By doug mckenzie
Staff Writer
The East Brunswick Junior Legion baseball team made it through two rounds of eliminations last week in the state tournament, before falling to Gloucester Township on Monday.
After losing to Gloucester by one run on the first game on Saturday night, they came back on Sunday with a strong win over Holmdel’s finest, making it to the third round against Gloucester again. But that is where their tournament run came to an end.
This week, Gloucester lost to Brooklawn for the Southern District title. Brooklawn will vie for the N.J. State Junior American Legion championship against St. Joseph’s (Metuchen), the winner of the Northern district. The championship game is scheduled to be held today at Patty Bowker Field in Tabernacle at 8 p.m.
East Brunswick head coach Joe Cruz could not be happier with his team’s performance this summer, and said that the credit should be spread around to everyone associated with the program.
"Coach Marty Meyers and I are very proud of the outstanding sportsmanship, talent and competitiveness our team exhibited in the state championship southern bracket eliminations," he said. "We went further than many anticipated, and the boys proved that with their playing ability and determination, they could compete among the top teams in the state. To be ranked among the best in the county and among the top six American Legion teams in the state was quite a feat."
Cruz added that the team’s success was a direct result of its balance, though its lack of overall depth may have been the deciding factor in its eventual elimination.
"We had both an awesome offense and an excellent defense that took us to the Southern District finals, but we were lacking enough starting and relief pitchers to carry the team farther. We witnessed outstanding performances from our pitching staff and all of our players, but it just wasn’t enough with the day-after-day action. If we had a deeper pitching staff, we could have made it all the way to the state finals."
But he is quick to point out that the team left Tabernacle with no regrets.
"The competition against the best teams in the state was an experience our boys will certainly remember for a long time to come," he said. "On behalf of Coach Meyers and myself, we would like to thank those who are often overlooked, who sacrifice their time and commitment to their sons and the team — the parents, without whom this could not have been possible. Their sons’ success is a true reflection of their efforts and dedication.
"We also want to thank our sponsors, the East Brunswick Baseball League for its support and commitment to our team," he continued. "I’m sure that future East Brunswick American Legion teams that follow will measure their success by the standard set by this year’s team.
The 2003 EBBL Junior American Legion players are Rick Auteri, David Cruz, Robert Drako, Joseph Giaquinto, Justin Kaplan, Jason Karlowski, Michael Kerwin, William Krapf, Nicholas Meyers, David Silitsky, Angel Sotomayor, Frank Steinhauser, Zacary Tardiff, Anthony Viani and Eric Zimmerman.