By Wayne Witkowski
Chalk up this David vs. Goliath matchup for David.
That was the analogy manager Mike Altilio used describing his underdog Middletown Intermediate 13U Little League team’s chances in Section 3 in Middletown, where Jackson came in as a firm favorite. All but three players on that Jackson team had moved up from last year’s 12U squad that was one win away from the Little League World Series, winning the district, section, state and Mid-Atlantic championships before losing in the Eastern Region finals.
But Middletown had other ideas and showed gritty determination in registering a 5-3 victory over Jackson July 10 in the championship finale for the section.
There wasn’t much time for celebration, as Middletown headed into the four-team state championships July 13 against Section 1 champion Ridgewood. Bayonne of Section 2 played Vineland of Section 4 in the other bracket afterward. There will be a winners bracket game and losers bracket game in which one team will be eliminated July 14. The two teams left with one loss will play July 15 for the right to take on the last unbeaten team left July 16 for the championship. Another game, if needed, will be played the following day.
“I’m proud of them. They deserved to be there,” said Altilio, who had entered the tournament with a hopeful, humble attitude. “We’re off on Monday and back at practice on Tuesday. Everybody’s really happy with this. We knew we had a tough challenge, and Jackson has good ballplayers. We won two out of three games against Jackson, which is a great feeling, exciting.”
And Jackson had denied Middletown in the championship finals in 2013 and 2014 — but not this time.
Earlier in the tournament, Middletown sent Jackson into the losers bracket of the double-elimination tournament with a 7-5 victory. Jackson roared back in the championship round with an 8-4 victory earlier July 10 to force the do-or-die return that evening.
“This team has good chemistry. It’s our pitching, our speed on the bases and our defense,” Altilio said. “I think we committed one error in the championship game and right after that got a double play. We had a couple of key catches in center field [by C.J. Miranda] and a really good play on a high popup to second base [by Anthony Tucci].”
And Middletown has a well-rounded player in Robert Gonzalez leading the star-studded lineup, much like Tom Cartrnick did for Jackson’s 12U championship team last year before devoting his time this season to elite travel teams.
“It’s always tough when you have to win two games back-to-back against a good team,” Jackson manager Tim Beck said. “They really wanted it. Our downfall in the second game [for the championship] was our bats. You have to score runs to win games.”
In the championship finale, Colin Dowlen put Jackson on its heels before Middletown’s first out was recorded when he belted a three-run homer after Gonzalez and Tucci walked. It was Dowlen’s fourth home run of the tournament.
Middletown never lost the lead from there, as Gonzalez went the distance on the mound with a five-hitter, striking out six and walking two. He threw 95 pitches.
But Gonzalez had to shake off Ryan Lasko’s two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to center field after Dan Greenwood singled to pull Jackson to 3-2.
Gonzalez, who hit two home runs in Middletown’s 7-5 victory over Jackson early in the tournament, sent a 3-0 pitch from Tyler Beck leading off the third inning over the right center field fence for a 4-2 lead that proved to be the winning run.
“Aside from those two pitches [for home runs], Tyler bounced back from the start of the game and we had a good defensive game but did not get our bats going the way we knew we could,” manager Beck said, as his son, Tyler, allowed five hits, striking out seven and walking one before Lasko relieved in the last inning.
Jackson answered in the home third, pulling to 4-3 when Jake Wendell slapped a single, advanced on a walk and groundout and scored on a wild pitch with two out.
Mark Romano restored Middletown’s two-run lead with a sacrifice fly. It scored Gonzalez, who was intentionally walked and then stole second and third, for the 5-3 lead.
Jackson, meanwhile, was held in check over the closing innings.
In the earlier game, Jackson secured its 8-4 victory when Tyler Beck belted a solo home run in the home fourth inning for a 5-4 lead. Dan Greenwood padded the lead in the fifth inning with a run-scoring double, and winning pitcher Caden Brooks laid down a well-executed suicide squeeze bunt in the sixth inning that drove in the final two runs after Beck lined a double, Wendell was hit by a pitch and both advanced on a passed ball.
Middletown struck first when Gonzalez led off the game with a home run. Jackson rallied back with four runs, three scoring off passed balls and another on a single by Matt Feld.
Middletown came back to tie it at 4-4 with timely hits by Pat Marinich. He lined a two-run double in the second inning that scored Miranda and Nicholas Altilio, who both walked, and smashed a run-scoring single in the fourth inning that drove in Altilio, who poked a single and stole second. Brooks gave up five hits with eight strikeouts and five walks.
Middletown moved into the championship round with a 21-3 victory over Edison July 8. Dowlen got things started with a three-run homer in the first inning and Gonzalez blasted a grand slam in the fourth inning. Anthony Tucci helped put the game out of reach in an eight-run second inning by lashing a two-run single.
Dowlen drove in six runs with two hits and Gonzalez finished with four hits. Grady Hendrickson tagged a solo homer in the fourth inning.
But it was a 7-5 comeback victory over Jackson in the opening game July 6 that set the scene for the championship showdown. Gonzalez belted a two-run homer in the sixth inning, his second one of the game, that gave Middletown its first lead at 7-5, after Middletown came into the inning trailing, 5-4.
“That win was absolutely huge because that Jackson team is fundamentally good, very well-coached,” manager Altilio said afterward. “We played very good defense.”
Miranda’s baserunning produced the first run of the comeback rally, as he had a hit, stole second and scored the tying run on an overthrow to third while he was stealing that base. Matt Maguire collected three hits for two RBIs.