By Andy Loigu

Mike Ferro’s grand slam (on an 0-2 pitch) powered the sixth seeded North Warren Patriots to a 5-4 win over a scrappy Phillipsburg squad in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex baseball tournament on May 5.

The next step for coach JP Palmer and the Patriots is a supremely challenging one. They will visit third seed Hunterdon Central in Flemington in the quarterfinals, first pitch at 4 p.m. on May 10. The Red Devils are coming off a 9-4 win over 14th seeded Warren Hills.

“We’ve been getting good starting pitching and good defense all year,” Palmer said about the North Warren Patriots’ 13-3 record. “The hitters have had a smart approach at the plate.” Cody Sherrer sparked North Warren with a four-hit game.

In the first round, North Warren was a 9-1 winner over Belvidere.

Phillipsburg has struggled through a difficult 5-12 season under first-year coach Mike Ciavarella, a 2009 P’burg graduate. He took over a program that went 8-19 last year. However, hope springs eternal at P’burg, a school with a glorious sports tradition that boasts many championships in all sports, boys and girls.

Ciavarella has brought a former St. Louis Cardinals draft pick onto his coaching staff, none other than his younger brother Anthony Ciavarella, who was honored as Warren County Player of the Year in 2012 by The Warren Reporter. After his brilliant high school career, he pitched at Monmouth University.

Mike Ciavarella said he hopes to restore the confidence with which successful Stateliner teams have played in their glory years. “Everything matters,” he said. “It’s not just on the field, it’s also your grades, how you treat your peers and teachers with respect and doing everything (including baseball) to the best of your ability.”

The Liners’ senior leaders this year have been first baseman Andrew Haussman, pitcher Jake Remian, infielder Chris Olah and center fielder Kevin Burgess.

Also staying alive in the H/W/S are Hackettstown’s Tigers (7-5 record), with an 18-2 pounding of visiting Hopatcong. Under coach Gary Poyer, the Tigers have been supremely successful for many years in May, when tournament time rolls around. They usually play their best baseball in the biggest games.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.