Two Union County teams punched their tickets to the State Tournament to be held at Sayre-Wood South but only one would win the Cal Ripken, Jr. District 12 12U Championship at Gumbert Field 2 in Westfield on June 29. The third-seeded Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders seized an early 3-0 lead but the top-seeded Cranford Cougars clawed their way back in the later innings to grasp a 6-4 victory.
The Cougars won all four of their qualifying games to receive the top seed then came from behind to nick Chatham, 5-4, in their semifinal. The Raiders dropped their first game to the Millburn-Short Hills Millers, won their next three then ousted the Millers, 3-1, in the semifinal to earn their showdown with the Cougars.
The Cougars put Ryan Feeley on the mound first against the Raiders and he yielded three runs and seven hits, while striking out two batters in his two innings. Ted Dreyer pitched the remaining four innings and allowed one run and three hits, while intentionally walking one and striking out four.
Anthony Minyetty started for the Raiders and in four innings, he recorded 10 strikeouts but three Cougars managed to cross the plate with the help of five walks and a few mental lapses. Brendan Klotz stepped to the mound in the fifth and yielded two hits and a walk before he was replaced with one out on the scoreboard byAustin Briamonte who walked just one Cougar.
The Raiders out-hit the Cougars 10-5 and Lucas Blake ripped three doubles, while scoring once and adding an RBI. Marco Barretta had an RBI single and doubled. Klotz singled twice and had an RBI. Briamonte had an RBI single and scored once. Declan Bastable singled and scored once. Joey Llano singled, Will Sacchetti scored once and Minyetty received the intentional walk.
Luca Rubert went 2-for-2 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored for the Cougars. Dreyer singled, stole a base and scored once. RJ Cordero singled and walked once as did JP Farrell. Mike Matlosz walked once, scored twice and swiped a pair of bases. Mikey Todd walked and scored once. Feeley walked and had an RBI. Tommy DiPaolo walked once.
The Raiders were coached by Head Coach Todd Simo and assistants Rob Klotz, Guy Barretta and Chris Bates, and consisted of Barretta, Klotz, Sacchetti, Minyetty, Blake, Brayden Bates, Briamonte, Bastable, Llano, Colin Craig and Cooper Simo. The Cougars were coached by Head Coach Mike Feeley and assistants Ryan Matlosz and Kevin Wetherell. They consisted of Cordero, Feeley, Todd, Dreyer, Matlosz, Brett Perrotta, Rubert, Farrell, DiPaolo and Zach Kehrle.
Klotz lined a one-out single to rightcenter in the top of the first but Feeley got Sacchetti to ground out to third and Minyetty to ground out back to the mound. Minyetty struck out two of the three batters he faced in the Cranford first.
Blake led off the Raider second inning with a double to leftfield then skipped to third on Bate’s grounder to short. Briamonte bounced an RBI single between third and short then Bastable’s infield single was smothered by the shortstop. Llano lashed a single over first then Barretta chopped an RBI single that skid off the third baseman’s glove. Klotz’s no play infield single brought Bastable home for the third run.
Minyetty fanned two of the three Cougars he faced in the second inning then Blake rapped his second double but failed to score in the third. Minyetty did, however, run into some control problems in the Cranford third. He walked Rubert then struck out Farrell. Next, he walked DiPaolo, Cordero and Feeley to bring home Rubert. With the bases loaded and one out, Minyetty found his spot and struck out the next two batters.
Trailing 3-1, the Cougars began the fourth with a walk to Matlosz, who was awarded second on a balk call. He stole third base then scored on a passed ball. After a strikeout, Rubert hit a popup in front of the plate that dropped in for a short single. Farrell laid down a bunt single but Rubert rounded second and alertly took third when he noticed that it was uncovered. The next Cougar struck out. Cordero singled to center and the throw home sailed over the catcher as Rubert scored and seemingly Farrell. After a lengthy discussion among the umpires and coaches, Farrell returned to third then Minyetty fanned the next batter.
With the score tied, 3-3, the Raiders took action in the fifth. Barretta drilled a leadoff double down the leftfield line. Klotz grounded out to second as Barretta scooted to third. Sacchetti tapped a grounder to third as Barretta attempted to score but he was gunned down at the plate. Sacchetti dashed to second on a passed ball, so Dreyer intentionally walked Minyetty. Blake stepped to the plate and blasted an RBI double off the leftfield fence.
Todd drew a free pass to lead off the Cranford fifth inning. Dreyer lined a single to center then stole second to put both runners in scoring position. Matlosz hacked a grounder to short but the throw to first sailed out of play and both runners scored. Later Rubert poked an RBI single to centerfield as Matlosz scored to put the Cougars in front 6-4.
All three Raiders grounded out in the sixth inning, causing a celebration amongst the Cougars. Both teams, however, are still alive to vie for the state title at Sayre-Wood South. With good fortune, the next advancement would be to the Middle Atlantic Regionals at Guilderland, NY.
