Fry's Four-Hit Day Powers Cranford to Sectional Title Win Over South Plainfield

South Plainfield came to Cranford on Friday as the defending sectional champions. They ran into a team that had been waiting all season for this matchup and a senior shortstop who simply would not be denied.

Brayden Fry went 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs as the Cougars defeated South Plainfield 10–5 to claim the North 2 Group 3 sectional title. Cranford jumped out to a 3–1 lead in the first inning, answered every South Plainfield push throughout the afternoon, and put it away with a six-run sixth that left no doubt. Patrick Berry started and threw four solid innings before Christian Pereira closed it out in front of a crowd that never stopped making noise.

The game's defining moment almost came in the third. Fry crushed one deep to center that looked gone off the bat, and the Cranford dugout erupted as he started his trot. The umpires huddled and came back with a ground rule double. Quinn Smith scored on the play, but the Cougars knew their shortstop had been robbed. South Plainfield fought back to make it interesting in the fifth, cutting the lead to one on an Aiden McCarthy RBI triple and a wild pitch that brought another run in. The momentum had completely flipped and the Cougar Den went quiet for the first time all afternoon.

Fry wouldn't let it stay that way. He singled to lead off the sixth and Patrick Bender followed with a two-run blast to left that blew the roof off the place. South Plainfield answered to make it 7–5, but Cranford came right back. Two runners on, and Fry stepped in for his fourth plate appearance of the day. This time there was no debate. He unloaded a three-run homer for his 10th of the season and the celebration was on. Cougars 10, Tigers 5, and it wasn't getting any closer.

After the game Fry spoke on what it meant to do it against the team that ended their season a year ago. "We had that in the back of our minds this whole time," he said. "We were fortunate enough to play them in the championship and to be able to get our get back is definitely an amazing feeling." On the season overall, he kept it simple. "We came out here and fought every single game. Just do our thing, go out there and do what we can do, and we'll definitely have a good run for the rest of the season."

The Cougars continue their run and make it known that they are here to play. As the sectional round wraps up, Cranford will head on to Old Tappan for the Group 3 semi final bout with the winner going to to Rutgers to compete for the championship.