By: Ken Weingartner
Russell Grimes beat Piscataway with his arm and his bat.
Grimes pitched five shutout innings, striking out 13, and drove in four runs with a pair of doubles as the South Brunswick Athletic Association 11-year-old Gold all-stars won the Piscataway Tournament with an 11-1 victory over Piscataway.
"He was totally focused and never let Piscataway in the game," manager Gary Mariano said. "Russ continually comes through with his best efforts in our biggest games. Tonight’s effort was another example."
Matt Forthun’s RBI single, driving in Dan Gurney, gave SB a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Grimes’ two-run double, plating Jake Jaskowski and Kevin Namjoo, and Mike Mariano’s RBI single made it 4-0 in the second.
South Brunswick put the game away in the third. Forthun doubled to the left field fence to lead off. Johnny Haas singled to shortstop to put runners on the corners and Jaskowski followed with a single to score Forthun. One out later, Mike Powers lashed a single up the middle to plate Haas.
With two outs, Grimes delivered once again, ripping another two-run double to the left-field corner, making the margin 8-0.
An inning later, Gurney and A.J. Albert scooted around the bases on a double steal and subsequent overthrow. Mariano closed out the scoring, with a walk and three successive stolen bases.
"This team is really starting to click on all cylinders," said manager Mariano, whose squad captured its second consecutive championship title and has won 16 of its first 17 games. "The entire line-up is hitting the ball with authority and our pitching has simply been outstanding."
In the East Brunswick Tournament, Gurney and Jaskowski combined on a no-hitter as SB rolled to a 10-0 win over East Brunswick, earning a trip to the championship game in the process.
Kyle Keller and Namjoo paced the offensive attack, as SB scored nine runs in the first two innings. Keller, Namjoo, Gurney and Mariano combined to go a perfect 10-for-10 with six runs and seven RBI.
In the Carteret Tournament, the 11s posted a 9-3 victory over a powerful Woodbridge squad. Grimes had four hits, including two doubles and a home run.
Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the second, SB rallied for three runs to take the lead. Bobby Flesta and Powers singled to set the table. Joe Clancy slapped a single to drive home Flesta, then Grimes and Mariano stroked consecutive hits to put SB on top.
The following inning SB turned up the heat as Powers laced a two-run double to right center to expand the lead to 6-3.
Grimes and Gurney combined on the pitching chores, with Grimes earning the victory and Gurney the save. Gurney tossed the final three innings, striking out seven while surrendering only an infield single.
11-year-old Black
Gary Mariano’s 11-year-old Gold team is highly regarded as one of the top teams in the area, but Steve Ondrejack’s squad showed there’s plenty of talent in the age group.
The Black team on Tuesday won the South Amboy Tournament with a 15-4 victory over the host squad. SB advanced to the finals with wins over Sayreville (8-4), Millstone (8-1) and South Amboy (21-8).
In the title tilt, SB trailed 3-0 heading into the bottom of the first inning, but put five runs on the board and never looked back. The team had 19 hits, led by Frank Celi and Mike Majchrzak with three each. Adam Kinder had a key hit to ignite a rally while Matt Ryan, Brian Peters and Vineesh Manchanda all had RBI hits.
The infield of Kyle Muchanic, Ondrejack, Greco and Matt Goddard was solid.
Erik Bednarski was the winning pitcher in all four tournament games while Matt Ondrejack, Celi, Greg Watson, Doug Berkowitz, Majchrzak and Bednarski all hit .500 or better in the tourney.
"These kids have learned that when they play the way they are capable of playing, they can be successful," manager Ondrejack said. "I’m really proud of the effort they put forth, not only in this tournament, but all year long."
8-year-olds
A nine-run second inning propelled SB to its fourth championship this summer, this one a 16-3 victory over Tri-Township in the title game of the Hamilton Tournament.
In the second, Jordan Smith tripled and scored on a single by Juan Perdomo. Jon Foss was hit by a pitch and Jared Kling followed with a two-run double. After Michael Heyer was hit by a pitch, Chris Palumbo singled to load the bases. Colin Muchanic and Michael Weisgerber both forced in runs with walks before Michael Muha cleared the bases with a triple. Muha ended the outburst when he scored on Smith’s single.
Palumbo added a solo homer later in the contest. Max Tudela, Corey Berrios and Jimmy Ryan were solid defensively. Smith and Muha each pitched three innings, combining for nine strikeouts.
South Brunswick is 2-0 in the Edison Tournament, having posted wins over East Brunswick, 19-1, and Fords, 13-5. The squad, which is 27-0 this summer, also is 2-0 in the Flemington Tournament after victories over Flemington, 18-0, and Bridgewater, 20-0.
"We’re taking it one game at a time," manager Mike Muha said. "I don’t think the kids realize what they’ve accomplished so far. We’ve been on a roll, and having a lot of fun."
