Brick National 11s get 9 runs in 7th to take tourney opener
BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI Staff Writer

WARETOWN — Brick National's 11-year-olds won their Cal Ripken District 2 tournament opener after a 10-0 victory over host Waretown that was more dramatic than the score would indicate.

One strike away from a 1-0 loss, Brick National rallied to tie the game and then scored nine runs in the seventh inning.

"This team has not scored a lot of runs but as we went along, we got our bats going after playing tight for five innings," said manager Jeff O'Neill, who headed this same group in the 10-yearold division that was state champion and Mid-Atlantic Region runner-up last year. "We have to hit the ball better. I'm happy with the four pitchers we have."

Brick National's seven innings began with walks to Nick Chirichella, Mike Begovich, Tom Costansa and Sean Fahey. Dan Berg and Matt Greenberg lashed two-run singles. Begovich also had a hit in the inning.

Steve Schirm forced the extra inning when he poked a single that drove in Kyle Marino, who walked and stole two bases.

He preserved the tie in the sixth inning when he relieved Chirichella with one out and got a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning. Chirichella allowed four hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Brick National had seven hits in the game, but only one through the first five innings.

"Their kid pitched a heck of a game with eight strikeouts," said coach Mike Mann. "Unfortunately for them, they didn't have a back-up pitcher. We did not hit well but we were gritty and persistent and never gave up a big inning."

It was one of two thrilling district games for Brick National teams, with its 10s pulling out a 3-2 victory over Bayshore.

Brick National's 9, meanwhile, beat Brick American, 12-8, to win the District 2 championship. Brick National will host the state tournament starting on July 24.

A rundown of some of the games:

Brick American 10s

Pete Quinn scored the winning run in a 3-2 victory over Bayshore when he drilled a double and Bill Smith hit a grounder that was thrown away on a throw to get Quinn at third base. Joe Howell lined a two-run double in the third inning. Bayshore tied it with a tworun homer in the sixth. Matt Rush got the win in relief of starter Jess Raffa. Dylan Evans came on in relief before Rush. "I thought we played very well, excellent on defense," manager Joe D'Amato said. "Our pitching was great and we hope to pick up our hitting."

Brick American 11s Trailing 3-0, Brick American rallied to a 6-3 victory over Point Pleasant as winning reliever James Donlon and Pat Fullan drilled two-run doubles in the bottom of the first inning. "We picked each other up and played a great team game," said manager John Hazelet Jr., whose team played again on June 30 against the winner of Brick National vs. Bayshore. Donlon came on with the bases loaded in the first inning and got an inning-ending popout to set the tone for the comeback.

9-year-old tournament

Eric Bohrer and Sergio DeLuca hammered two-run doubles and Nick Sekara lashed a two-run single as Brick National erased an 8-6 deficit with six runs en route to a 12-8 victory over Brick American for the District 2 championship. While Brick National had an automatic berth in the state tournament as runner-up, Brick American advances to the tourney from District 2 as the runnerup.

Anthony Vitale ripped a two-run double and Chris Salsano poked a run-scoring single in the five-run fourth inning. "We've been hitting a lot but this time, we were down 8-1 and I was concerned that they might quit and they didn't give up," said manager John Brower. "The funny thing is that we played Brick American five times this year and beat them all five times, and we might play them two more times in the state tournament. Sooner or later, the odds catch up with you so we have to be careful playing them again."

Trevor Sherman ripped a two-run double to help Brick National to its big early lead. Dale Dimicco pitched well over the first three innings for Brick American.

Brick National earlier in the tournament beat Brick American, 8-2, as Salsano had three hits for four RBIs and Bohrer pitched four solid innings of relief. Sekara pitched a two-hit 9-1 victory over Point Pleasant, striking out 11 and walking two, and helped his own cause by slugging a double and a single and driving in a run. John Zurawski and Joe Napoilitano each had two hits or two RBI.B

laine Netterman poked a run-scoring single and leadoff hitter Joe Tufaro slugged a two-run single in the fourth inning when Brick American opened up a 6-2 lead with six runs en route to a 12-7 victory over Point Pleasant to move into the championship game. Anthony Argondizza got the mound win.

Brick National's players were playing four games last weekend, including two in the USABL to get to the semifinals. Brick National beat Brick American, 8-0 and Manchester, 4-1.

Brick National 8s

Matthew Cloutier and winning reliever T.J Rosace slugged run-scoring hits as Brick National beat Bayshore, 5- 2, to win the district title. Mike Guzman made a sharp catch in right field for manager Mike Cloutier's team.