ROBBINSVILLE: Softball 10s win first three at regionals

By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
   While the Robbinsville Little League 12-year-old all-star softball team is off at the Little League World Series, their 10-year-old team is enjoying a trip to its own division’s highest level.
   There is no Little League World Series at the 9/10 level, and the farthest they can advance is the Eastern Region. Robbinsville is in the driver’s seat in the Mid-Atlantic Division of the Eastern Region after opening with three straight wins.
   ”So far, so good,” said Robbinsville manager Jon Iorio, whose team was scheduled to play the New York state champion on Tuesday to wrap up pool play. “The girls are enjoying themselves because this is a special circumstance away from home, at a hotel. They’re playing, they’re in the pool. We went to a coal miner’s tour (Sunday).
   ”They’re having all sorts of life experiences. When it comes to game time, they go from happy-go-lucky to putting their game faces on. They turn a notch and bear down and go out and play their game.”
   It’s been everything they could ask for so far. They were challenged by Delaware before pulling away late for a 6-1 win Saturday. On Sunday, they burst out of the gates early on their way to a 14-2 win over Maryland. On Monday, they put down the Pennsylvania state champion, 9-2.
   ”I expected it to be a lot of fun, and it is a lot of fun,” said Robbinsville’s Becca Siracusa. “I expected the teams to be good. They are and we’re doing the best we can.”
   Robbinsville saw right away that the regional would be a far stiffer test than its previous section and state rounds. Delaware hung right with them.
   ”It sends a message to our girls that we’re in a very competitive atmosphere here,” Iorio said. “All the teams here are good. They’ve all won their state championships. They’re here for a reason.”
   Iorio’s squad hadn’t played a really close game since the District 12 tournament, but they saw early that the state championship teams had talent. Delaware gave Robbinsville as much as it could handle.
   ”They had us 1-1 late in the game,” Iorio said. “I believe it was going into the fifth inning, then we came up with some runs. They were very tough. They were a good team, a very competitive team and I think our girls came through when they had to.”
   There are high standards at Robbinsville, though, and the girls felt that they could have made things easier on themselves.
   ”The team was OK,” said Robbinsville’s Mackenzie Martin. “I think we should have beat them by a lot. I think we were dusting off our cobwebs. We were caught up in all the fun. Getting here was so chaotic. We dusted off the cobwebs and we were able to get that game done.”
   Robbinsville jumped all over Maryland at the start of its second game in the tournament and ended the game early by the mercy rule.
   ”We faced a pitcher who threw gas,” Iorio said. “She didn’t have the best control at times. Our girls were very patient. They knew when to attack the ball, when to take a pitch. We were able to get a lot of base runners by walks or key hits. We busted the first inning open with nine runs and took it from there.
   ”It was it similar to what we faced in the past. If this particular pitcher had better control today, it might have been a better outcome (for them). But we did manage to get to her. When she settled in, and was throwing strikes, we had hits. And our bench came through with some key hits. It’s always been a team effort.”
   Monday the run continued as they handed the Pennsylvania state champion their first loss of the tournament. It sealed a spot in the elimination round that begins today.
   ”I feel like every game we kind of get better,” Siracusa said. “We have some good hitting days. Sometimes we’re not hitting great, so we use bunting. We use what we can.”
   Robbinsville continues to rotate in the circle between Shea Krebs, who pitched the opener against Delaware, and Brynn Hopkins, who got the start against Maryland.
   ”We are, what I believe, one of the few teams that can come at you with more than one pitcher,” Iorio said. “It’s a good problem to have.”
   Behind whoever is in the circle, they have reliable fielding.
   ”I think it’s been good,” said Martin, the Robbinsville second baseman. “It’s kind of hard for all the teams to get around on our pitchers, but when they do, we do pretty good. When we get it hit to us, we do what we can to keep it in front of us. We always go for an out. It doesn’t matter if you mess up, you try to get an out the best way you can.”
   It’s not the same lineup in the field because both pitchers play the field when they’re not pitching. Siracusa has to be versatile.
   ”When Brynn pitches, I play first,” Siracusa said. “When Shea pitches, I play third.”At first, your priority is to catch the ball and stay on the bag. On third, it’s ball first and you have to have a good arm to make the throw from third and first. Shea can throw well and Brynn can catch the ball and throw hard, so whoever is there will do a good job.”
   When Robbinsville isn’t playing, they have been trying to soak up all the culture and entertainment that surrounds the host site, Old Forge, Pa.
   ”It’s really fun,” Martin said. “We’ve been on a coal mine tour. It’s been a really good experience that we’re all here and we made it this far. We have a lot of fun being a team, hanging out and doing all these fun activities.”
   The fast start has enabled them to enjoy themselves even more. They have shown up to their games ready to play, and they expect to do the same through the end of pool play and into the elimination round.
   ”I haven’t seen any teams, but I’ve heard some of them are good,” Martin said. “I’ve been talking to some of the other teams. They said they were good.”
   Teams are also noting Robbinsville’s talent. Robbinsville has tried to remain humble through its 3-0 beginnings, and it has put on a clinic at times.
   ”I feel like we all did the best we could,” Siracusa said. “And we made good out of what we could.”
   It’s all the Robbinsville coaches are looking for. In their first Little League trip outside their state, Robbinsville has been representing well and continuing to add to the legacy for the next team to come with a promising start to regionals.
   ”It’s all been really fun,” Siracusa said. “I really like the experience and I’m happy to be able to play my favorite sport out here.”