching staff the mantra remains the same: one game at a time.
GL baseball has now won 37 straight - the Highlanders were victorious at Oratory Prep 12-1 Tuesday afternoon, March 31 in Union County Conference-Watchung Division play at Cavalero Memorial Field - and is one triumph shy of tying the state record of 38 in a row established by Don Bosco Prep in 2009.
"We don't think about that," GL head coach Chris Roof said. "We really worry about our next opponent."
That will be Lyndhurst this Saturday, April 4 at 11 a.m. on The Hill at GL. Inclement weather could force the game to be moved to Snyder Field's field turf field in Berkeley Heights, still Saturday, but possibly at a different time.
GL is 6-0 vs. Lyndhurst, the last three wins have come by shutout, since 2018. The teams did not face each other in 2020 (no season at all because of Covid-19) and 2021.
Should GL defeat Lyndhurst again to tie the record, the Highlanders are next scheduled to play at Scotch Plains-Fanwood next Tuesday, April 7 at 4 p.m. in what would be their first attempt to break the 17-year-old mark. The last time GL lost was at SP-F by the score of 6-5 on May 21, 2024. Scotch Plains tied the game at 5-5 with four runs in the bottom of the sixth and then won the game in extra innings by scoring a single run in the bottom of the eighth.
That enabled SP-F to win the UCC's Watchung Division crown over GL by one game two years ago. GL won the Watchung Division perfect at 11-0 last year.
Oratory Prep was not as successful against GL Tuesday. However, the host Rams put forth an effort that enabled the game to go the seven-inning distance.
GL, which blanked Oratory 10-0 in six innings Monday, March 30 at home in this new UCC format of playing division opponents back-to-back in the same week, scored six runs in the top of the second Tuesday and then added two more in the third, sixth and seventh innings.
Standout GL senior catcher Michael Basile, who will play in college at Lehigh, was a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with four RBI. Basile, who also threw out a runner attempting to steal second in the first inning and then picked off an Oratory baserunner at second base in the third, banged out four singles and one double.
Basile singled to center in the first, reached on an infield single in the second when he beat the throw from the shortstop to drive in a run, drilled an opposite field two-run double off the right field fence in the third, led off the sixth with another infield single to short and then drove in his fourth run with a single to center field in the seventh.
Addison Adornato was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, designated hitter Keith Mann was 2-for-3 with one run and two RBI and Zach Geertsma had one hit in four at-bats, scoring three runs and driving in one.
Three GL pitchers limited the Rams to just one run - Oratory sophomore catcher Gus Grove blasted a solo home run over the center field fence with one out in the bottom of the third - with starter Reid Bazydlo, a senior right-hander, going the first four. Bazydlo, the winning pitcher, allowed one earned run on five hits while striking out four and walking one. Jaiden Fernandez pitched two scoreless innings and Mateo Liloia one.
For the first time GL got three games in before April 1.
"And we're 3-0 before April 1," Roof said. "We're playing aggressive and having competitive at-bats."
GL is also not at 100 percent, with seniors Michael Novotny and Ryan Pappas sidelined at the moment.
Bazydlo, who will next play at Felician College along with teammate Mann, who was the winning pitcher against Oratory Monday, was happy with how he tried to tie up Oratory batters.
"My inside pitches worked best," Bazydlo said. "I tried to jam them as best as I could."
While it's the job of the coaching staff to keep the players grounded and have them think about just the opponent at hand, GL players do want to achieve this state-record winning streak. It would be something else to add to all of the success they have attained the past two seasons.
"It means a lot to us, but I think it may mean more to Coach Roof," Geertsma said. "He's been like a father figure to all of us."
The ingredients to putting together a streak like this: "for us it's all about how close we are as a team," Geertsma said. "We bond and hang out as a group and we do take it one game at a time. This team is full of seniors who have played together since we were little kids."
"If we do break the record, it would really be special," Basile said. "This goes back to all the guys who have been a part of it since it started two years ago. All it takes is to run into one good pitcher. We've been battle-tested and have been down in games and come back."
GOV. LIVINGSTON BASEBALL WINNING STREAK IS
NOW AT 37 AND IS 1 AWAY FROM TYING STATE RECORD
0F 38 SET BY DON BOSCO PREP IN 2009
2026 (WON FIRST 3):
March 31: GL 12, Oratory Prep 1 - at OP
March 30: GL 10, Oratory Prep 0 - at GL
March 28: GL 6, New Providence 2 - at GL
2025 (28-0):
June 16: GL 6, West Morris 1 - at Wood-Ridge
June 9: GL 8, Haddonfield 6 - at GL
June 5: GL 12, Robbinsville 2 - at GL
June 3: GL 3, Raritan 2 - at GL
May 29: GL 12, South River 6 - at GL
May 27: GL 7, Point Pleasant Boro 6 - at GL
May 20: GL 5, Union Catholic 0 - at Kean
May 17: GL 1, Elizabeth 0 - at Johnson
May 16: GL 10, Johnson 0 - at GL
May 12: GL 5, Union Catholic 0 - at UC
May 10: GL 33, Linden 0 - at GL
May 8: GL 10, Union 1 - at GL
May 7: GL 16, Cranford 3 - at Cranford
May 6: GL 12, New Providence 1 - at GL
May 1: GL 7, Summit 0 - at Summit
April 30: GL 15, New Providence 3 - at NP
April 29: GL 12, Westfield 0 - at Westfield
April 26: GL 16, Columbia 5 - at GL
April 24: GL 19, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 0 - at SP-F
April 21: GL 8, Westfield 7 - at GL
April 19: GL 3, Lyndhurst 0 - at Lyndhurst
April 16: GL 1, Brearley 0 - at Brearley
April 15: GL 10, Union Catholic 0 - at GL
April 13: GL 11, Delbarton 4 - at South Brunswick
April 10: GL 11, Cranford 0 - at GL
April 8: GL 6, Summit 3 - at GL
April 3: GL 13, Johnson 0 - at GL
April 1: GL 8, Elizabeth 4 - at Elizabeth
2024 (WON LAST 6):
June 8: GL 3, Pascack Valley 0 - at Hamilton
June 5: GL 10, Seneca 2 - at Seneca
June 3: GL 9, Delran 3 - at GL
May 31: GL 2, Bordentown 0 - at GL
May 29: GL 5, Nottingham 4 - at GL
May 23: GL 7, Holmdel 6 - at GL
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