The team returns to action Friday night at 6 against North Brunswick in the Edison tourney and on Sunday against North Hunterdon in Flemington.
9-year-olds
After opening with a combined 5-4 record in the Hamilton and North Edison tournaments, South Brunswick has rolled to five straight wins.
South Brunswick is 3-0 in the South Plainfield Tournament, with wins over Iselin (3-1), North Brunswick (9-6) and Edison (forfeit). The team will begin action in the tourney playoffs at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
The squad also is participating in a 10-year-old tourney in North Brunswick. SB is 2-0 with triumphs over Edison (12-2) and North Brunswick (16-4). The 9s return for a game at 6 p.m. Friday.
In the Flemington Tournament, SB was winning 6-1 in the first inning against the Readington Thunder before the contest was suspended because of rain.
Tyler Olsson has been solid in the leadoff spot, setting the table for hot hitters Tyler Zenda, Gerard Veglia and Troy Confessore.
Devin Rogan and Bryan Keller have led the pitching corps while Thomas Quigley and Thomas Dunleavy have worked well behind the plate in sharing the catching duties.
"We’ve been getting contributions for everyone," manager John Shiraldi said. "We didn’t play well early; we didn’t find our stride yet. We’re starting to come around again. We’re in a groove now."
9-year-old Black
The team rebounded from two tough games in the Flemington Tournament to defeat Hillsborough 8-3 in the opener of the East Brunswick tourney.
Matt Bonfiglio and Danny Acevedo gave SB excellent pitching. Bonfiglio and Michael Oates each had two RBI while Andrew Foltiny, Dan Murphy and Evan Beck drove in one apiece. Greg Allen and Steve Taggart scored two runs each and Benjy Levin scored one.
At catcher, Allen showed off his arm by throwing out three baserunners. Jeremy Zadek and Billy Rogers also contributed to the team’s effort.
10-year-olds
South Brunswick dropped just its second game in 18 outings, falling 10-7 to Branchburg in the Flemington Tournament, but came back to beat Wayne, 11-1, and Sayreville, 13-0, in the East Brunswick tourney.
Against Wayne, Jim Knox was 3-for-3 with three runs while Jeff White had two hits, including a triple. Jon Burd had a double and two RBI. Dan Keenan tossed a complete game four-hitter.
In the victory over Sayreville, Keenan had two hits, including a triple, and two runs. White had a key double. Chris Sisco got the win with Daren Caesar pitching the final inning.
Against Branchburg, White and Zach Zenda each was 3-for-3. Vinnie Caputo had two hits, including a double, and two runs.
Catcher Doug Perrone had three strong games behind the plate, picking off a runner in each contest. He nailed a runner at first against Branchburg, and baserunners at third against Wayne and Sayreville.
South Brunswick is scheduled to play tonight at 6 against East Brunswick in the East Brunswick tourney.
12-year-olds
South Brunswick opened play in the Iselin Tournament with a 12-5 win over Monroe.
Jon Sock had 12 strikeouts in a solid effort on the mound. Kyle Breese had two hits and three RBI while Matt Hart, Anthony Giarratano and John Prodromo each scored three runs.
The squad is set to return to action tonight at 8 against Little Silver in the East Brunswick Tournament. SB plays in the Jackson tourney starting Saturday at 9 a.m. against Matawan.
13-year-olds
South Brunswick started the Sayreville Tournament on a winning note, beating South Amboy 8-1.
Strong pitching and defense led the way, including a game-ending short-to-second-to-first double play. Three pitchers (Sean Farrell, Travis Smart, and Ryan Webb) held South Amboy to just four hits.
Travis Smith hit a bases-loaded double to drive in three runs in the fifth. Mike Harkness was 3-for-3 and Smart 2-for-2. Webb, Chris Dillon, Brian Holder and Kevin McDonald also had hits for the winners.
South Brunswick is scheduled to play tonight in the championship game of the East Brunswick Tournament. The team begins action in North Brunswick at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Junior American Legion
South Brunswick (7-11) remains in a battle for a district playoff spot, but needs to win three of its final four outings to reach the goal.
Corey Griffin gave the locals a shot in the arm with a solid pitching effort in a 5-4 win over Perth Amboy in extra innings. Griffin tossed all eight innings for SB, which got key hits from Joe and Nick Clemente.
On Monday night, SB dropped a 7-3 decision to a strong Old Bridge team.
"We had them on the ropes," manager Dan Saragnese said. "We had runners on base every inning, we just didn’t get the key hits. But the kids have really hung tough. They’re not giving up. They’re really giving a good effort."
South Brunswick was slated to play Edison Father & Son on Wednesday night. The squad visits Perth Amboy tonight before hosting Woodbridge at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Holmdel at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Both games are at Sondek Park.
