Mariners win thrilling series vs. hard-luck Angels

BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer

The Mariners were in hot pursuit of the Angels throughout the season but hoisted the trophy in the most exciting Brick American Little League championship series in memory.

And Doug Chuck drove in the deciding runs in the seventh inning of the final game of the best-of-three series with a two-run single as the Mariners won the championship, 4-2.

"They were the best played games in years, the most exciting championship series I can remember," said league President Tom Nerney.

After dropping a 3-2 opener to the regular season champion Angels, the Mariners tied the best-of-three series with a 5-3 victory before Chuck hammered his deciding hit through the first base side of second base in the exciting finale. It drove in Mike Nebesne, who smashed a single, and Mike Cook, who followed with a double. Matt Hoffman then ripped a line drive that the shortstop speared in a great play that saved at least a run before Chuck came to bat.

"They were all great games with two very good teams," said manager Gene Carafa of the Mariners, who was a coach of the team that last won the championship in 2001, their third straight title that season. "But when we went to extra innings, I knew we'd have the advantage because we brought in to pitch an experienced 12-year-old and they had to go to a 10-year-old who had not pitched for them all year."

Kevin Foz threw the seventh inning and allowed two baserunners on an error and a walk before getting two outs on pop-ups and a great, game-ending play by Tom Howell, who pitched the first six innings and then was moved to shortstop. Howell made a great diving play for a ground ball and threw to third base in time for the final out.

"Our whole team played very well; I can't single anyone out," said Angels manager Kevin Case, whose team lost only one game during the regular season while the Mariners went 15-3. "We had a great season and if we had a couple of bounces go our way, we would've won.

"But the Mariners played great; they played really crisp baseball," said Case. "The series had some of the best baseball I've seen in a long time. We had men on base and hit the ball hard but right at people."

As a result, the Mariners continued playing and traveled on Monday to Holbrook in Jackson where they played Manchester's league champion in the newly revived District 18 Tournament of Champions.

The winner played at Manchester last night against Brick National's Brewers of manager John Brower, who had a bye in the opening round. The Brewers won the regular season championship and, just like in Brick American, lost to the second place Dodgers in the tournament championship series. But Brick National decided before the start of its tournament that it would send its regular season champion regardless of what would happen.

League officials said the district expressed fears that one of the worst teams in the play-off bracket might get hot at the end of the season and be overmatched in the Tournament of Champions.

Carafa also manages Brick American's 12-year-old Little League All-Stars and if his Mariners team goes all the way to the championship game on Sunday, he'll be back on the field the following day managing the 12s.

In that Brick American championship series finale. Nebesne blasted a two-run homer for the Mariners in the first inning off Kevin Case, the manager's son. Foz started the rally when he cracked a single but was forced at second by Howell, who had struck out 10 over the first six innings. Nebesne finished with three hits and Cook had two.

Nebesne struck out 10 in defeat in the opener, allowing three unearned runs.

Cook gutted his way in the Mariners' 5-3 victory in the second game with 102 pitches and struck out six. Nebesne, Cook, Hoffman and Scott Steinel swung the hot bats.

It forced the third game and another spectacularly pitched showdown.

"The pitching was spectacular," said Carafa. "We gave up only one earned run in the three games."

But while the Angels kept winning during the season with a closely knit team that was deep in pitching, the Mariners won in spectacular style with great pitching and 17 home runs hit by the team, led by Nebesne's eight blasts.

"I can't remember a team close to that," said Carafa of the home runs.

"We got the pitching but we were also very powerful."

And three of the homers came in the second round of the tournament by Hoffman, Cook and Doug Chuck when the Mariners held on to a 13-10 victory over the White Sox. The White Sox rallied back with six runs in the last inning, helped by some untimely errors that marred an otherwise strongly pitched game by Cook.

The Mariners won their playoff opener over the Red Sox, 5-1, as Debesne struck out 12 in a three-hitter in which a passed ball let in the only Red Sox run.