New York State Little League Tournament Preview (2016)

Wow. We're back. I missed the entirety of the 2015 Little League season because work just doesn't allow me to be Little League Insider anymore. I guess being an adult can stink sometimes. Who knew?

Anyway, I've been out to a few games this season around the New York and New Jersey area and I'm pumped up for all the state tournament action. Even though the blog itself isn't nearly as active as it used to be, the Little League World Series Discussion Group is always firing on all cylinders. Seriously... join it. There's Little League fans (1000s of them) across the country giving updates every single day. It's a great community.

I've done state tournament previews for New York and New Jersey in the past and its always one of my favorite posts to write, so I decided to give NY a shot this year since I've seen a couple of the teams so far and I'm incredibly excited to see Maine-Endwell this season, a team that could be historically good in New York. We'll see this week.

The state tournament is being hosted by Van Nest Little League and Bronxchester Little League in District 22 in the Bronx. The two fields are in walking distance of each other and will showcase the best the state has to offer.

Without further ado, here's this year's state tournament preview. Remember that most of this is based on simple research and I did it all in a couple hours. If any names are wrong, spelled incorrectly, or didn't showcase enough or the proper players, I'm deeply sorry. I'll get it right once the tournament starts today. Finally... come say hello if you see me. I'll be there on Wednesday and Thursday for sure.

Section 1 West: Penfield (District 4)
Recent History (2000-2016): 4 district titles, first section title since 1979

Penfield National rolled through the sectionals by averaging 14 runs per game. The last time PLL played a close game was the District 4 championship when they knocked off Fairport, 6-4. Noah Rogoff, Matt Salina, Jake Lipani, and John Scoenhardt are just some of the names to watch from the Rochester-area squad.

Section 1 East: Maine-Endwell (District 7)
Recent History (2000-2016): 8 district titles, 5 section titles, 2 state titles

Maine-Endwell are the defending state champions. Normally, this doesn’t mean much… new crop of kids, right? Wrong. M-E had six 11-year olds on that state championship team and they’re bigger and stronger this season. This group also won the state championship when they were 10-year olds. M-E is led by Michael Mancini, Conner Rush, Jude Abbadessa, et al. The boys in blue and gold have been as dominant as you can be, winning by mercy rule in every game thus far.

Section 2 North: New Hartford (District 10)
Recent History (2000-2016): 2 district titles, first section title

New Hartford won its first section title in the long history of its league and the Utica-area squad is excited to take its show to the Bronx. NH is 10-1 through the tournament so far and topped a strong Rotterdam-Carman squad in a Best-of-3 series to reach the state tournament. Roman Kimball has been the staff ace and one of the team’s top hitters. Tyler Potocki has shown some big time ability on the bump as well including a 12 strikeout performance in the district championship game. Will Gall and Kyle Philipkoski have had big hits in recent victories.

Section 2 South: Town of Wappinger (District 17)
Recent History (2000-2016): 7 district titles, 2 section titles

Wappinger has become the defacto leaders of District 17 since becoming one charter and this particular group is experienced. They reached the state tournament last season as 11-year olds, so they will be experienced. The group is young with some 11s mixed in this year, but Shane Heinemann, Sean Camacho, Ben Tullo, and Parker Nevins have been great leaders thus far.

Section 3 North: Pine Bush (District 19)
Recent History (2000-2016): 4 district titles, 2 section titles

Pine Bush enters the state tournament at 13-1. They’ve won 13 straight games. The offense for the Bushmen has been relentless. PB has scored less than 10 runs in a game just three times in their run to the Bronx. They put up 20+ runs four different times as well. The team has 54 home runs in total, an astronomical number. Joe Croce leads the way for an offense that puts them up in bunches. He homered three times in the district “if” game, the second straight year he’s hit three in a title-winning performance. Watch out for Will Pitt, Ethan Velanga, and Gunnar Meland as well. Nick Scala provided an epic 6th-inning homer in Game 1 of the district final.

Section 3 South: Mid-Island (Staten Island) (District 24) Recent History (2000-2016): 4 district titles, 3 section titles, 1 state title, 1 regional title

Mid-Island reached the LLWS back in 2006 and is ready for another run. MILL comes from one of the toughest districts in the entire Eastern Region and is battle-tested. MI has some big boppers at the top of the lineup and strong arms.  Matt Rupp has been the team’s most dominant starter and one of the big sticks. Matt Polemeni, Eric O’Neill, and Chris Field are also major home run threats every time they step in the box.

