By Tim Morrs
“It’s been a wonderful ride,” said Jeff Gorman, the manager of the Freehold Township Little League’s Major League all-star team. “It’s not over yet.”
The ride has taken the all-stars all the way to the state tournament, which begins July 28 in Gloucester City.
Playing on its home field July 21, Freehold Township defeated defending champion Bordentown, 6-0, to win the Section 3 championship and earn a berth in the state tournament.
“We just played a perfect game,” Gorman said.
John Abrahamsen pitched the shutout and Jonathan Olik smacked two runs in the championship game for Freehold Township.
“He hit every spot,” Gorman said. “He busted hitters in with the fastball. He has a strong curve, and he threw it for strikes. He mixed his pitches to keep [hitters] off balance.”
The trend of the game was set in the very first inning when Freehold Township scored in the top of the first without getting a hit. Zachary Gorman drew a walk, took second on a sacrifice and came around to score on two wild pitches. That gave Freehold Township the early momentum, and it never looked back.
Freehold Township, which had gone through the District 19 tournament without a loss (4-0), got its first taste of adversity in the section tournament, where it faced elimination for the first time this summer.
The all-stars beat Bordentown, 5-3, in their first game in the section tournament and then went on to beat Holbrook, 7-2, and North Howell, 4-0, in the winner’s bracket final.
Bordentown, which also won the state title last year, bounced back from its opening-round loss to Freehold Township to beat Clark, 7-6, Holbrook, 23-13, and North Howell, 12-0, to earn a second shot at Freehold Township in the double-elimination tournament. Bordentown forced the if-necessary final when it beat Freehold Township, 13-3, sending the team to its first loss of the summer.
Looking back after his team’s positive response to the Bordentown defeat, manager Gorman said that it may have been the best thing for his team. If there was a time to lose a game, it was when his team did.
Now, Freehold Township moves on to the state tournament with an 8-1 record and added confidence having survived an elimination game.
Freehold Township took a gamble during the tournament that paid off in the end.
In its game with Holbrook, Abrahamsen was the starting pitcher, and he had thrown 65 pitches through four inning with Freehold Township holding a 6-1 lead. If Abrahamsen was pulled then, he would be available for the if-necessary game. Or Freehold Township could have let him complete the game and be assured of the win.
“We rolled the dice,” Gorman said. “We took him out, and the relief [pitching] held up.”
Freehold Township went on to the 7-2 win, and Abrahamsen pitched his gem against Bordentown in the championship game.
Freehold Township will play Randolph West in the first round of the state tournament July 28. The other two teams vying for the state title are Upper Township (Cape May County) and Rutherford. They play the first game of the July 28 doubleheader at 6 p.m. with Freehold Township vs. Randolph West following at 8 p.m. The winners will play at 8 p.m. July 29 to determine which moves on to the finals July 31, while the losers will play an elimination game July 29 at 6 p.m. On July 30, the two remaining teams with one loss will play to see who continues on to the finals July 31. That game has a 7 p.m. start.
The state final is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., and the if-necessary game will be played Aug. 1 with first pitch at 7 p.m.
The Freehold Township Little League’s Major League all-stars are John Abrahamsen, Patrick Burns, JJ Donahue, Zachary Gorman, Brandon Levy, Michael Mancuzi, Drew Montgomery, Connor Morie, Jonathan Olik, Colin Reilly, Mario Rivera, Brad Salamone, Jayce Schapiro and Anthony Sirico.