At the very least, the Freehold Township Little League’s Junior League all-stars proved they belonged.
Even though they didn’t get the results they were looking for at last week’s Junior League Eastern Regional, which was hosted by the Freehold Township Little League at its Tighe Park facilities, they went 2-2 reaching the final four. They made their case that they weren’t just a host team fortunate to be there because of the situation (the District champion of the host Little League automatically qualified for the Regional).
“I’m real proud of the boys,” said manager Willy Correra. “There were four teams left and we were one of them.
“They proved we belonged here,” he added. “We were 2-2 against state champions.”
Freehold Township, the District 19 champion, opened play on Aug. 2 beating the Plainville, the Connecticut State champion, 16-4 in six innings.
The game that may have decided Freehold Township’s fate was against Massachusetts champion Canton. Township let a 3-0 lead slip away and they lost the game, 4-3, on an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh. The loss on Aug. 4 sent them to the losers’ bracket and they were back the next day to play Delaware champion M.O.T. from Middletown. Everyone had their hitting shoes on and the host team pounded out a 17-2 win on Tuesday afternoon that kept them alive.
The next afternoon, they were back on the field against Elkton (the Maryland champion). By losing the game in Canton, Freehold Township was going to have to win five games in three days to win the Eastern Regional pennant. They cleared the first hurdle against M.O.T., but Wednesday, Elkton ended their World Series dream with a 6-1 victory. A five-run third inning paved the way for the Maryland team.
“Timely hitting has been the key for us and didn’t get them today,” said Correra. “We hit a lot of balls right at them.”
Correra credited Maryland starter Abraham Adair with having something to do with the team’s inability to get hits with runners on base.
“He had a hesitation in his delivery,” he pointed out. “It threw their [Township hitters’] timing off.”
Freehold Township made the most of playing on its home field.
“They enjoyed the fans coming out to support them,” said Correra. “It was big for them to play at home.”
Freehold Township’s Juniors (ages 13-14) finished the summer with a 7-2 record in tournament play.
The members of the 2008 District 19 champions are: Drew Ballester, Michael Correa, Joseph DeLuca, Matthew Devorin, Matt Holtz, Matt LaCava, Connor Lewis, Ryan MacFarlane, Michael Patti, Brandon Simon and Anthony Vazzana.
Manager Willy Correa and coach Keith Lewis made up the coaching staff.
This is the fourth year that Freehold Township has played host to the Eastern Regional. In the previous three, New Jersey teams had won. Freehold Township won it as the host in 2005 and Middletown won as the host team last year. Sandwiched between the host wins, Burlington captured the title in 2006.
Champions praise FTLL
North Wall, which was the New Jersey State champion, had the chance to keep the streak going, but ran out of pitching and into an explosive Canton squad in Thursday’s final. North Wall stormed to a 12-6 win in the morning that forced the if-necessary game that followed immediately in the afternoon.
The tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Michael Tamasi (nicknamed “Little Poppy” by Canton fans) delivered the coup de grace in the sixth inning for the Massachusetts champs. His bases-clearing, three-RBI triple stretched Canton’s tenuous 6-3 lead to a commanding 9-3. The RBIs were his fifth, sixth and seventh of the game. Canton went on to win the final, 12-3, and punch their ticket to the Junior League World Series in Taylor, Mich.
“It will take awhile to process what we just did,” said Canton manager Michael Tamasi.
Canton went 4-1 in the tournament to lift its playoff record to 15-3. Wall’s tournament record was 16-3.
Freehold Township wasn’t the only team to throw a scare into Canton during the week. They had to overcome a five-run deficit against Pennsylvania champion, Berwyn Paoli Area, before winning 12-11. A three-run home run by Tamasi sparked the rally.
Manager Tamasi wasn’t concerned about his team’s bounce-back ability following the loss to North Wall.
“We’ve done it all year,” he pointed out. “We had to win five straight games to win the Districts and we were down in the state tournament. This is a really special team. We can hit the ball with anyone. I can’t say enough about them.”
While Canton impressed all with its play, Canton in turn was impressed with the way the Freehold Township Little League ran the tournament.
“It was an incredible experience,” said Tamasi. “Everyone from the [FTLL] president [Mike LaCava] and tournament committee to the Radisson Hotel to the people we met in restaurants, every person we dealt with was very friendly. They went out of the way to be friendly.
“I was impressed with the community,” he added.
Tamasi told the tournament committee afterward “you really care. It shows.”
Canton had one day off in the tournament and the team spent it at Six Flags Great Adventure.
“We had played four straight days,” noted manager Tamasi. “They deserved it.”