Section 4 West: Port Washington (District 28)
Recent History (2000-2016): 9 district titles, first section title

Like Wappinger and St. James/Smithtown, Port Washington played in the 11-year old state tournament last year. So they have some experience at this level. They went 2-2 with wins over the other two teams in the tournament. Chris Chang and Jake Spiryda are two players to watch for PW.

Section 4 East: St. James/Smithtown (District 35)
Recent History (2000-2016): 2 district titles, first section title since 1999

Smithtown had an interesting road to the Bronx. In one of the worst and wildest tournament formats you’ll see, St. James/Smithtown went 1-2 in pool play of its sectional tournament, placing third. All four teams make the semifinals though and SJSLL promptly won the semifinal and then beat the 0-3 team in the championship. They obviously worked the tournament the right way. It’s no accident though that Smithtown is in. They were in the state tournament last year as well, falling twice in mercy-rule shortened games. James Ackerman and Tyler Lawrence are two of the guys who should be on your radar.

PREDICTIONS

It’s hard to predict how teams will pitch a double elimination tournament, so instead of straight picks, I’ll give you the teams ranked in order… Remember that I’ve only seen two (Pine Bush and Mid-Island) play in person.

1. Maine-Endwell

2. Mid-Island
3. Pine Bush
4. Penfield National
5. New Hartford
6. Port Washington
7. Town of Wappinger
8. St. James/Smithtown

I’ll be at Van Nest and Bronxchester Little Leagues on Wednesday and Thursday for sure. Join in on the conversation for the Road to Williamsport at my LittleLeague World Series Discussion Group on Facebook.

Taney Youth Baseball is Headed to Williamsport

Courtesy of Paul Alesse, LiSPN.com

Commentary by John Malone

Wow.


There's not much else to say about the Taney Youth Baseball Association and its rise to the Little League World Series.

I heard about this team during its run through districts because they knocked off the 10-year old state champions, Media. The immediate though was, "Cool. We don't get to see city teams do well in Little League too often." Then, I started reading up on the team. I started following Taney's games on GameChanger. The Dragons looked like a team of destiny, but they didn't thoroughly dominate everyone. In a state as tough as Pennsylvania to get through, it was easy to think they'd be tripped up somewhere.



They made it to the state tournament with powerful teams. Everyone in the area, and a few more who follow the blog, knew that they had Mo'Ne Davis and that she supposedly had some talent. Between the big bats of Red Land, the dominance of Collier Township, the coaching of Mike Mussina and Montoursville, there was no way I wasn't going to take the chance to drive over two hours from home in New York to see the first day or two of the Pennsylvania State Tournament.



I immediately was blown away by most of the teams at Lower Perkiomen Little League. I hadn't seen a ton of baseball admittedly this year, but two or three teams looked worthy of a regional run. I wasn't sure if Taney was even one of them that first day, a 9-3 victory over Clarion, with Mo'Ne on the mound and not showing great command.

I heard about her being the best pitcher in the state of Pennsylvania in the news. I heard about her throwing 70 miles per hour. What I saw in just a couple innings didn't support that. It certainly didn't feel that way when I saw Jared Sprague-Lott, her own teammate, throw and the big arms of Kai Cummings and Joe Richardson. Boy.. or should I say, girl was I wrong.

I got to see Mo'Ne pitch against the defending regional champions during pool play with four very good hitters back with Williamsport experience. She completely dominated for five innings. She was throwing harder than I remembered. She had command of all her pitches, and wow her swagger was on point. Nothing bothered her. Meanwhile, the boys in the batters box did not look comfortable at all. She was lights out.

She allowed two home runs in the sixth inning of that game against Delaware. Then, she picked up the save in the semifinal against Colonie, New York, but gave up a two-run homer in the process. That plus seeing her for six innings earlier in the week should've erased any mental edge she had over Delaware and based on the swings I saw in the championship it did. It also didn't matter. She flat out dominated the game once again on the back of her talent and watched her cool and calm defense make play after play until the final double play ended the game.

I didn't buy into the Taney hype in the beginning. There were murmurs about the kids being from all over Philadelphia. They're not. They're from a couple neighborhoods in and around Center City. They all go to the schools in the same area and they've all been playing Taney Youth Baseball (plus their various travel ball including the NJ Arsenal and Anderson Monarchs) for years together. After seeing them play for three weeks and getting to know parents and players. I bought in.

Taney is a team. They have table setters at the top. They have two big time starting pitchers with a crafty reliever along with two powerful right arms in the pen. They are scary hitters throughout the lineup especially the murderers row of Jahli Hendricks, Sprague-Lott, and Zion Spearman, and they have a defense that doesn't make many mistakes. They could easily go two-and-out in Williamsport or they could find themselves in the U.S. Championship game. The rest of the road doesn't matter. They reached the promised land and it was unreal to watch.

