Manalapan All-Stars win Babe Ruth District title
Youngsters take second title in three years
In what could be their swan song, the Manalapan Babe Ruth League’s 14-15-year-old All-Stars made it an instant classic, winning the District 11 championship.
Next year, most of the all-stars will be moving up to an older division and may not get to play together again. If that is the case, they made their last time together special, capturing their second District 11 title in three years.
The Manalapan All-Stars won the Babe Ruth District title as 13-year-olds and were runners-up last year. They regained their District championship this summer the hard way. After dropping their first-round match to rival Middletown, they bounced back with six straight one-sided victories, including two straight in the final over Hazlet to go out as winners.
Manalapan outscored their opponents 77-17 in those six wins, five of which were 10-run mercy victories. Their wins over Hazlet for the championship were by 18-5 and 11-1 counts.
Manager Dominick Lipariti, who has coached the team the last three years, said the opening-round loss to Middletown was the signal to his team that it had to shape up or be shipped out of the tournament quickly.
"We came out a little flat in that game; our intensity wasn’t there," he said. "It was a wake-up call for the guys and they really came on strong."
The loss was doubly disturbing to Manalapan because Middletown has been their rivals the last three years. Two years ago, Manalapan swept through the 13-year-old tournament with a perfect 4-0 record, beating Middletown twice, including the title game. Middletown returned the favor in ’99, beating Manalapan in the title game.
This year Manalapan had to go through Middletown again. After falling 5-4 to their rivals in the opening round, they got a return match in the loser’s bracket which Manalapan won, 11-4, earning their trip to the final against Hazlet.
Lipariti said the years of playing together have made the Manalapan all-stars a cohesive team.
"The team has developed a camaraderie over the last three years," he explained. "They are a close group of kids and it shows on the field. They play as a unit.
"We have no weak spot," he added. "Defensively we’re strong in the outfield and infield; we have depth in our pitching and we can score runs."
The difference this year, Lipariti noted, was in the pitching staff. Manalapan was loaded with a number of quality arms.
"We’ve never had this much depth at pitching before," said Lipariti. "I could go six or seven deep if I needed to."
In the District tournament he didn’t need to go that deep; he used five very strong arms to win it.
Veterans Evan Levine, Chris Ranieri and John Petraglia (the son of professional bowling great Johnny Petraglia and the only lefty on the squad) were joined this year by Bryan Glansberg and the only 14-year-old on the team, John LaCugna.
LaCugna won the first game against Hazlet and Levine won the clincher, holding Hazlet to just one run.
Through their three-years together, the Manalapan Babe Ruth stars have had a prolific offense.
"We’ve always scored runs," Lipariti remarked. "We have speed up front and our three-four-five hitters are all very good."
Michael Gaeta, center field, and Dominick Lipariti Jr., left field, are the set-up hitters at the top of the lineup. Both get on base consistently and have speed. Behind them, Petraglia (pitcher/first base), Bryan Glansberg, (pitcher/first base) and Mike Santoro (catcher), the three-four-five hitters, are all run producers.
Rounding out the starting lineup are Anthony Morelli, third base; LaCugna, pitcher/second base; Anthony Turano, third base; and Ranieri, pitcher/shortstop.
Completing the team were Vincent Buffone, catcher; and Steve Goromby, right field.
Fred Morelli and John LaCugna were the coaches.
"If this was their finale, it was a great way to go out," Lipariti said of his all-star team.

