Washington 12’s finish pool play undefeated

By: Kyle Moylan
   After winning the District 12 title as 10-year-olds two years ago, Washington struggled as 11-year-olds and didn’t even make it out of pool play.
   Well, guess what? They’re back.
   Washington finished off pool play in the District 12 Tournament with a 4-0 record and by outscoring its opposition 53-12.
   "Yeah, we managed to get down a few bunts and scratch out a couple of runs," Washington Manager Steve Krebs laughed.
   "Seriously, you just don’t know what to think until the games start. You see them hitting the ball out of the park in practice and making all the plays. You think you have a good team, but you don’t know."
   Krebs does now. Everyone does now.
   Washington opened pool play with a 9-5 win over Cranbury. Matt Samel started and allowed four runs (two earned) in four innings of work. Tim Nemazie pitched the last two innings and allowed one unearned run.
   The pitching was backed by a lot of hitting. Drew DeAngelis had two hits, a run scored and three RBI. C.J. Gearhart had two hits and two runs scored. Andrew Dimaggio had three hits, two runs scored and a RBI. Steve Krebs (two hits) and Drew Clark both had a run scored and RBI. Sean Buecker, JJ McGuigan and Tim Nemazie added a RBI each.
   "We just kept scratching and clawing for runs," Krebs noted.
   And when everyone in the lineup can hit, runs have a way of popping up on the board really quick. That was never clearer than when Washington scored nine runs in the top of the first on the way to a 21-2 win over a very good Florence team in a game stopped after four innings by the blowout rule.
   "That was just one of those nights," Krebs said. "We know Florence is one of the best teams in the district. Everything just went well for us that night."
   Samel had two homers and finished with seven RBI. Dimaggio homered and drove in two. Nemazie had two hits and three runs scored. Gearhart had two doubles, two runs scored and two RBI. Buecker had two hits and a run scored. DeAngelis had two hits, three RBI and four runs scored. Krebs had a hit and two runs scored. Krebs also tossed a complete game, allowing just two hits.
   Washington followed that with an 18-5 win over Sunnybrae. This game was ended by the blowout rule when Shawn Flynn hit a grand slam in the last of the fifth.
   "I thought we were good, but I didn’t know we were this good," Dimaggio said. "After the Florence and Sunnybrae games, I started to believe that we could win districts.
   "Sunnybrae and Florence are both good teams. I figured those would be two tough, close games. Then we go out and get nine runs in the first inning against Florence."
   Clark threw all five innings against Sunnybrae to pick up the win. Clark added a RBI and three runs scored on offense. Gearhart had four hits, four RBI and four hits. Krebs had a three-run double and finished with four RBI. Nemazie had three hits. Craig Hunter scored two runs.
   "Sunnybrae has always been kind of our arch rival," Krebs noted. "The final score wasn’t indicative of what kind of game it was. It was a high-energy, competitive game."
   The thing which has made Washington so good is its ability to get production from everyone. This proved vital on Sunday as Krebs elected to give Chris Karousatos his first district start against Chambersburg in a game he thought would have less pressure.
   It turns out Karousatos had to pitch the game of the tournament for his team and drive in the winning run to help Washington defeated Chambersburg, 5-0, and stay undefeated in pool play.
   "He threw six magnificent innings," Krebs noted.
   Karousatos allowed just four hits. His only real jam was in the top of the fourth when he walked Estevon Gonzalez and then gave up a double to Gabriel Colon. C.J. Gearhart ended the jam, however, by firing a strike from left field to third baseman Samel, who tagged out Gonzalez as he overslid the bag.
   In the bottom of the fourth, Clark and Buecker singled and Hunter reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases with one out. Karousatos then connected for a two-run single. Krebs followed with a run-scoring groundout.
   In the bottom of the fifth, Dimaggio added a two-run homer.
   "The only time I really felt comfortable was after Dimaggio hit that home run," Karousatos said. "This is my first time playing in all-stars and pitching in the districts. I can’t believe how well I did."
   This could be said about everyone on the Washington team. Everyone knew they were good. They have been great.
   Washington advances on to the District 12 Final Nine, which will be held at Lawrence this week.
   10’S
   The Washington 10-year-olds will be managed by Peter Hayes, with Jimmy Matt serving as a coach and will open play on Saturday.
   The 11 players on the team are Ross Colton, Matt DeAngelis, Ryan Hayes, Sean Hunter, Brandon Klein, Ryan Krebs, Jimmy Matt, Chris May, Ben Sanders, Thomas Taylor and Brandon Valentin.
   The team will open with a game at 5 p.m. at Sunnybrae on Saturday. It will play Ewing at 3 p.m. on Sunday at West End. On Tuesday, Washington will host Florence at 8 p.m. Pool play concluded with Washington facing East Windsor at Nottingham at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
   11’S
   The Washington 11-year-olds will be managed by Pasquale DeChiara, with Tony Ulisse serving as his coach. The team will open up District 12 Little League pool play on Sunday.
   The members of Washington’s team are Peter Barna, Dalton Bisher, J.T. Bucsek, Anthony DeChiara, Stephen Dranoff, Nick Ferraro, Brandon Johnston, Anthony Massi, Adam Rosen, Drew Schoen and Alec Ulisse.
   The team will open up pool play against Princeton 3 p.m. at Sunnybrae on Sunday. On Wednesday, Washington will play Nottingham at 6 p.m. at West Windsor. Washington will host West Windsor at 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 12. On Saturday, July 14, Washington will play Sunnybrae at Princeton at 3 p.m.