I enjoyed meeting everyone from every team in Bristol this year. The success of this blog has made it a lot of fun to hear from players, coaches, and parents every day on the Road to Williamsport. The Taney kids are a big part of that. When Taney gets the bulk of the media coverage in Williamsport just remember that it has nothing to do with the kids or even their adults. It's the culture we live in. Just have fun with it. I'm telling you this group is worth watching and getting to know.






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DC Little League Rivalry Forged through Competition, Now Has Respect

Photo courtesy of LISPN.com

When it comes to Washington D.C. Little League baseball, only one name came to mind for well over a decade before 2009, and that was Capitol City Little League.

Cap City won the D.C. Tournament every single year from 1988 to 2008, and usually in laughable fashion. If there were any competitive match-ups, they only came from Northwest Washington Little League and very rarely. Finally, something in Northwest Washington clicked. In 2009, NWLL shocked Capitol City and won the city tournament, earning a spot in the Mid-Atlantic Tournament in Bristol, CT.

Since then, the rivalry has flourished. Northwest Washington has now won three of the last five titles and they're slight favorites for a fourth in today's D.C. Tournament championship despite Capitol City returning a handful of contributors to last season's regional semifinal appearance.

"In the heat of it all, the rivalry was not friendly," First-year Capitol City manager Brian Friel said. "It wasn't in the spirit of Little League."

In the arms race to dominate to Washington D.C. youth baseball, the two leagues turned into bitter rivals in the last few years, but with that bitterness, respect has come into play over the last year or two, and it came to a head during pool play this week.

Road to Williamsport: Early Teams to Watch - 2014

Well it’s mid-July and time to start introducing you to teams you could POTENTIALLY see in your respective Little League regionals or even South Williamsport. Last year, we had a pretty solid track record. Let’s see what happens with this year’s version of Little League Insider’s Early Teams to Watch.

Check it out after the jump:

Welcome Back! The 2014 Season is Upon Us!

Hello everyone out there in Little League land, it's your favorite youth baseball blogger, John Malone. We, obviously, won't be kicking into high gear until June, but everyone is hopefully getting outside in the East and Central in the next week or so, and who knows how long you boys and girls have been going already in the South, Southwest, and West.

There's big changes currently in Little League and on the horizon for next year possibly. These rules will fundamentally change the future of Little League Baseball and Softball. It's to be determined if its for better or worse.

What's CURRENT for 2014 -- Well, the big rule is "School Eligibility." As of this year, if you attend school (public or private) inside the boundaries of a league that you don't reside in, you can choose between your home league and your school's league. If Johnny lives in Anytown, but goes to school in Cityville, he can choose to play in Anytown Little League OR Cityville Little League. It certainly opens a can of worms. There are many reasons for this rule change. Some of them are international, some of them are so kids can play with their school friends, and others are potentially because it will make some tournament teams stronger.

What's ON TAP for 2015 -- The biggest rule change that will be voted on this month for NEXT season is the brand new birthday. For years, the age cutoff was always July 31. If you turned 13 on that day or before, you were considered a 13 year old and couldn't play. In 2006, Little League changed its birthday date to coincide with USA Baseball and moved it BACKWARDS, making kids a few months older than they were. A few months meant much bigger kids because we all know that puberty is fickle at this age group. So, what's happening for 2015 potentially? The is now going FORWARD, all the way to December 31st. This means that if you turn 13 at any point in the calendar year... you are 13 for Little League. This makes everyone in the organization much younger now as opposed to older. Quote-unquote 12-year olds are done with the small field if this passes. Little League's "Williamsport" division will be mostly true 11-year olds. This will help the new 50/70 division which was ridiculously bad because it had glorified 14 years olds playing on 220-foot fields.

One of the big problems I've heard from all around the country with this new rule, however, is that one age group will be grandfathered in, but after that, it will be official. None of us are stupid. We all know that successful tournament teams start playing together as early as 8, and definitely at age 9 and 10. Well those teams that already started gearing up for Williamsport runs three years in advance are now defunct. They will be broken up. Some will say the "grandfather" rule needs to start somewhere, but most coaches/parents (granted they are in that bracket that will be cut up), think it should be set 3-5 years in advance, so nobody that's already played in tournaments together will be affected.

BLOG NOTES: Anyone that wants to write for the blog this year (preferably outside the East Region where I and others are located) please email me with your ideas and some writing samples. I'd love to have you. We had a monster year last year. Let's blow it out of the water.

