Johnston Falls Short in Last Game of East Final, 10-8, to New York

Johnston's Junior Little League All-Star squad fell just short of a second straight East Regional crown on Thursday, dropping the deciding second game against Franklin Square, NY, by a score of 10-8 in Freehold, NJ.

The two teams combined for 28 hits, with New York scoring two runs in the top of the seventh and holding Johnston scoreless in the bottom half to secure the win, according to online reports from Gamechanger.

Johnston Little League President Ed Bedrosian, who led the junior squad to the World Series last year, spoke highly of this year's crew and gave them credit for fighting the uphill battle to get out of the elimination round and have a chance to win another trip to Taylor, MI.

"My hat's off to everyone over there, it's very difficult to do what they did," Bedrosian said by phone Thursday night. "We're proud of them."

Bedrosian also offered words of praise to coach Joe Santilli, who took the helm of this year's 13- to 14-year-olds and led them to a third straght state championship.

"One thing Joe is, he's very dedicated— he makes the commitment, and he dedicates himself to the team," explained Bedrosian, who also credited Santilli with bringing an ethos of teamwork to his role. "He's not one of those coaches who has to make all the decisions, he gets everybody's input, and he'd good with the kids as far as getting along with them."

Asked what he'd tell the returning junior squad after their recent run, Bedrosian replied: "When I see them, I'll tell them: 'You guys left it all out there today, you shouldn't be ashamed of anything.' They obviously played their hearts out all week, they did a great job saving their pitching for the end, so all I can tell them is that they did a great job, and [although] it sucks to lose, hopefully they get a taste of success and carry on next year."

Game 1: Johnston forces 10-run rule stoppage:

In the late morning game, Korey Fijal gave up nine runs in 3.2 innings, but led the offense as it racked up 18 hits on the way to a 19-9 victory in five innings.

Fijal went 3-for-4 with 7 runs and 3 RBI, and Henderson added a 4-for-4 performance with 4 runs and an RBI. John Willette and Marc Conte each went 3-for-3 and combined for 7 runs and 4 RBIs.

Johnston tallied 14 runs in the first three innings on the strength of Fijal's three-run double to start off the scoring, his own run on Conte's single to center, and Conte's score on Nick Raposo's follow-up RBI single.

New York added three to the board in the top of the second, but the local squad answered with three of its own, with Armani Henderson, Fijal, and Matt Kennedy crossing the plate to make the score 8-3.

Following two more New York scores in the top of the third, Johnston erupted for six in the home half, including a Fijal homer to score himself and Willette.

Michael Caparco and Jake Podmaska combined to shut down New York, notching two outs each with three walks and a strikeout for Caparco.

The undefeated Franklin Square team made a final push in the top of the fourth with four runs, but Johnston responded with another five-run frame in the bottom half to extend the lead to 10.

Johnston closed out the first game with two fly-outs handled by Fijal and a ground-out. Officials then ended the game under the league's so-called mercy rule.

With the victory, Johnston forced a second game, which began just after 2:30 pm

Game 2: Hard-fought game to the end:

Henderson and Wilette paced the Johnston squad with two hits apiece and a combined 3 runs and 2 RBI, but the local team couldn't hold off a late rally by New York in the 10-8 loss.

Johnston struck first in the late game when Henderson scored on a Kennedy walk with bases loaded, then replied to a New York run in the second with a pair in the home half of the inning.

New York stormed out to a 6-3 lead in the third and extended the margin to 7-3 in the fourth before Johnston tied the game with Henderson, Willette, and Kennedy tallying runs against starter Julio Lazardo.

After the New York squad notched another run in the top of the fifth, Johnston responded with a Kennedy score off a Coro single in the bottom of the sixth to again tie the contest.

That was it for Johnston scoring, though, as reliever Anthony Catapano held the local team to a strikeout, a ground-out and a fly-out in the sixth, then notched another K in the seventh, bracketed by a line drive to right field snagged by Anthony Lucito and a pop-out off Kennedy that Lizardo handled at third base for the final out.

Franklin Square now advances to the Junior Little League World Series, scheduled to begin early next week in Taylor, MI.

Special thanks to Clarissa Catanzaro for providing photos throughout the Junior Little League East Regionals.

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