DENVILLE - Troy Ejdys drove in three runs with a double and triple when Denville beat Madison, 10-7, in the final weekend of the Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament at Gardner Field here on Sunday, July 31, 2011.
    The victory gave Denville a final tournament record of 4-9 and marked the team's third win in six second-half games (one game was rained out and will not be made up).
    "This was a great finish to our season," said Denville manager Lee Blum after the game. "We were 1-6 in the first half, but I had the feeling we'd play better in the second half and that's exactly what the kid did."
    Madison opened the game with three first-inning runs and Denville caught up and went ahead to stay with back-to-back four-run innings in the third and fourth.
    Ejdys, Chris Tavarone and Jonathan Blum each had two hits to spark Denville's nine-hit attack. Ejdys finished 2-for-2 with a triple, double and three RBIs; Tavarone was 2-for-2 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored; and Blum was 2-for-3 with a two-run triple and two runs scored.
    Michael DeNucci was 1-for-1 with three runs scored; sam Huss was 1-for-2; Chandler Keith was 1-for-3; and Luke Malatgesta, Alec Cuhney and Nick Parente each scored a run.
    Michael Cardone, Cuhney, Malatesta and Blum did the pitching for Denville with Cuhney getting the win for working 3.1 innings in reliev with three strikeouts. Malatesa struck out three in his 1.1 innings of work.

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Denville gives unbeaten (12-0) Mendham a battle in loss

    DENVILLE - Manager Lee Blum called the game "... our best team effort of the season," after his Denville 9-year-old All-Stars lost a 14-9 decision to unbeaten Mendham in a Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament game played at Mendham on Wednesday, July 27, 2011.
    Denville (3-9) and Mendham (12-0) battled back and forth through the first three-and-a-half innings - Denville led 3-1 after one; the  score was tied at 4-4 after two; Mendham led 9-5 after three; and Denville scored four times in the top of the fourth inning to tie the score once again, this time at 9-9.
    But this is where Mendham came up with its second straight five-run inning to go ahead 14-9 and, after Denville failed to score in the top of the fifth inning, the game was called due to darkness.
    "Mendham has a very good team - undefeated and in first place in the tournament," Blum said after the game. "Our kids battled with them and didn't give up ... it was our best effort of the season."
    Troy Ejdys led Denville's 11-hit attack by finishing 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
    Chris Tavarone and Sam Huss also had multiple-hit games with Tavarone going 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored and Huss also getting two  hits in three at-bats.
    Michael DeNucci was 1-for-1 with three runs scored; Jonathan Blum was 1-for-3 with an RBI; Anthony Colucci was 1-for-3 with an RBI; Nick Paton was 1-for-3; Chandler Keith scored a run and Nick Parente also scored a run.
    Michael Cardone, Paton and DeNucci handled the pitching chores for Denville.
    Denville is scheduled to conclude its play in the Mendham Tournament with a 10 a.m. game against Madison on Saturday, July 30, at Gardner Field here.

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Rained out twice, Denville faces Mendham next

    DENVILLE - The Denville-Morristown American game in the Mendham 9s  Baseball Tournament has been rained out twice now and the Denville All-Stars next game is now scheduled for Wednesday, July 27, at Mendham at 6 p.m.
    Monday's (July 25) game between the Denville and Morristown American All-Stars was postponed by rain and Tuesday's rescheduled game between the two teams was started but called by rain in the fourth inning.

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Tavarone, DeNucci each get three hits in loss

    DENVILLE - The Denville 9s All-Star baseball team ran into a team as hot as the weather when it lost a 24-6 decision to Chester in a Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament morning game played at Gardner Field here on the Saturday, July 23, 2011.
    Chester rapped out 20 hits and scored in every inning in improving its tourney record to 7-4. Denville, which had won two of its last three games, is now 3-8.
    Chris Tavarone and Michael DeNucci each went 3-for-3 to lead Denville's 12-hit attack. Tavarone finished with two doubles, three RBIs and one run scored and DeNucci scored a run.
    Troy Ejdys was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs; Jonathan Blum was 1-for-2 with a double and run scored; Luke Malatesta was 1-for-3 with one RBI and a run scored; Nick Paton was 1-for-2 with a run scored; and Anthony Colucci finished 1-for-2.
    Alex Cuhney, Mike Cardone, Paton, Malatesta and Ejdys handled the pitching chores for Denville.
    Denville's next tourney game is scheduled for Monday, July 25, a 6 p.m. contest against Morristown American at Morristown.

