Thursday,  June 05, 2003

BY BOB BEHRE  FOR THE STAR-LEDGER

shp photo
by Richard Morris

You know the fire is burning underneath, but you don't always get to see it.

    That Javier Martinez has harnessed that fire is indicative of how much he has grown since his junior season. He now manages the fire instead of letting it melt him down.

    But he did unleash the beast when he struck out Tim Klein with a slider for the second out of the seventh inning on the way to Seton Hall Prep's 7-3 victory over St. Joseph of Montvale in the NJSIAA/First Union Parochial A, North Jersey final on Tuesday.

    Klein had rocked Martinez for a double in his previous at-bat in the fifth when St. Joseph, No. 2 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, cut its deficit to 4-3 against No. 1 Seton Hall.

    "It was one of those things," said Martinez, a senior right-hander. "I just had to let it out. He got me for that double and their bench was riding me all game."

    A year earlier, a year less experience and a year less mature, Martinez may have set the rage afire in the fifth and blown himself out of the game.

    Not this year.

    Martinez was otherwise a vision of tranquility during a hard-fought battle in a steady downpour against a rugged St. Joseph team. But Martinez and his teammates had earned their No. 1 ranking on gutsy play of their own.

    Martinez (9-0, 0.49 ERA), who is bound for Fordham, outdueled All-State left-hander Ryan Lobban (10-1) in the contest to thrust himself among the elite pitchers in the state.

    Nothing was more unsure than a Martinez start in 2002, when the South Orange resident seemed to loose the plate all at once suddenly walking and plunking batters.

    "Javy would utterly dominate a team last year, then come apart off at once," Seton Hall Prep pitching coach Frank Gately said. "I'm amazed at how he's turned it around.

    Martinez has struck out 80 batters and walked 19 in 57 innings while pitching with determined efficiency.

    "I think I just had to get the experience," Martinez said. "I just started pitching my freshman year and really didn't throw that much that season."

    Gately concurs:   "He tends to wind him self up emotionally," Gately says. "But this year he's been very relaxed. He's not over thinking things."

    That maturity on the mound has been a bonus for a team that came into the season with high hopes. Marrtinez has reached the biggest stage. His team meets No. 18 Christian Brothers Academy (21-5) in the Parochial A state final at 2 p.m. Saturday at East Brunswick Tech. On the line for Seton Hall Prep is its second Parochial A crown and second Star-Ledger Top 20 Trophy in the past three years.  He was a sophomore on the JV team in 2001 when his older brother, Joe Martinez, who is now pitching at Boston College, helped Seton Hall win Parochial A and claim the Top 20 Trophy as the No. 1 team in the state.

    "I think everyone on this team is die hard, just to win," Martinez said. "I believe the pressure is there, but it's good pressure. We know what everyone thinks of us, but, more importantly, we know that we believe in each other."