Mariners, Mets fall in District 18 TOC BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI Staff Writer After surging from also-rans during the regular season to tournament titles, Brick American's Mariners and Brick National's Mets had their respective seasons ended quickly in the District 18 Little League Tournament of Champions. The Mariners opened with a 3-0 victory over the Lacey Yankees as Scott Steimle threw a one-hitter before losing in the District 18 quarterfinals to Toms River East National, 3-1, at Lacey last week. "Absolutely, I'm proud of them," said Mariners manager Gene Carafa when asked about the memorable 19-6 season. "I told them after the game I'm very proud. In the last 10 games, we did not give up more than three runs a game, and that's my thing - pitching and defense." The Mets of Brick National lost to the champion from Jackson, 5-3, after leaving the bases loaded in the final inning. "We faced the All-Star No. 1 pitcher for Jackson and we left seven men on in the last three innings and did not get the big hit," said manager Jeff O'Neill. "But this was a perfect example of what we did all year - keeping our heads in the game after we fell behind, 5-0. They had a power pitcher with multiple pitches, and the kids made a lot of contact. They never gave up, and that's what it was about all year - resiliency. I was most proud of how we stayed in the game." Both Brick teams suffered without their starting catchers in their losses. But the one good thing for both teams is that their top players got more time to practice with their all-star teams for the upcoming District 18 games. Brick American's Mariners struck first in their loss to Toms River East National with a run in the fourth inning as Steimle walked, advanced on Casey Curran's single and scored on a passed ball. Tom Howell was breezing on a one-hitter, but his pitch count was going way up when Toms River East National scored in the fifth inning. The leadoff hitter walked and moved up when the next batter grounded out on a slow roller to third. After a strikeout, the next batter blooped an 0-2 pitch over the first baseman and the base runner beat a high throw to the plate. "That run scored on my fault," said Carafa. "Our first baseman was playing in for the bunt and I didn't remind him to move back when the batter had two strikes because you know they're not going to bunt when that happens. If he moved back, that ball would not have dropped in and the inning would've been over." That put Howell at the 85-pitch limit, and Corey Zytko came on in relief. He had an 0-2 count on the batter on two cutters and threw another cutter that the batter blasted over the center-field fence for a two-run homer. "We had a different catcher in there because our regular catcher was away, and the kid did a fantastic job except that he didn't always pick up the signs on what pitch to call," said Carafa. "We didn't want him calling for the same pitch as on the first two strikes, but he did." In the sixth inning, the Mariners posed another threat when Steimle walked and moved up on a passed ball, but Steve Marin hit a hard shot that the second baseman speared and doubled Steimle off second base. The next batter walked before the Toms River East National pitcher fielded a comebacker and played it in time to end the game. Marin also swatted a hot shot to the third baseman with two runners aboard in the first inning that was played to first base in time to end the inning. Howell and Steimle hit singles with two outs to set up the threat. In the previous game, Steimle struck out 10 and walked two while coasting on a 2-0 lead after the first inning. Austin Cooke lined a double and scored on a base hit by Howell. Marin drilled a run-scoring double. The lone hit allowed by Steimle was a bad-hop single over the third baseman's head by the Lacey hitter leading off the second inning. Zytko smashed a run-scoring single in the fourth inning after a walk and two ground-outs. He and Marin each had two hits. As for the Brick National Mets, they cut into a 5-0 deficit in their loss as Brian Henry, who pitched the first three innings, smacked a two-run single in the fifth inning. Nick Muzio lined a run-scoring double in the third inning that drew the Mets to 3-1. John Schiess, who pitched two scoreless innings of relief, smashed two hits.