Local 12’s playing well in District 12 baseball action

Perri tosses no-hitter for Florence squad

By: Sean Moylan
   The Florence 12-year-old Little League All-Star baseball team sandwiched two fantastic games around one bad one to post a 2-1 record in Pool B going into this past Tuesday’s scheduled game versus Cranbury-Plainsboro at West Windsor.
   In a contest which began last Wednesday (June 27) and ended Friday, Florence defeated Princeton, 11-2, at home.
   Florence had a 7-2 advantage when the game was halted because of rain on Wednesday in the top of the fourth with Greg Perri, who had singled, at first. When play resumed on Friday, Shawn Carmignani ran for Perri, T.J. Karwowski walked and Kendrell David (3-for-4 with three runs scored and a RBI) singled to juice the bases for Jonathan Wilkins, who crushed a long grand slam homer over the center field wall to end all doubt.
   "I did what I had to do. I wasn’t sure it was going out and then I saw the outfielder react," said Wilkins, who was 3-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored. He even retired the last four batters of the game (two strikeouts) while keeping his pitch count under 20.
   David also had three hits, scored three runs and drove in a run. But David, who is a standout center fielder and third baseman, caught everyone’s eye with his sterling play at second base.
   Florence manager Tom Karwowski said he would move guys around in Districts. But it was the way he handled his pitching staff in the Princeton game which was even more impressive. Karwowski, who started and got the win, went 2 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits while fanning three. Fillmyer (1 inning, three K’s, no runs), Perri (1 2/3 innings, 3 K’s no hits or runs allowed) and Wilkins (1 1/3 scoreless innings) all pitched for the winners but only Karwowski threw over 20 pitches (which meant the other three were still eligible to pitch the next day).
   "I’ve got clickers and charts. It’s hard when you have just two coaches," said Karwowski. "Basically, you just have to keep a real close eye on the pitch count."
   Offensively, Perri (2-for-4, run), Dakota Benish (hit, RBI, two runs), Butler (1-for-3 with a RBI) and Ben Horner (1-for-2 with three RBI) all hit well versus Princeton.
   By taking out Perri after he had thrown his 20th pitch, Karwowski kept him eligible for Saturday’s game versus Chambersburg at Allentown. It was a good thing too, because Perri went out and no-hit Chambersburg 10-0 in five innings.
   "I batted my best and it helped me get more confident on the mound," said Perri, who doubled in a run and scored three times in the contest. Perri struck out nine and walked just one. But he still had to work for his no-hitter.
   "The smaller batters are hard to pitch to," noted Perri, who had previously thrown a no-hitter in a 9 year-old tournament. Fillmyer had two hits and scored twice.
   "I batted righty and hit one up the middle and then I batted lefty and hit one up the middle," said Fillmyer.
   In the second, Karwowski blasted a two-run dinger which plated Matt Sovak, who had reached on a single. David (two hits, a run), Wilkins (single, RBI, run) and Brett Butler (run, RBI) also had big games. Carmignani made his only official plate appearance count with a single.
   Last Thursday, Washington beat Florence, 21-2, at Washington. Hours before the contest the game location was changed, which left Florence a little behind in its pre-game workouts. Still Florence, which several errors, credited Washington with playing a great game. Fillmyer took the loss. Karwowski hit a two-run homer.
   A win versus Cranbury-Plainsboro would secure Florence a place in the Final 9. Florence could also advance via tiebreakers.