South Brunswick Vikings 9U Black Wins Another Championship

The championships for the Central Jersey Baseball League were held on Father's Day at Rowland Park. The same Vikings who won the Marlboro Memorial Day Tournament finished on top of the CJBL Spring League as well, defeating the Middlesex Blue Jays 10-9 with a walk-off hit by game MVP Matt Storch.

Undefeated in the regular season, the Vikings came into the game as the favorites. But some timely hitting by the Blue Jays, uncharactaristic misplays by the Vikes and a very tight strike zone put the Vikings in an 8-0 hole before they even got up to bat.

In the fourth inning, the Vikings started to mount a comeback, scoring two runs and looking good with the bases loaded and no outs. But then the Blue Jays pulled off an amazing triple play and the Vikings headed back out on defense, down 9-3.

Still, the crowd who gathered to watch the game sensed the Vikings weren't done, and they were proven right when the boys scored 5 runs in the fifth (including a massive 3-run triple by Matt Storch) to get within a run. With ace Michael Reyes and a solid defense making sure the Blue Jays didn't extend their lead, the Vikings entered the bottom of the sixth needing one run to tie and two runs to win.

Jordie Glassman got things started with a lead-off single and Seth Gleason followed with a single of his own. An infield hit by Matt Marich brought Glassman home and put the winning run on third.

After an intentional walk to Sammy Jiorle to load the bases and create a force at home, Storch stepped up to the plate and cranked a shot to the left center gap. Gleason raced home and the Viking boys had given their dads a great Father's Day present.

--Ken Gleason