By doug mckenzie
Staff Writer
The Monroe Township 10-year-olds fell to San Luis, Ariz., in their second Babe Ruth World Series game, ending their incredible 2002 campaign in Bakersfield, Calif.
The Monroe squad simply ran out of luck against a pair of outstanding teams, and were unable to add to what has been a brilliant run through the summer season.
Monroe jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against the team from San Luis as Tim Brix and Alex Vizcaino scored on a Zachary Batchelor single. Chris Pritzlaff added a single to load the bases, but Monroe was unable to push across any more runners.
San Luis cut the lead with a double and single in the bottom of the inning. In the second, Monroe again went on the attack as Eric Paone walked and moved to third on a Tim Brix single. Paone stole home on a wild pitch, and Andy Sullivan plated the other run with a double.
San Luis would add a run of its own in the second on an error, followed by a double. Monroe surrendered the lead to San Luis in the third on a couple of errors and two hits. Trailing 5-4, Monroe took the lead in the top of the fourth as Ryan Miller and Brix led off with walks, followed by a Vizcaino RBI single. Brix then stole home on a wild pitch.
San Luis would take the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth, as it plated eight runs on seven hits and two errors. Monroe yielded a couple of runs in the fifth, but failed to mount an attack in the last two innings.
Nick Russo went three innings and pitched well to hold down the bats of the San Luis team to four runs. Vizcaino, Keith Sanchez and Kyle Waldron each pitched an inning and threw well, but fell victim to hot San Luis bats.
On Saturday, the Monroe team dropped a close 5-3 game to Lexington, Ky.
Monroe took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the Lexington game when Chris Pritzlaff reached on an infield single. Frank Ruopoli doubled in the run. Lexington bounced back with four runs in the bottom of the inning on four hits and one miscue in the field.
The game stayed 4-1 until Monroe plated another run in the fifth. Eric Paone and Nick Russo led off the inning with walks and moved ahead on a Tim Brix groundout. Paone then stole home on a wild pitch.
With a 4-2 lead, Lexington added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth on two hits. Monroe would again mount a rally in the sixth. Andy Sullivan hit a double off the center field fence and moved up on an Adam Peterson single. Pritzlaff then plated the run with a sacrifice fly. Monroe loaded the bases with a Paone single and Russo walk, but the rally just fell short.
Sullivan pitched a fine game, going the distance and scattering eight hits and three walks, while striking out three. Monroe’s offense produced nine hits of their own. Pritzlaff and Sullivan each had two hits, while Ryan Miller, Brix, Peterson, Ruopoli and Paone each added key hits. Monroe’s defense was sharp with Miller and Pritzlaff making nice catches in the outfield, and Zachary Batchelor and Brix making key plays in the infield.
Despite going 0-for-2 in Bakersfield, the Monroe 10-year-olds had a tremendous summer season, proving to be the top 10-year-old squad in the entire Middle Atlantic Region.
Just qualifying for the Babe Ruth World Series is a feat in itself, and the Monroe squad has distinguished itself as a talented group of ballplayers at a very young age.
The team members are Zachary Batchelor, Tim Brix, James Domino, Ryan Miller, Eric Paone, Adam Peterson, Chris Pritzlaff, Frank Ruopoli, Nick Russo, Keith Sanchez, Andy Sullivan, Alex Vizcaino, and Kyle Waldron.