SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Par Troy East Little League manager Mike Ruggiero often has spoken glowingly of his team’s ability, of their determination, of their resiliency.
Well, the Jersey boys will need all of that if they’re going to bring home a Little League World Series championship.
Southwest champion San Antonio (Texas), considered by many as the favorite among the American teams, grabbed the early lead, took advantage of some shaky New Jersey defense then withstood a fierce challenge for a 5-2 victory over Par Troy East of Parsippany (N.J.), the Mid-Atlantic representative, here Friday before a crowd of 11,100.
New Jersey on Saturday night plays the loser of Friday night’s game pitting the Great Lakes champ, Indiana, against Northwest titlist Oregon. New Jersey must win to keep a World Series title dream alive in the double-elimination tournament.
After falling behind 4-0, Parsippany gave its healthy fan base here reason to cheer in the fourth, slicing the deficit to 4-2. Bener Uygun doubled down the leftfield line, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Anthony Scannelli’s single. After a force-out, Vinny Prezioso singled and walks to Stephen Scevoli and D.J. Pico, sandwiching a pitching change, produced the second run. But reliever Jordan Cardenas escaped with a strikeout and a groundout, leaving the bases loaded.
Texas, which outscored opponents 60-3 in its regional triumph, added a fifth-inning run with a walk, error and wild pitch.
Rain hit in the very first inning — along with the leadoff batter for each team. Par Troy East pitcher Emil Matti led off with a ground rule double just to the right of straightaway center. But he died at second as Texas ace Tyler Vitt got two strikeouts and a ground out.
Texas’ initial hit went deeper as leadoff man Jordan Cardenas homered, again going just to the right of center. Matti surrendered a 2-out single but escaped additional damage. Not so on the Southwest’s third hit.
With one out in the second inning, Vitt singled to center and the ball eluded Alex Cavaluzzo, rolling all the way to the wall. Vitt just never stopped running and sailed home sliding in well ahead of the relay for a 2-0 Southwest lead. The defense betrayed New Jersey again later in the inning. After two walks, No. 2 hitter Zachary Sanchez lifted a fly to right that was misplayed by Kyle Phillips into a 2-run, 3-base error. Suddenly, New Jersey stared at a 4-0 deficit.
Cavaluzzo tried to get one back. In the third, he lined a shot back off Vitt. The ball ricocheted into left and Cavaluzzo hustled his way to a double. But two groundouts ended the scoring threat.
The Par Troy East kids had a healthy following as an estimated 1,500 fans trekked here from Parsippany yesterday alone.
“We had three busloads of 132 people. We came up this morning,” explained league president John Bucciarelli. “Half the people that came up here are spending the weekend. It’s amazing. And there’s another crowd that couldn’t make it. They’re back home cheering us on.”
Little League Baseball pays for the kids, coaches and managers. Parents and families are on their own. In Bristol, Conn., at the Regionals for example, families paid an average of $200 a night – for 11 nights – for hotels. So the league is trying to raise funds.
To that end, the Modell’s in Parsippany has been selling – and selling out of – red Par Troy East T-shirts. They went through 300 in an hour the first day, sold several thousand Thursday and again today. The third base stands here were a sea of red.
And the red erupted before the game with San Antonio as Par Troy East’s smallest player, 4-foot-10 Cavaluzzo, was selected to recite the Little League pledge while assistant coach Ramon Matti, the father of New Jersey’s starting pitcher and an assistant coach on the team, recited the LL Parent’s Pledge.
The parent’s pledge, by unofficial estimate, is broken 17 times a game at every Little League game across the country.