Toms River’s 11- and 12-year-old all-stars are now two wins away from reaching Williamsport — every Little Leaguer’s dream.
The central New Jersey team rallied for a 11-10 win over Newark (Del.) National Little League in the Mid-Atlantic Regional pool-play finale Wednesday afternoon in Bristol, Conn., to remain undefeated.
At 4-0, Toms River sealed the top seed in the single-elimination semifinals, which will be played Friday.
Toms River will next play Friday at 3 p.m. against Newark National — the defending Mid-Atlantic champion. The game will be televised live by ESPN. The other semifinal will pit Taney (Pa.) Youth Little League (a 7-1 winner over Northwest Washington D.C. Little League on Wednesday night) against Colonie (N.Y.) Little League.
No matter the opponent, Toms River manager Pete Avallone will have a decision to make: Should he go with his ace, Jonathan Giordano, or hold him back for Sunday championship game, knowing there is a chance he could go unused?
Giordano has pitched just once in the tournament, striking out nine and allowing one hit in 3 ¹/₃ innings pitched, in Toms River’s second game, a 6-4 win over Colonie on Sunday night.
On Wednesday, Giordano was the hero, driving in the tying run with a booming two-out double to the left-field wall in the sixth inning, one of just three hits for the slugger in the tournament. Nick DeRose walked with the bases loaded as Toms River, which blew leads of 3-0, 6-3 and 9-4, rallied for the dramatic win and improved to 19-2 this summer.
“The kids were great,” Avallone said. “As usual, we had a close game. I can’t say enough about how well these kids play under pressure.”
Christian Wood picked up the win in relief despite allowing two runs in the sixth, and also drove in two runs. Starting pitcher Jason Kapp had two hits, two RBIs and scored twice, while Christian Wood and Nick DeRose added two RBIs apiece.
Kayla Roncin, the 12-year-old girl who has drawn headlines for not only playing with the boys, but excelling, went 0-for-1 in a reserve role. She is now 3-for-6 in the tournament with two RBIs and three runs scored.