The Jersey Mustangs have proved to be a travel baseball team that is tough to beat. This team made up of youngsters from Monmouth and Ocean counties has won a pair of recent tournaments.
First the Jersey Mustangs won the Jack Cust Diamond Nation Spring Fever Tournament in Flemington. Top teams come to compete from all over the eastern seaboard.
The regulations stipulate that each team must play three games, with the top team in each of the four divisions advancing to the semifinals. The two winners of those semifinals advance to the final.
The Jersey Mustangs were the only team to remain undefeated throughout the entire tournament, winning their first championship by defeating a previously undefeated team, the Rhode Island Baseball Club, 10-5, in the semifinals and then defeating a team from Sayreville, Middlesex County, the Garden State Knights, 13-9.
Next up was a tournament in Rehoboth Beach, Del. The Opening Day Bash included baseball teams from North Carolina to New Hampshire, with most teams playing at Level 4 and Level 5, which are the top levels for 12- and-under baseball teams.
In the tournament final, the Jersey Mustangs took it to a previously undefeated team from New Haven, Conn., the Connecticut Dynasty, which had outscored its three previous opponents by a 37-1 margin.
The Jersey Mustangs proved that good pitching stops good hitting by beating the Dynasty, 3-2, in an exciting game, highlighted by Hector Figueroa’s outstanding 12-strikeout performance.
The Jersey Mustangs are Mikey Brewer, Michael Mulcahy, Robbie Matos, Jordan Winston, Adam Block, Kyle Johnson, Matt Castronouva, Brandon Pallante, Hector Figueroa, Austin Gonella, Eric Klimowicz, and player/coach Ronnie Figueroa.
The Jersey Mustangs are coached by Jeff Brewer, Michael Mulcahy, Nick Gates and Jake Winston.
The Mustangs are currently competing in the USABL. Their season will culminate in Cooperstown, N.Y., during the week of July 23-30.
Since the Jersey Mustangs formed one year ago, the team has dedicated itself to the memory of Darrin Winston, a former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher and the father of JordanWinston and Jake Winston.
Darrin Winston, 42, died in 2008.
Coach Jeff Brewer said, “Darrin was an inspiration to everyone on the team and he continues to inspire us.”
For more information about the Jersey Mustangs, visit jerseymustangs.com.