Lawrence 10s Open 2nd Tournament With A Win

Editor's Note: The following game highlights were submitted to Lawrenceville Patch by Lawrence Little League.

The Lawrence Township 10-year-old All-Star Team held on to defeat HTRBA 12-9 on Sunday in the opening game of the Late 10's Tournament, hosted by Cranbury-Plainsboro Little League.

Lawrence was led by a flawless day at the plate by Shea McGuire, who went 3-for-3 against HTRBA's pitching. He singled in the first and third innings, and doubled in the fourth inning, picking up an RBI and scoring three runs himself - including a steal of home.

Alex Everman started the game on the mound for Lawrence and struck out five while surrendering only one hit in 2⅓ innings of work.  He was also busy at the plate, going 2-for-3 including a two-run double in the third inning. 

Ean Dauer added to the offense, going 1-for-2 with a walk, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.  Jack O’Reilly also picked up two RBI’s and pitched a scoreless fifth inning on the way to the victory. 

The game was back-and-forth through three innings as HTRBA scored one run in the first inning on a double by starting pitcher Wyatt Baker.  Lawrence bounced right back, scoring two runs in the bottom half of the inning. 

Lawrence added a run in the second inning as Garrett Maloney picked up an RBI, bringing home Hans Lillis.  However, HTRBA plated three runs in the top of the third inning to re-take the lead 4-3.

Then the Lawrence bats woke up.  Chris Nevius started off the bottom of the third inning with a single to right-center, and scored the first of six runs that inning.  Other offensive contributions for the day included Hans Lillis smashing a double in the third inning, along with a walk, and three runs scored on the day.  Sean Hoffman added an RBI, and Ben Cohen added a hit and scored a run. 

Nick Ciuffreda picked up his third win of the summer after pitching one shutout inning.  He struck out one, walked none, and surrendered one hit.  He was also part of a defensive play that shut down the HTRBA rally in the top of the sixth inning.

Down 12-4 headed into the final frame, HTRBA fought to bring in five runs.  Nico Estrada worked a bases-loaded walk, and then Wyatt Baker hit a triple to the fence in right-center field. 

However, a flawless relay from Shea McGuire in center field to second baseman Alex Everman to first baseman Nick Ciuffreda to Hans Lillis behind the plate resulted in an exciting out that took the wind out of the sails of HTRBA and restored momentum to the boys from Lawrence. 

Sean Hoffman then induced popups from the last two batters of the day to seal the victory for Lawrence.

“We worked a lot on our relay throws and on having the mindset and focus to avoid mental errors in the last week,” said Lawrence manager Brian Ciuffreda, “and that hard work by the players paid off today.  How often do you get to see a perfectly executed 8-4-3-2 put-out made by 10 year olds?”