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The South Plainfield Tournament trophy is back where it belongs.
For the third time in four years, the Monroe Township Baseball Association’s 11-year-old Purple team laid claims to the SP Tourney title by taking a 6-2 win over Woodbridge in the championship game.
After winning the title as 8- and 9-year-olds in 2002 and 2003, Monroe "slipped" to second place last year before rebounding for another title this time around. The Purples are 28-1 all-time in South Plainfield play, and their only loss was by one-run in the last inning of last year’s title game.
This year, Monroe outscored its opponents, 64-23 in the tournament. Victor Sorrento and Bobby Dudik combined to strike out seven in the championship game. Tyler Cushman, Dudik and Mikey Stryker each had two hits for the winners.
The 11’s opened the tourney with a 9-8 win over Edison Boys, as Ryan Germano, Dudik and Sorrento combined on the pitching. Sorrento was 4-for-4, Chris Tagliaferro had three hits and Chris Viani, Stryker and Chris Laino each had two hits and one walk.
That was followed with a 13-4 win over Hillsborough, as Anthony Battaglia, Viani, Sorrento and Dudik combined for seven strikeouts. Cushman, Dudik and Kyle Michaud each had three hits, while Viani, Tagliaferro and Laino (walk) had two each.
The Purples then rolled to an 18-0 win over Denville as Cushman and Dudik were both 4-for-4, while Tagliaferro was 3-for-3 and Viani, Stryker and Sorrento each had two hits. Viani, Battaglia, Sorrento and Dudik combined to strike out eight.
Things were a little closer in a 9-5 win over Metuchen, as Germano and Sorrento handled the pitching. Dudik was 4-for-4, Stryker had two hits, including a three-run homer that gave Monroe the lead, and Sorrento had two hits with a solo homer. Cushman and Viani each added two hits.
In the semifinals, Monroe knocked off host South Plainfield, 9-4, as Cushman, Dudik and Laino each had two hits while Tagliaferro hit a home run. Michael Hoegler went the distance, striking out three.
For the tournament, Sorrento hit .667 with seven RBI, Stryker hit .643 with 10 RBI and Dudik hit .600 with four RBI. Other hot hitters were Viani (.550, five RBI), Cushman (.524, five RBI), Jake Rickard (.500, RBI), Laino (.462), Tagliaferro (.438, nine RBI), Michaud (.290, two RBI), Germano (three RBI) and Battaglia (four RBI).
The team was managed by Bob Dudik, and Dan Laino, Gary Cushman and Andrew Tagliaferro were coaches.
UNDER-8
Monroe’s youngest all-stars are on a roll, having won eight of their last nine games to raise their summer mark to 10-3.
In the East Brunswick Slugfest Tournament, Monroe is 3-1 and scheduled to play in the Manalapan finals July 30. In Flemington, the 8’s are 4-0 and have outscored foes, 46-4. They begin Saturday’s playoff round as the top seed.
Monroe is outscoring opponents by a 3-1 margin overall, thanks to strong pitching performances by Shane Palmer and Joe Rossano. Both have ERA’s under 1.00. The solid defense is anchored by an infield of Bryce Horn, Mike Cordova, Brendan Germano and Christian Bartholomew. Monroe has committed just six errors in 13 games.
Offensively, Eric Houlihan, Dylan Wood and Matt Cocorikis have been solid performers, while seven-year-olders Matt Horn, Ryan Turco and Rico Viani have used speed and smarts to wreak havoc on the base paths with their aggressive base running. Monroe began district play this week.
UNDER-12
The Purples opened Cal Ripken state tournament play Saturday by taking a 3-1 win over Manalapan, which did not lose a game in its district tournament.
Alex Vizcaino allowed no runs and no hits while striking out four in three innings, and Nick Dini allowed one run and two hits while striking out five in three innings. Jimmy Small went 2-for-2 with a first-inning RBI, and Dini had an RBI hit in the third. Dini, Vizcaino and Mike Scarrone had big defensive games.
That game was followed by a 10-0 loss to Flemington, a team Monroe had beaten 22-1 during a tournament last night.
"They picked the right day to play us and we picked the wrong day to play them," manager Oscar Vizcaino said. "Either we hit hard shots but they were right to them, or they nice defensive plays on blasts in the holes and in the gaps. We also made two errors that led to eight unearned runs."
UNDER-13
The Golds took an 8-4 win over the Holmdel Hornets to open the Monroe Summer Tournament, as Ted Moke fired a complete game. Moke allowed six hits, struck out five and made several key infield plays. Outstanding defensive efforts came from Ralf Paone, Kevin Conklin, and Adam Peterson. At the plate, Moke, Brian Dennis Paone, John Dougherty and Mike Cutrone each had two hits, and Conklin, Brian Dooley and Anthony Torres each contributed key hits. Dougherty drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning that turned the game.