We will have our radio show back once again this year, but we will start it much earlier in the tournament. I was approached by the station last year a little too late for it to get established. We had a great audience for it though and the station is excited.

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Those are the best ways to interact and get information, thoughts, and notes while there isn't a ton of material that requires a blog post in itself.

Capitol City (DC) Shakes Up Mid-Atlantic Region

Written by John Malone, editor
Get Little League Insider to Williamsport: CLICK HERE

Capitol City Little League of Washington D.C. has more than held its own at the Little League Baseball Eastern Region Tournament. Cap City had leads in each of its first two games and threw monkey wrenches into a couple teams' pitching plans. In the third game of the tournament, Capitol City finally earned more than respect, it earned a victory.

Behind a much-needed offensive outburst from Robert Reynolds and Isaac Frumkin, Cap City took a 10-3 lead after three innings and hung on for dear life in the sixth to record an 11-10 victory over previously unbeaten Berlin, Maryland.

"I was really excited because I didn't hit the ball well in the game against Pennsylvania," Reynolds said. "I was just looking for pitches in my zone and I got a lot of those today."

Reynolds was 4-for-4 with a home run, four runs batted in, and three runs scored to lead Capitol City. Frumkin was 3-for-4 with a triple at the top of the order. Usually a dynamic catcher, Frumkin came on in the fourth inning to record a long save with 2 1/3 innings pitched, two runs, and just two hits.

Capitol City led 11-8 heading into the sixth inning with Frumkin on the hill. Maryland's Tristan McDonough promptly ripped a double, and then Billy Wheatley was hit by a pitch. With two outs and runners on second and third, Jack Rosenberg ripped a double to left field plating both runs. The ball squirted through the outfielders legs and rolled all the way to the deep left field corner. Maryland tried to bring Wheatley all the way around to score but shortstop Collin Bosley-Smith threw a perfect strike to Sofia Ohanian at home plate to cut down the tying run for the game-winning play.

"I saw the coach waving the runner home, but I saw the guy stop, and then kept on going," Frumkin said. "There were perfect throws from Noah (Gold) and Collin though, and we got him by a mile."

Capitol City took a 7-3 lead in the second inning with Frumkin's RBI triple, a Rory Friel RBI single, and Reynolds' home run. In the third, Cap City padded its lead with three more runs with RBI singles from Aaron Rosenthal, and two more RBI from Reynolds.

Capitol City starter, Bosley-Smith, allowed three first-inning runs to Berlin with some control issues but buckled down to retire five of the next six batters he faced in a solid start that was marred with inconsistent calls at home plate and frequent game stoppages among other things. He came out with 65 pitches to stay eligible for the potential semifinal.

D.C. took a 3-0 lead after one inning with an RBI double from Zach Lordan, an RBI from Sofia Ohanian (who had a web gem at first base), and an RBI from Aiden Trinity. Berlin answered back with three runs on a variety of walks, infield hits, and a fielder's choice.

"I was really impressed with the way Collin pitched today. He came back from a rough first inning and threw really well," Reynolds, the staff ace, said. "He blocked everything out. All the pitchers did a great job working through stuff today."

Maryland never gave up in its quest to come back from the huge deficit. Matt Kinsey had a big two-run single in the fourth, and Wes Powell added a two-run triple to follow. Powell scored on a wild pitch to bring Maryland within two runs.

In an effort to keep the score within reason, Maryland went to its ace, McDonough, in the sixth. Reynolds ripped a single to lead off the inning and then scored on three passed balls to add the ever-important insurance run. It ended up being the winning run.

"I hope people realize we can compete here. We could've won the first two games and we got one now," Frumkin said. "We're very confident. We knew we could win a game, now we want to win another one."

The victory was the second win for a District of Columbia team in two years (Northwest Washington LL beat eventual Mid-Atlantic champion, Par-Troy East (NJ) last year) and the first for Capitol City since it beat Haverstraw (NY) back in 2008. Now, Cap City will try to reach the Mid-Atlantic semifinals for the first time since 2004.

Washington D.C. faces Burnt Hills (NY) in its final pool play game on Wednesday. Both teams need a victory to stay in the running for a semifinal spot.

"This team is so hungry for wins, so hungry to earn respect for DC baseball," Assistant coach Seth Rosenthal said. "They did it in the first two games, but today took us another step towards earning DC baseball some respect."

To listen to a pre-tournament interview with Capitol City assistant coach Brice Plebani, listen to Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2.

For Mobile Users, try this link here: Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

To listen to the debut episode of Little League Insider Radio: CLICK HERE

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East Region: Day 1 (Friday Aug 2, 2013)

Newark National (DE) 8, Capitol City (DC) 4, 7 inn.

