Controlled pitching called the shots in the Cal Ripken, Jr. District 12 12U semifinal game between third-seeded, 3-1 Scotch Plains-Fanwood and second seeded, 4-0 Millburn-Short Hills at Gumbert Field 2 in Westfield on June 26. Pitcher Will Sacchetti won his duel against Miller pitcher Vir Bhatia, 3-1, to advance the Raiders to the District 12 Championship Game at the same location on June 29 to face the top-seeded Cranford Cougars who came from behind to nip the Chatham Cougars, 5-4, in the other semifinal.
The victory over Millburn-Short Hills was more than just a victory for the Raiders since the Millers defeated them, 8-1, in their tournament opener. From there, the Raiders defeated Westfield (12-0), Springfield (10-0) and Summit (3-1). The Millers also beat Summit (9-3), Westfield (15-4) and South Orange-Maplewood 5-3.
more photos at goleader.com Ballyhoo Sports Sacchetti permitted just three singles to the Millers, while walking two and striking out six. Bhatia had two singles and Tom Fialko had the other. Bhatia yielded six hits and one walk, while recording seven strikeouts in six innings. Jouho Park relieved Bhatia with a runner on first in the seventh inning and recorded one strikeout.
Raider Colin Craig (1-for-2, run) had the only extra base hit with a double. Marco Barretta went 1-for-2 with a walk, three stolen bases, a run scored and an RBI. Brendan Klotz singled, stole a base and had an RBI. Joey Llano rapped an RBI single. Austin Briamonte and Lucas Blake both singled once. Declan Bastable scored once and Sacchetti reached on an error and stole a base.
The Millburn-Short Hills team consisted of Tyler Gottlieb, Bhatia, Cooper Balan, Tom Fialko, Noah Ambrosio, Thursto Cohn, Gavin Park, Jouho Park, Will Fialko, Dimy Zhang, Albert Kim, Jim Tucker and Zach Fuchs and were coached by Anthony Dasti (Head Coach), Barry Cohen, Lee Balan and Steve Park.
Raider Head Coach Todd Simo received some assistance from Rob Klotz, Guy Barretta and Chris Bates. The team consisted of Barretta, Klotz, Sacchetti, Blake, Brayden Bates, Anthony Minyetty, Bastable, Briamonte, Llano, Craig and Cooper Simo.
Bhatia yielded a leadoff walk to Barretta, who stole second and third bases, in the top of the first inning but he struck out the next three Raiders. Sacchetti retired all three Millers he faced in the bottom of the inning. Bhatia struck out the first Raider in the second inning and got to next to ground out to first. Bastable’s pop fly to leftfield was dropped. Briamonte tapped a ground single past short then Llano lashed an RBI single to right field for a 1-0 lead.
The Millburn second inning was interesting. Tom Fialko hacked a leadoff
single into centerfield then stole second base. Ambrosio added a sacrifice bunt as Fialko dashed to third. Cohn attempted a suicide squeeze but Sacchetti read the play, grabbed the ball and tagged Fialko before he could get to the plate. Next, Sacchetti picked off Cohn at first for the third out.
In the Raider third, Klotz lined a one-out single to center and Sacchetti reached first when his grounder to second was bobbled. Klotz and Sacchetti then pulled off a successful double steal to put runners on second and third but Bhatia silenced the threat by striking out the next two batters.
If Sacchetti had any difficulty on the mound, it would be the Millburn third inning and it began with a oneout walk to Jouho Park who would also steal second. After striking out Will Fialko, Sacchetti walked Gottlieb then Bhatia hopped an RBI single past short to knot the score 1-1.
No one from either team reached base in the fourth inning but after Bhatia recorded another strikeout in the fifth, the Raiders went to work and it began with Craig’s double that would slide under the leftfielder’s glove. A ball in the dirt allowed Craig to advance to third then Barretta hooked an RBI single into right field. After stealing second and sprinting to third on a passed ball, Barretta scored on Klotz’s ground out to second, making the score 3-1.
Sacchetti seemed to get even stronger on the mound and struck out two of the three Millers he faced in the fifth. After Bhatia ceded a leadoff single to Blake in the sixth, Jouho Park relieved and got the next three Raiders out. Sacchetti allowed a oneout single to Bhatia in the sixth but struck out the final two batters to secure the win.
