Lawrence Little League Game Roundup

Editor's Note: The following game summaries were submitted by Lawrence Little League Baseball and Softball team managers.

Boys Baseball American Division

May 4: Lawrence PBA, 13 vs. Candela’s, 7

Chris Nevius pitched 3⅔ innings, striking out eight and yielding three hits and one walk.  He was relieved by Jake Bennett in the top of the fourth.  Nevius, Bennett and Will Kocsis had two hits each for PBA, with Peter Teti, Adam Levinsky, Andres Trujillo, Edward Coplin, and John Caccavale adding one hit each.

Aidan Loughran, Matthew Kildea, Miles Kron, David Ferdetta, Connor Monaghan, and Roshan Aiyar pitched for Candela’s.  Matthew Kildea, David Ferdetta and Aidan Loughran had one hit each for Candela’s and Aidan Loughran made a spectacular fielding play at second base to record an out.  Justin Franc, Aidan Loughran, Connor Monaghan, Max Frank each had a stolen base.

May 7: Borden Perlman Insurance, 17 vs. Miele, 9

Pitcher Ameer Hasan led Borden Perlman to a 17-9 win over Miele.  He got his fifth win of the year in as many tries by striking out 10 and also contributed to the offense by hitting three doubles .  John Weaver hit a two-run home run while driving in five. Good defensive plays by Michael Streger, Trevor Stio and Darius McKay helped to limit the runs scored by Miele.

For Miele, Hunter Rivera struck out five and was also 2-2 at the plate.  Eli Kooistra collected a pair of hits and scored a run while Nate Ballard made some outstanding scoops behind the dish.

May 10: Lawrence PBA, 14 vs. Borden Perlman, 10

PBA banged out 12 hits, with John Caccavale, Jack Ullman, Andres Trujillo, and Jake Bennett collecting two each.  Reece Schenck, Andres Trujillo, and Jake Bennett each had two RBIs.  Neo Maralit had one hit and scored a run.  Chris Nevius pitched two innings, striking out six and allowing two hits and one walk.  John Caccavale, Will Kocsis, Jake Bennett, and Edward Coplin completed the pitching for PBA.

Michael Streger and Ameer Hasan had two hits each and John Weaver had one for Borden Perlman.  Luke Sanjek, Ronit Deshpande, Darius McKay and Ryan Stevens shared the pitching duties.  Borden Perlman fell behind 7-1 but came back with five runs in the third to tighten up the score.  They tied the game at 9-9 with three runs in the top of the fourth only to see PBA put the game out of reach with five runs in the bottom of the frame.

May 11: Miele, 13 vs. Lawrence FOP, 8

Colby Davis reached base three times and singled in two runs to help Miele defeat Lawrence FOP, 13-8. Eli Kooistra and Hunter Rivera also contributed to the victory with two hits apiece. John Halligan pitched two innings in relief and struck out five.

Chap Turner was 3-for-3 and knocked in two runs while Ben Cohen doubled and scored twice for FOP in the loss. Cohen also pitched three innings, striking out seven.

Boys Baseball National Division

May 4: Ace Topsoil, 13 vs. First Choice Bank, 4

Ace Topsoil improved its record to 5-3 with a 13-2 victory over First Choice Bank. First Choice grabbed the lead in the second inning with a line-shot two-run home run over the centerfield fence by Nathaniel Perrucci. Down 2-1 going into the top of the fourth inning, Ace Topsoil sent 16 batters to the plate, scoring 10 runs, as First Bank pitchers developed control problems. Hans Lillis and Darrin Ikeda had two hits apiece to lead the hitting. Evan Monfre pitched three strong innings, striking out six for Ace Topsoil. Shea McGuire and Thomas McGlaughlin came in relief, finishing the game by striking out the side in the bottom of the fifth.

May 5: Ace Topsoil, 6 vs. Lukoil of Lawrenceville, 2

Ace Topsoil (6-2) moved to within a half-game of the division lead, with a 6-2 victory over division leader Lukeoil of Lawrenceville (6-3). Clutch hitting by Evan Monfre and a steal of home plate by Shea McGuire helped Ace Topsoil to a 4-0 lead after three innings. Finn Lillis kept Lukoil off the board until the fourth inning with a 13-strikout pitching performance. Lukoil finally connected on several hits off Lillis in the fourth inning, scoring two runs and cutting Ace Topsoil's lead to 4-2. Justin Monsport’s two-run double in the bottom of the fifth pushed the lead back to four. Hans Lillis relieved his brother to record the final three outs of the game.