Well that game didn't go as expected for Delaware. Newark saved some of its pitching early in this one and it looked like a great strategy off the bat. Joey Davis cracked his fifth home run in three games in the top of the first inning and Delaware quickly had a 2-0 lead. Capitol City's Robert Reynolds settled in and threw four strong innings allowed three runs (two earned) on just three hits. In the third inning, Capitol City ran itself into a bad inning with an unsuccessful "1st-and-3rd" situation. With no outs, Newark nabbed the runner stealing second without allowing the run to score. Two quick outs later, and it was still 2-0 Newark.

 After another run scored on some passed balls and an error, Capitol City finally got down to business. Rory Friel had an infield single to start it off. Delaware changed pitchers and got into a bigger jam. A hit-by-pitch set up an RBI single from Eli Doroshow and an error loaded the bases. Newark was forced to go to its hard-throwing ace, Nate Hardcastle. An immediate strikeout slowed the bleeding, but 4-foot-8 nine-hole hitter, Aaron Rosenthal, stepped into the box. The diminutive firecracker ripped a two-run single off Hardcastle to tie the game 3-3. Rosenthal added another hit off Hardcastle later in the game and also worked a 10-pitch walk in his first plate appearance.

Capitol City took the lead 4-3 with a two-out RBI single from Zach Lordan in the fourth inning and Newark was reeling. Not only was Hardcastle in the game past 20 pitches, but Newark was now losing. In the top of the sixth with one out, Hardcastle drove a fly ball to right field for a sacrifice and tied the game. With Capitol City past its first two pitchers, Newark tacked on four runs in the seventh behind RBI singles from Eric Ludman and Brandon Sengphachanh. DC's Reynolds threw 85 pitches and DE's Hardcastle threw 65.

Lincoln (RI) 11, Saco (ME) 2

As one of the two main favorites coming into the tournament, Lincoln took care of business against Saco by scoring in five of its six innings. Aaron DeSousa was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and a double to lead Lincoln. Kyle Marrapese was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. He also showcased an impressive left-handed fastball in his two innings of work to start the game. Along with Zarek Larisa and Steve Andrews, Lincoln's pitchers struck out 11 batters while allowing just three hits. Derek Madore had a hit and scored a run for Saco. Matthew Duchaine and Hunter Penley had the other two hits for Maine.

It was tough to tell if Lincoln is a viable threat to Westport, CT because Saco used six different pitchers of varying abilities. The jury is out on everyone still.

Berlin (MD) 5, East Greenwich (NJ) 4

For the second game in a row in the Mid-Atlantic region, the scrappy underdog forced the team with a big ace to waste its pitcher longer than it intended. Alas, like the first result with DE/DC, East Greenwich had to settle for a moral victory.

Berlin jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after an RBI single from Tristan McDonough and sac fly from Matt Kinsey. Berlin starter Hayden Snelsire tossed four solid innings allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits. Snelsire doubled to lead off the third inning and scored on a sac fly by Billy Wheatley. Ethan Gill homered to pull New Jersey within 3-1. McDonough tripled in the fifth inning and scored on a groundout by Wes Powell to give Berlin a three-run cushion once again, but two errors and a Shawn Dougherty single made it 4-2. Maryland went to its big guy, McDonough. The overpowering righty induced three straight groundouts, but one of them scored a run to cut the lead to just one run. Berlin added a huge insurance run in the sixth after a Kevin Beck single (2-for-2, run), a walk, and a defensive miscue which led to an RBI for McDonough. In the sixth inning, McDonough picked up his six-out save but not before East Greenwich tacked on another run from a Zach Miller single and Sean Szestowicki RBI. The extra at-bats forced Maryland to stick with McDonough passed 20 pitches making him ineligible for Game 2. It was a valiant performance from Jersey, but Berlin picked up the necessary victory.

Westport (CT) 9, South Burlington (VT) 2

With South Burlington returning six players from a regional semifinalist a season ago, this was not a gimme game for Westport. If anyone had questions about Vermont's abilities, they were answered in the first inning with RBI singles from Chance O'Connor and Sammy Premsagar. Premsagar, one of the veterans, was more than effective on the mound with a great fastball. He struck out five batters in two innings. He also walked five. Connecticut took a 3-2 lead in the third inning without the benefit of a hit or an error. Three consecutive walks plus passed balls and wild pitches allowed a run to score. A fielders choice tied the game 2-2 and then a well-executed run down on a first-and-third situation allowed the third run to come home before the third out was made. Connecticut's Chad Knight, one of the best pitchers in the region, didn't had his best stuff and was smartly pulled at 35 pitches in just 1 1/3 innings pitched.  All four outs were recorded by strikeout. Westport's equally dominant pitcher, Harry Azadian, came on and pitched 3 2/3 innings of no-hit ball. He struck out seven. Max Popken quickly picked out the final two outs of the game. Connecticut piled on five runs in the fourth inning to put the game out of reach with an RBI from Popken and back-to-back triples by Azadian (1-for-3, 4 RBI) and Charlie Roof.

