The Brick American Bulldogs 11-year-old baseball team won the township’s tournament last week, marking the fifth tournament title for the Brick American group this summer.
After South Wall emerged from the loser’s bracket on July 26, where they beat Point Boro, 7-0, they managed to knock off the Bulldogs, 3-2, the following night, forcing a championship game on Monday.
In the 3-2 loss, the Bulldogs’ Anthony Gearity pitched well, allowing just one hit over five innings or work. Brian Duckworth led the offensive attack, going 3-for-3, while Matt Rodgers was 2-for-3, and Andrew Nelson was 1-for-2 with an RBI.
In the final on Monday, it was all Brick, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 9-5 win, and the tournament title.
Cody Cutter was the winning pitcher, going six innings and allowing just three hits and two walks, while striking out nine batters.
Offensively, Duckworth was a force once again, collecting a hit, two walks and scoring two runs. Cutter helped himself with a pair of hits and two runs scored, while Rodgers also collected a pair of hits and scored two runs. Lou Racculia added a double and a runs scored, while Ryan Charterina had an RBI single and a runs scored.
Following the win, Duckworth was named the tournament’s MVP, after hitting .770 with an on-base percentage of .810. He had 10 hits in 21 at-bats, seven walks, 11 runs scored and two RBIs. And he did all of this while playing great defensively behind the plate, according to his manager, Ray Mannon.
"All the kids played great for us," Mannon said. "They practiced hard, and played with a lot of heart. It’s a great group of kids, and my coaches and myself could not be more proud of these talented young athletes."
The Bulldogs are Mike Brain, Gearity, Duckworth, Nelson, Charterina, Brian Jerome, Racculia, Jason Promisel, Cutter, Glenn McGuiness, Matt Rodgers, Tom Prtzyabalowski and Drew Etheras.
The coaches are Jeff Thompson and Bob Lepore