Krebs tosses no-hitter in opening game of state Final Four play

By: Kyle Moylan
   Going into the Little League Tournament for 10-year-olds, Ryan Krebs had no idea how good the Washington baseball team was.
   Turns out Washington is pretty good. And that Krebs fellow is one of the reasons why.
   Pitching in the first game of the state Final Four on Sunday night in Red Bank, Krebs tossed a no-hitter as Washington opened up with a 10-0 win over Livingston.
   "It (the no-hitter) was my first one," Krebs said. "I thought I threw strikes. I just had to know my (pitching) stance."
   That’s one of the keys to pitching consistently well — have the same motion, delivery and release point.
   The consistency was also in the results. Krebs got out after out. An assist to the no-hitter goes to center fielder Brandon Klein who made a great catch.
   Krebs also benefited from a pretty consistent Washington offensive attack. The team scored four runs in the first, five in the third and finished the game out via the blowout rule with a run in the bottom of the fourth.
   Ryan Hayes and Thomas Taylor had run-scoring hits in the first. Ross Colton and Jim Matt scored the other runs in the inning on wild pitches.
   Colton had a run-scoring triple in the third. Krebs also singled in a run. Three Livingston errors in the inning also helped out Washington’s offense.
   The game ended in the fourth when Ben Sanders singled and was moved to third on a hit by Ryan Hayes. Sanders then scored on a wild pitch.
   Hayes kept his hot hitting going from the Section 3 Tournament. In a 6-5 win over Manasquan-Brielle in the Section 3 title game, Hayes was 4-for-4.
   "I’m seven-for-seven the past two games," Hayes noted after Sunday’s win. "Before each game we do batting practice and soft toss. I’m feeling pretty good up at the plate."
   Tommy Taylor knocked in Sanders with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. This capped off a heck of a comeback by Washington, which trailed 5-1 going into the bottom of the sixth.
   Hayes was on first with a single with two outs in the sixth when Matt DeAngelis hit a grounder to second.
   "Thinking back on it, that was the play of the game," noted Washington Manager Peter Hayes. "Ryan stopped and jumped over the ball. The second baseman was distracted enough that he bobbled the ball. It was a big play."
   Instead of the game being over and Washington and Manasquan forced to come back the next night for a decisive contest for the Section 3 championship, up came Klein, who doubled in a run. Ross Colton followed with a three-run homer.
   "When certain things start falling into place, you starting thinking that (this is our year)," noted the Washington manager.
   His son was thinking the same way.
   "Once he (Colton) hit that, I knew we were back in the game and the whole team would be hitting," Ryan Hayes said.
   Colton had three hits, two runs scored and three RBI. Krebs had two hits. Matt had a hit and RBI. Klein had two hits and a run scored. Sean Hunter had a hit. DeAngelis had a run scored and RBI.
   The comeback gave Krebs the win in relief. He then made it two in a row with the no-hitter on Sunday.
   The win over Manasquan-Brielle was the second in a row for Washington over that squad. Colton had two doubles in the first inning as Washington scored eight runs on the way to a 10-6 victory earlier against Manasquan-Brielle. Hayes, DeAngelis and Sanders all had doubles in the game.
   "I never thought we’d make it this far," Krebs said. "Once we won districts, I started to think we might do well in sections. Once we won sections, I started to think about states."
   Regardless how they do, the tournament stops for 10-year-olds at the state level.
   "I wish we could just keep on playing," Krebs said. "I don’t want to stop at states."
   No one from Washington, it seems, is ready to stop playing.
   "If you go by our neighborhood, there are a lot of banners hanging outside of houses," Krebs noted. "This has been a lot of fun."
   A lot of fun, backed by a lot of talent.
   "It’s been a nice run," noted Manager Hayes. "Like I have been telling the boys, ‘this is the farthest any boys team from Washington has gone. Look how far you have gone.’ Everything else is icing on the cake."
   Well, the icing got a little thicker and tastier on Monday as Washington defeated Milburn, 6-0. This earned Washington the right to play for the state title last night against the winner of this past Tuesday’s Milburn/Pennsville game.
   As the only team in the double-elimination tournament without a loss, Washington has two games to win the state title. A win last night would clinch a state title. A loss would set up a decisive game tonight.