Freehold American wins state Little League crown

Freehold American wins
state Little League crown
Bristol and East Region
next for Township Stars
By tim morris
Staff Writer

Freehold Township American’s Little League All-Stars (ages 11-12) had little to prove at last week’s Little League state championships.

In winning the District 19 and Section 3 titles, the Stars had already established that they were an outstanding collection of talent that also played well as a group. They had dominated the playoff competition, and when they had to come from behind to win a game, they did.

At South Vineland, the Freehold Township Stars were put to the ultimate test. Last Wednesday night, they faced elimination for the very first time. Ridgewood had handed Freehold Township its first loss of the tournament, 2-1, the night before, creating a winner-take-all final on July 30. Freehold Township had won the winner’s bracket, and with the tournament being double-elimination, Ridgewood, who had been the state tournament’s comeback story with a series of come-from-behind wins, had to beat Township twice.

When Ridgewood rallied yet again from a 1-0 deficit to grasp another victory from the jaws of defeat, they had the momentum going into the final.

The questions surrounding the talented Freehold Township team was how it would react to its first loss of the year and playing in an elimination game for the first time.

Manager Anthony Cirillo wondered the same thing.

"When I sat them down in the outfield after the game, I expected to see down faces," he said. "There weren’t any. They were ready to go,"

Besides being ready, Township had one other thing going for it — pitcher Chris Bresnahan.

"I felt comfortable handing him the ball," said Cirillo.

And, why shouldn’t he. It was Bresnahan who pitched the District and Section clinchers, and he was being called upon one more time to secure a championship for the All-Stars.

Bresnahan rose to the occasion, firing a one-hitter. He carried a no-hitter into the sixth.

"Chris has a 70-mile-per-hour fastball and a wicket curve," noted Cirillo.

The wicket curve ball had Ridgewood batters swinging at air. When Ridgewood did hit the ball, Freehold Township’s defense took care of it.

"We only made one error in the entire tournament," said Cirillo. "We made plays that were unbelievable."

Bresnahan would get all the run support he needed via Dr. Longball. In the third in­ning, Bresnahan singled and scored on Jim Morrill’s home run.

In the fifth, Anthony (A.C.) Cirillo made it 3-0 with a solo blast.

All that remained after Cirillo’s hit left the park was for Bresnahan to bring it home, which he did. And with that, Free­hold Township became the home of the Little League state champions for 2003.

"They were in heaven," said Cirillo. "As soon as they won, they were jumping on each other. When the New York Times and Daily News photographers were on the field taking pictures, that’s when it hit me: This is it. These kids did it."

Now, it’s on to the Mid-Atlantic Re­gional in Bristol, Conn., this week, where the winner will advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Freehold Township will have the same elements working for it this week as it did in the District, Section and State tourna­ments. The All-Stars have depth on the mound with Mike Miranda, Bresnahan and A.C. Cirillo; each a quality starter. They have the defense behind them, and an of­fense that can play small ball or long ball. It is a complete team, and that’s a prerequi­site to winning a Regional title.

Since the Freehold Township American All-Stars were first assembled back in June, manager Cirillo has seen the team grow.

"We weren’t as focused," he said. "When we first got together, they were kidding around a lot. Not now. They’re on a mission. They want to go out and get it done."

Getting it done this week would mean a trip to the Little League World Series.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional has six teams from five states — New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware, plus the District of Columbia. The teams will be involved in pool play throughout the week. The top four teams will advance to the semi-finals on Satur­day. The winners can be seen playing for the Mid-Atlantic Regional title on Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

The Freehold American all-stars are: Anthony (A.C.) Cirillo, Chris Bresnahan, John Morrill, Dan Klinsky, Steve Talbot, Jerry Plescia, Shawn Purves, Mike Mi­randa, Mike Tumminia, Mark Sorbara, Justin Perez and Austin Snyer.