East Region Rankings after Day 1

1. Rhode Island

2. Connecticut

3. Maryland

4. Delaware

5. Vermont

6. New Jersey

7. Washington D.C.

8. Maine

OFF: New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts

Random Thoughts: The amount of pitchers that took the mound today was crazy. With pitch counts and four games in six days, I understand it, but wow do games drag now. In four games, there were TWENTY-NINE pitchers. I had to spell it out. It's just ridiculous. Here's hoping it gets better when teams really need to pick up wins. I was impressed with the amount of players with great velocity today. Out of the eight teams, I'd say there were nine pitchers who threw really hard.

Home Run Meter: 2 (Last Year: 3)

Strikeout Meter: 66 (Last Year: 50)

Prediction Record: 4-0

Saturday's Predictions: Massachusetts over Maine 4-2, Pennsylvania over New York 6-3, Vermont over New Hampshire 3-2, Maryland over Delaware 6-5.

You can hear more of my thoughts on the entire East Region tournament by listening to Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2.

For Mobile Users, try this link here: Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

To listen to the debut episode of Little League Insider Radio: CLICK HERE

Join the Little League World Series discussion on Facebook with some of the best baseball minds around right here: Little League World Series Discussion

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2013 Mid-Atlantic Region Preview

Check out my 2012 Mid-Atlantic Preview and see how right and wrong I tend to be. There's usually 4-5 teams that I hit the nail on the head and one that I miss completely on. Last year, it was Delaware. I didn't expect their pitching depth to go past their ace.

Read about this year's New England Region Preview to see how the other teams in Bristol, CT look. 


Tournament History: In the 12 years of the Mid-Atlantic region, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland have each won three championships. New Jersey has gone to Williamsport twice since the split with New England, and Delaware has its lone trip to the LLWS in 2003 with Naamans Little League. Nobody from the District of Columbia has ever advanced to a regional final.

2013 Team Pedigree: Newark National (DE) is making its third straight trip to the Mid-Atlantic region tournament. For the second consecutive season, at least one player is back from the previous year. This time it’s big man Nate Hardcastle. Capitol City (DC) is a regular in Bristol, CT but has only reached the regional tournament once since 2008.

The remaining four teams in the Mid-Atlantic tournament have won their state championship for the first time in league history. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (NY) is from the Albany region which hasn’t sent a representative to Bristol since Colonie in 2004. Lionville’s (PA) section hasn’t represented the state of Pennsylvania since the last time District 27 won a state championship back in 2003. That team was Lower Perkiomen. East Greenwich (NJ) is ALSO from an area of its state that doesn’t win often. Section 4 in New Jersey hasn’t sent a team to the regional since 1991 before this year. Berlin (MD) isn't traditionally strong and hasn't won a state title previously, but this group has been built for this run at the regional title.

Interestingly, only East Greenwich (NJ) has tasted defeat so far this tournament. Each of the other five champions are all unbeaten. In the pitch-count era, that's very surprising and unusual.

Team Previews (Tournament Records in Parentheses)

Capitol City, DC (7-0): After a short hiatus, Capitol City is back. District of Columbia’s traditional power ran through the DC Tournament fairly easily especially in pool play and its semifinal game. In the championship against rival Northwest Washington, Capitol City used a momentum-boosting home run from Sofia Ohanian to break open a tight game in the middle innings before winning comfortably. Capitol City relies on great team defense, strong pitching, and its timely hitting. Always an underdog in Bristol, Cap City will try and change some opinions about D.C. Little League as a whole.

Newark National, DE (6-0): Newark needed just six games to get through Delaware this year. That’s the beauty of double elimination when you stay in the winners’ bracket. This is the third trip in a row for Newark National and they’ve had a lot of success in Bristol. Newark is 7-1 in pool play during the last two years. In 2011, Newark made the semifinals. Last year, they lost a 1-0 decision to Par-Troy East (NJ) in the regional final. Could a third time be the charm? Nate Hardcastle is the name on everyone’s tongue because he played last year and has dominated the state of Delaware with his mid-70s fastball and monster home run power. Joey Davis might be the hottest player in the tournament though with four home runs in his last two games.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, NY (13-0): Burnt Hills enters the regional tournament out of nowhere, at least according to this downstate New York blogger. While BHBL has never won a state title before, this team has had plenty of success with sectional championships as 10s and 11s. They rolled through districts and sectionals and took home the state championship with very good pitching and timely hitting from players like Jack Wyatt, Evan Bowers, and Derek Haughey. Hunter Valley is a top pitcher.

