Anthony Cirillo knew that his Freehold Township Little League’s 8-9-year-old All-Star team was pretty formidable.
As 8-year-olds, the group had won three of the four tournaments they had entered (Edison, Staten Island and Manalapan).
But nothing prepared Cirillo and his coaches for what the Freehold Township All-Stars were to do at the District 19 championships this week. Five lopsided victories brought the Freehold Township Little League its first district crown of the new millennium. The township nine defeated Tinton Falls, 8-2, in the district finals played at the Marlboro Little League Complex.
"They’re just a good team," said Cirillo, the team’s manager. "We hit the ball very hard and we had good pitching."
That double-barreled combination overwhelmed the District 19 opposition as the Freehold Township stars outscored their five opponents by a combined tally of 94-12.
"Our hitters were very aggressive and they really hit some line-drive shots," said Cirillo.
The big hitters for the township squad were lead-off batter Chris Bresnahan, Anthony Cirillo Jr., John Carusio and Stephen Talbott.
Bresnahan has emerged as the leader of the young team.
"He’s our lead-off hitter and he’s always getting on base," noted Cirillo. "Everyone follows his lead."
Going along with the team’s hitting prowess was a very deep pitching staff that gave Freehold Township another edge over its opponents. Because he had so many good pitchers, Cirillo was able to use his hurlers for just two innings at a time, making them all eligible to pitch in the next game. They didn’t need complete games from just one or two aces to get the job done.
Bresnahan, Cirillo Jr., Dan Klinsky, Matt Faiella, Joseph Dziedzic and closer Matt Cadigan were the nucleus of the team’s pitching staff. Klinsky and Cadigan are lefties giving the team even more flexibility. All of the pitchers were effective at throwing strikes, meaning they didn’t issue many free passes.
Bresnahan and Cadigan were the team’s hardest throwers and they combined in the final to hold down Tinton Falls. Bresnahan went the first four innings and Cadigan closed it out in the final two innings.
Despite the one-sidedness of the scores, the Freehold Township defense came through when plays were needed to be made. Michael Tumminia played third base flawlessly while Faiella and John Morrill each threw runners out at the plate from the outfield.
All-in-all, Freehold Township’s All-Stars had it all; pitching, defense and hitting.
Rounding out the District 19 championship team were: Brenden Noesges, Jerry Plescia, Login MacLean and Shawn Purves, who made their contributions as well to the title effort.
Glen Purves and Anthony Piccola were the coaches.
Cirillo knows a little something about Little Leaguers ages 8-9. He has been coaching them for more than 15 years here and in Brooklyn. In fact, the team he coaches in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, made it to the national tournament. This year’s Freehold Township nine compares favorable with that squad and any other that he has coached or seen.
"They’re a super team," he pointed out. "They compare very favorably with the team I coached in Greenpoint. They are a very competitive team. They never sit back; they’re never satisfied no matter what the score is. They’re always hungry."
Which means there is more baseball ahead for the 8-9-year-old stars. They will end the summer participating in several tournaments, including one later this month that Freehold Township will be hosting.
For now, they have whetted their appetites by knowing they have brought another District 19 title home to the Freehold Township Little League.

