While a late rally wasn't quite enough to earn the South Brunswick U-9 baseball team a state title, there was no denying the team had a fantastic season.
South Brunswick was defeated by Cranford, 9-8, in the state title game, held at the host site of Edison on July 27.
"We were coming back from seven runs down," South Brunswick Manager Tom Slover said. "The guys never gave up. They kept on fighting back."
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Mike D'Amato provided a key hit in the comeback with a three-run triple. Sammy Jiorle also had a three-run double.
"Those were the key hits that got us back into the contest," Slover said.
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South Brunswick loaded the bases in the sixth with two outs and was just a hit away from a great ending.
"Unfortunately, that's where it ended," Slover said. "The guys were second in the state."
Considering all the obstacles the team had, that was a remarkable performance.
Kyle White, Matt Storch and Mike Reyes all suffered injuries and were unable to pitch in the state finals. While unable to pitch, Reyes was used as a designated hitter in the states.
"When we lost three of our top pitchers, the guys just had to pull together," Slover said.
Nicholas Delacruz, Mike Slover and Arnav Reddy were all asked to pitch more than they were accustomed to doing.
"They all stepped up to get it done," Slover noted.
They were helped out by outstanding outfield defense by Anthony Fama, Matt Marich and Seth Gleason. According to Manager Slover, Jordan Glassman was also solid at first base.
Despite the loss in the final game, South Brunswick finished with a record of 38-7-1. According to Manager Slover, the success wasn't much of a surprise.
"We knew we had a great core group of kids coming back," Slover said. "We knew we had eleven of the twelve kids back from last year. The team last year was 26-6. The two-year record is 64-13-1. That's fantastic."
In addition to the state tournament, South Brunswick was also second in the North Brunswick Tournament, the South Brunswick Vikings Classic and the Readington Tournament. The team started the year off by winning its age bracket in the Central Jersey Baseball League. It also won tournaments in Branchburg and Marlboro. The team also won the Cal Ripken District Tournament to advance to the state finals.
In the state finals, South Brunswick had wins against Warren, Hazlet and Flemington in pool play. It then defeated Mt. Olive, 13-7, to reach the state title game.
Pete Glassman, Jeff Reyes and Paul Delacruz served as coaches on the team.
"There was a lot of baseball," Slover said. "It was fun. The kids played great."