East Greenwich, NJ (12-1): East Greenwich is one of the unlikeliest state champions from New Jersey in a while. It doesn’t mean the boys from South Jersey can’t play ball. East Greenwich’s defense was superb in its state championship victory over Toms River East especially at shortstop with Josh Crowding and in right field with Hunter Kelly. Shawn Dougherty and Sean Szestowicki supply the offense at the top of the order. On the mound, East Greenwich tends to give a different look often. They maximize their abilities by throwing a couple pitchers per game and sometimes as many as four or five... all on purpose. They like to give you a different look every now and then and keep their staff available and fresh. 

Berlin, MD (10-0): Berlin’s trip to Bristol has been years in the making. Berlin is the only team in the Mid-Atlantic region to win state titles as 10s, 11s, and now 12s. The team is led by Tristan McDonough who has an overpowering fastball and big bat. Hayden Snelsire doesn’t get the same publicity but tossed five shutout innings in the winners’ bracket final against Conococheague to send Berlin to the state final. Along with McDonough, Wes Powell and Matt Kinsey have big power. Others including Snelsire and Jack Rosenberg can hit it out of the park as well.

Lionville, PA (11-0): Lionville’s offense has been a juggernaut all tournament long and averaged 14 runs per game. When you have a dominant pitcher like Michael Rodriguez on the staff, you don’t even need that much. Joe Janick carries the team’s best stick, to the point that he was the winning run and still intentionally walked in the state semifinals. It’s probably an inadvisable move in the regional since Connor Kalten his behind him and hit a game-winning double. The next night, he blasted a home run of his own.

Projected Records

Pennsylvania                     3-1

Delaware                          3-1

Maryland                          2-2

New York                         2-2

Washington D.C.               1-3

New Jersey                      1-3         

Semifinals: Pennsylvania over New York 7-4, Delaware over Maryland 3-1.

Final: Pennsylvania over Delaware 9-3


You can hear more of my thoughts on the entire East Region tournament by listening to Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2.

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East Greenwich Proves Best, Wins NJ State Title

Read about East Greenwich's previous games: NJ State Tournament Preview, East Greenwich Steals Victory, and Shocking Results in New Jersey

East Greenwich was not supposed to win the New Jersey state title if you believed... well me. Coming from South Jersey, the Section 4 champion is instantly the underdog once you get to the state final four. Nobody from Section 4 has won the state championship at the Little League majors level since South Vineland in 1991. That's a streak of 21 years.

The streak is over.

Even as the unbeaten team in the state championship game against Toms River East American, it felt like East Greenwich was an underdog. From the first inning, they didn't play like it. Five first-inning hits including RBI doubles from Hunter Kelly and Jonathon Burlingame pushed East Greenwich to a 4-2 victory. Josh Crowding added an RBI single in the decisive first inning as well. Before anyone at Wallingford Little League could get a Philly Cheesesteak from the concession stand, it was 4-0 East Greenwich.

Toms River was immediately forced into survival mode and went to its most effective starting pitcher in the last couple weeks, Dougie Pombo. The right-hander allowed just four more hits to East Greenwich and struck out six batters in 5 1/3 innings of relief, but the offense couldn't make the difference.

East Greenwich's defense helped its pitching-by-committee efforts with stellar defensive plays from the word go. Burlingame orchestrated two fantastic double plays and Miller and Shawn Dougherty took away sure-fire hits while roaming the outfield.

Toms River loaded the bases in the fourth but couldn't push a run across after a single by Maximus Rivas with two men on base. Finally in the fifth, TRE made its move. Pombo led off with a line drive home run to left field which sent the players and fans from the shore into frenzied chants of "Battle Sword," the nickname for Pombo's bat.

In the sixth inning, Jonny Munson led off with a double. He eventually scored on a Rivas grounder, but a Burlingame double play on the ball took a lot of wind out of Toms River's sails. TRE still didn't go away though. Nick Silvia and Pombo both singled with two outs. Danny Clemente ripped a line drive to right field, but it was caught and East Greenwich celebrated.