May 7: Ace Topsoil, 8 vs. Carroll’s Christmas Tree Farm, 5

Ace Topsoil (7-3) held off a late rally by Carroll's Christmas Tree Farm (3-7) to claim an 8-5 victory. An RBI single by Kyle Smith off of Topsoil pitcher Evan Monfre in the first inning gave Carroll's a 1-0 lead, but a second run was prevented on the relay throw of Finn Lillis to Ethan Crutchley, who tagged Jack O'Riley as he tried to score from second base on the hit. Ace Topsoil responded in the bottom of the first, scoring four runs on RBI hits by Monfre and Hans Lillis.

Ace Topsoil extended their lead to 8-1 with an RBI double by Monfre in the fourth and a sacrifice fly from Thomas McGlaughlin. Monfre pitched five strong innings, allowing two hits, while striking out seven and walking four. In the sixth, with two outs and one person on base, Carroll's bats awakened with a string of hits, highlighted with Liam Carroll's two-RBI single, cutting the lead 8-4. Carroll later scored on a bases-loaded walk, which cut the lead to three. Hans Lillis then shut the door, getting the final out to stop the rally.

May 11: Lukoil of Lawrenceville, 11 vs. Doherty Painting, 1

Lukoil opened the scoring with five runs on five hits in the first inning. That was all Ryan Kaelblein would need as he only surrendered one run on two hits while striking out five over his four innings of pitching.  He contributed with the bat, as well, going 3-for-3.  Matt Gunton had two hits including a double, Ryan Morris had two hits, Charlie Christoffersen had a double and Ryan Monaghan went 3-for-3 with a double and a very nice play at second base.

Nick Cuiffreda smacked a double, plating Justin Wolf who had reached on a single for Doherty Painting’s only run.

May 12: Lukoil of Lawrenceville, 6 vs. Ace Topsoil, 5

Lukoil stormed back from a three-run deficit to earn a walk-off 6-5 win.  Steven Sikora led off the bottom of the last inning with a double and then scored on Ean Dauer’s single. Brandon West followed with a double of his own, before Ryan Kaelblein tied the score with a single up the middle.  Two outs later, with Ryan Kaelblein now on third, Ryan Morris hit a grounder to the right side which found its way into right field for the walk-off win.   Matt Gunton gave up three runs over five innings and had a double.  Ryan Kaelblein had three hits, Charlie Christoffersen had a double, and Ryan Morris had two hits.

Even Monfre pitched a gem but was not rewarded with a win.  He had 11 strikeouts over five innings and had two hits including a double.  Shea McGwire added a double and Finn Lillis crushed a triple for Ace.  Also for Ace, Hans Lillis had two hits while Thomas McLaughlin and Ethan Crutchley had a hit a piece.

Girls Softball

May 12: Princeton, 8 vs. Poulson and Van Hise, 5

Athena Battle, Gianna Oakley and Kinsey Ratzman all singled and scored in a hard-fought loss to Princeton. Rayna Indelicato and Taina Vega also walked and scored for Poulson, while Erica Cawley pitched a complete game.

Megan Shanahan and Maddie Deutsch helped lead Princeton to victory. Shanahan was 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Deutsch walked twice and scored three times. Celia Gleason pitched well and earned the win.

May 14: Terhune Orchards, 19 vs. Poulson and Van Hise, 18

Poulson and Van Hise fell to Terhune Orchards in this high-scoring, back-and-forth contest, 19-18. Megan Kiernan led Poulson with three hits including a double and two singles. Taina Vega, Hayley Davis, Jessica Molinari, Athena Battle, Bella Monnachio and Gianna Oakley all walked and scored twice.

For Terhune Orchards, Melissa Rothenberg slugged a double and triple and scored two runs. Larissa Ireland and Monica Yates both scored three times for Terhune.