Matawan’s 11-year-old All-Stars will carry the mantle of District 11 champions as well as a recent North Edison tournament title when they host the Cal Ripken Babe Ruth state championships this week.
Games begin today at Toomer Field on Middlesex Road.
“We could’ve gone into the state tournament as the host team, but we wanted to earn it as champions of the tournament,” said coach Steve Salot, whose team won its first district title after finishing second twice before. The team went 5-0, including a championship 17-10 victory over Manalapan. Because Matawan already had a spot in the state clinched as host, Manalapan qualified as the district representative. Salot said he also expects a strong challenge from East Brunswick.
Matawan’s grounds crew has worked hard at preparing the field and the parking lot. Salot said anywhere from six to eight teams will compete in the tournament that concludes on Wednesday, July 27. That champion advances to the regional tournament at a site to be determined.
“Our players come from a small town, but they still play on a high level,” said Salot. Matawan recently won the North Edison tournament title, 10-3, over the Hillsborough Heat asAustin Nappi and Matthew Fitzsimmons split the pitching, while Derek Jordan made some solid defensive plays at second base and shortstop Stephan Salot cracked three hits for two RBIs. Matawan went 6-0 in the tournament.
“Right now we’re playing really good baseball, and when we play our best baseball, we have a chance to compete with any team in the state,” said Salot. “In January, we started [workouts], and that’s the earliest for us and it paid off. In the past it’s been pitching and defense, and this year our bats woke up.”
Seven of the 12 players are together for their fourth season, and all have adjusted to the change of a deeper distance from the mound to home plate and along the base paths. In prior years, when the players were younger, the distance from the mound to the plate at younger levels is 46 feet and the distance along the base paths is 60 feet. Once they moved up to the 11-and-under group, the distances increased to 50/70.
“They have adjusted well, and the coaches have done a lot of work with this high level,” said Salot, who credited the work of coaches Tom Fitzsimmons, Patrick Dunne andAnthony Tutrone, who has been a “big force” in the emphasis on hitting.
“I am enjoying this,” said Salot. “We asked the parents to make the commitment from the last day of school to July 31. We asked them to go all over with us, and we are fostering a feeling of family and having a good time. We’re laying the groundwork for them to play baseball at a higher level.
Cleanup hitter Matt Fitzsimmons, the third baseman, has belted a dozen homers going into opening-round games of tournaments last weekend to help Matawan prepare for the Cal Ripken tournament. Leadoff hitter Dominick Tutrone, the center fielder, and John Carelli, the right fielder, who bats sixth, have the top batting averages on the team.
Nappi, who plays in the outfield when he isn’t throwing his four- and two-seam fastballs, plays in the outfield and bats fifth in the order. Carelli, Salot and first baseman Jake Burlew also pitch.
Michael Dunne and Pat Caraglino share innings behind the plate at catcher, and Rich Olsen plays in left field. Bennett DiSabatino and Patrick Rielly, a newcomer selected to the team this season, also play in the outfield.
Players are selected in voting by the Matawan league’s managers. Four teams played in the league, with the Orioles beating the Rangers for the title. Dunne, Burlew and DiSabatino played for the Orioles, and Salot, Fitzsimmons, Olsen and Tutrone played for the Rangers.
In some warm-up tournaments over the weekend, Matawan split four tournament games to go to 13-2 overall.
Matawan lost both games to its toughest rival, East Brunswick, by a 9-6 score in the Edison Tournament, as Fitzsimmons belted a three-run homer and Carelli and Nappi pitched well; and 10-8 in the East Brunswick Tournament, as Matawan got good hitting up and down the lineup and good pitching from Fitzsimmons and Carelli. Salot said the team learned a lot for the next time they may play East Brunswick, as they expect to do in the state tournament.
“Next time we have to do a better job with small ball and tighten up the defense a little bit,” said Salot. “We have to play a perfect game against a team like that, although there was no lack of effort when we played them over the weekend.”
Matawan also won a pair of tournament games over the weekend, beating Edison, 12-2, in the East Brunswick Tournament behind Tutrone’s three hits and the pitching of Burlew. It also had a 10-0 victory over Edison National in the Edison Tournament as Salot pitched the shutout in the game shortened to four innings by the 10-run rule. Dunne had three hits.
Matawan this week played Bayonne in the East Brunswick Tournament on July 19, and Hazlet the following day in the Edison Tournament.