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Here's the rebroadcast of Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

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Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

On episode 2 of Little League Insider Radio, John Malone discussed some of the great games in New Jersey and Connecticut that he saw in the past week. Capitol City Little League assistant coach Brice Plebani of Washington D.C. called in to talk about his family lineage at the Eastern Regional as well as this year's team. The guys also took calls from fans in Maryland and Maine and talked about some national news around the country as the state tournaments begin to wind down.

Next week's show is going to be right in the heart of the regional tournaments. We'll be live in Bristol, CT for the Eastern Region tournament as well as taking calls from around the country as we head towards the Little League World Series.

You can play the show right here on this page, or download it from the bottom right corner of the link.

Without further ado...

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Westport Comes From Behind, Takes Game 1 Over Coginchaug

Written by John Malone, editor


It took Westport an inning to play the type of baseball it's used to playing, but once the initial miscues were out of its system, typical Westport was back.

After a bloop single, two-base error, and a big hit, Westport found itself in a 2-0 hole. Starting pitcher Chad Knight never buckled and dominated Coginchaug for 5 2/3 innings. The hard-throwing and crafty righty struck out an incredible 14 batters giving up no earned runs and allowing five hits (only two of which left the infield).

Knight used a dipping slider to get the Coginchaug hitters waving at pitches most of the day. Coupled with his great fastball, it was pretty academic that Westport wouldn't allow another run after the first inning.

It wasn't until Coginchaug's defense slipped in the fourth inning that Westport was able to take control of the game. A leadoff singly by Charlie Roof and a pair of errors cut the deficit to one run. Chris Drbal came through with an opposite field double to score two more runs to give Westport the lead for good. Max Popken lasted a two-run home run in the next at-bat to increase the lead to 5-2.

In the fifth inning, Westport loaded the bases with two infield singles and a beautiful bunt single by Ricky Offenberg before Charlie Rogers ripped one off the first baseman to score two more. A passed ball allowed the final run to come across.

In the sixth inning, Harry Azadian came on after Knight reached his pitch count on his first walk of the day. It took Azadian three pitches to strike out the 15th Coginchaug batter and give Westport a 1-0 lead in the series. Game 2 is at Southington South LL on Sunday.

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East Greenwich steals victory from Nutley East in the Sixth

Written by Kyle Stackpole, contributing writer

After a wild extra inning contest between Wayne National and Toms River East American in the first game, Nutley East and East Greenwich finished off the night. Going into the game, not many knew what to expect. What started as a boring game turned into a finish I have personally never seen before.

East Greenwich 4, Nutley East 3

As with any tournament, it is imperative to start on the right foot. With that being said, both squads had their aces on the mound. Josh O’Neill pitched for Nutley East and Josh Crowding took the mound for East Greenwich.

Through the first three innings, neither team could put a run across. East Greenwich flirted with one in the third, but Josh O’Neil was able to sneak out of a no-out bases loaded jam.

Nutley East finally struck first in the top of the fourth. Louis Conca drew a bases loaded walk to score Jeremy Kraft and give his team a 1-0 lead. Nutley added another run in the inning on an RBI single by leadoff hitter Peter Lopez.

With a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, Nutley East decided to pull Josh O’Neil after 66 pitches. Danny Caraballo came in to throw a scoreless inning and keep the Nutley East lead at 2-0.

Nutley East added an insurance run in the fifth when Louis Conca came up big again with a single and a run batted in. Instead of facing a two-run deficit, East Greenwich was now in a three-run hole.

However, East Greenwich was able to get that run back in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single by starting pitcher Josh Crowding. Heading into the sixth, Nutley East still held a 3-1 lead.

After a scoreless top of the sixth, East Greenwich had their last licks. Facing Peter Lopez, East Greenwich received back-to-back singles by Michael Mackey and Ethan Gill. The edge shifted back to Nutley East after getting two quick outs via a fielder’s choice and a pop up to first. At this point, Nutley East brought in their fourth pitcher of the day: AJ Lotito.

Lotito walked his first two batters, the second of which forced a runner home. With the score now 3-2, Ryan Mihlebach came to the plate with the bases still loaded. After a fantastic battle, Mihlebach hit a hard ground ball to second base. The combination of a bad hop and a misjudge sent the ball past the second basemen and into right-center field tying the game 3-3.

Next to the plate came Josh Crowding. With a 1-2 count, Crowding popped one up to second base. The second basemen got under it but closed his glove too early, causing the ball to pop out and fall onto the grass. A run came home and in the blink of an eye, East Greenwich stole the game along with the hearts of the players from Nutley East.

East Greenwich now faces Toms River East American in the winners bracket final on Friday night. Nutley East must regroup to face a tough Wayne National side.

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