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Denville beats Hanover with 4-run 5th inning, 14-13

    DENVILLE - Anthony Colucci's two-run single capped a four-run fifth inning when the Denville 9s All-Stars rallied for a 14-13 victory in a Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament game played at Gardner Field here on Monday, July 18, 2011.
    Denville (3-7) trailed 12-10 going into the bottom of the fifth when Jonathan Blum doubled, Michael DeNucci walked and stole second, and Chris Tavarone singled home both runners to tie the score at 10-10.
    Luke Malatesta singled and Alec Cuhney was hit with a pitch to load the bases for Colucci, who promptly singled to drive in Tavarone and Malatesta with the runs Denville needed to win the game.
    Blum, the third of three Denville pitchers, pitched the sixth inning and gave up a run and a hit before striking out the last two batters to end the threat and the game. Michael DeNucci started for Denville and Colucci relieved and pitched four innings to get the win.
    Blum was 3-for-4 to lead Denville's 12-hit attack, finishing the game with a solo home run, a double, one RBI and three runs scored.
    Tavarone finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and three runs scored; Malatesta was also 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored; Colucci was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored; Troy Ejdys was 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and a run scored; Chandler Keith was 1-for-3; Alec Cuhney drove in a run with a sacrifice fly; and Sam Huss had one RBI.
    Denville's next game in the tourney is a 10 a.m. start against Chester scheduled for Saturday, July 23, at Gardner Field.

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DeNucci hits another grand slam in 17-10 loss

    DENVILLE - Even a Michael DeNucci grand slam - his second bases-loaded homer in two games - wasn't able to help Denville this time.
    Denville and Randolph East had a slugfest in the Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament with Randolph West coming out on top, 17-10, in a game played at Gardner Field here on Saturday, July 16, 2011.
`    Randolph East pounded out 18 hits and reached the maximum five runs allowed in any one inning in three of their six at-bats.
    Randolph East scored five times in the first inning, but Denville answered with four runs in its half of the inning. After a scoreless second inning Randolph East moved out to a 15-4 lead with five-run innings in both the third and four innings.
    Denville answered with five runs in the bottom of the fourth with DeNucci's grand slam the big hit of the inning; Randolph East scored twice in the top of the fifth for a 17-9 lead; Denville came back with a run in the bottom of the fifth; and neither team scored in the sixth and final inning.
    Chris Tavarone and DeNucci led Denville's 12-hit attack. Tavarone was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored and DeNucci finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs on his bases-loaded home run and a run scored.
    Luke Malatesta was 1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored; Michael Cardone was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored; Sam Huss was 1-for-3 with a run scored; Nick Paton was 1-for-1 with a run scored; and Jonathan Blum, Samn Huss and Chandler Keith each finished 1-for-3.
    Paton, Malatesta, Blum and Cardone handled the pitching for Denville.
    Denville, now 2-7 in the tournament, takes on Hanover in a 6 p.m. game on Monday, July 18, at Gardner Field here.

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Denville opens 2n half with 11-2 win over RockTwp

     DENVILLE - After completing the first half of the Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament schedule with a 1-6 record, Denville All-Star manager Lee Blum said he saw "... better things coming for us in the second half."
    Denville opened the second half of the tourney on Wednesday, July 13, 2011, Blum's players made his prediction come true with an 11-2 victory over Rockaway Township in a game played at Lake Denmark Field in Rockaway Township.
    The game was a 1-1 contest after three innings before Denville (2-6)  broke away with a four-run fourth inning, two runs in the fifth, and another four-run outburst in the sixth and final inning.
    Denville made the most of its five hits with Michael DeNucci showing the way by going 3-for-4 that included a grand slam in the sixth inning that gave his team the final 11-2 score.
    DeNucci finished the game with five RBIs and scored two runs scored.
    Luke Malatesta was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and Nick Paton was 1-for-1 with a run scored to account for Denville's other two hits.
    Denville took advantage of a host of walks as Jonathan Blum scored two runs and Chris Tavarone, Michael Cardone, Alec Cuhney, Anthony Colucci, Sam Huss and Chandler Keith.
    Paton and Colucci split the pitching duties with Paton working the first three innings and allowing one run  on three hits while striking out three and walking two. Colucci pitched the final three innings and allowed one run on two hits while striking out four and walking none.
    Denville will try to make it two in a row on Saturday, July 16, when the All-Stars take on Randolph East in a 10 a.m. game at Gardner Field here.

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Denville looking ahead '... to a better second half.'

     DENVILLE - The Denville 9-year-old All-Star team finished the first half of the 2011 Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament schedule with a 1-6 record, but manager Lee Blum expressed confidence that the second half would be better.
    "We just finished the first half," said Blum after his club lost a 17-6 decision to Roxbury American at Kiwanis Park in Roxbury on Monday, July 11. "I feel pretty good about having some good things happen to us in the second half.
    "We've faced some very good teams so far, but our kids have stayed in and fought to the end ... all this will pay off for us and we're looking to have a better second half."
    The second half for Denville starts on Wednesday, July 13, with a 6 p.m. game against Rockaway Township at the Lake Denmark Field in Rockaway Township.
    On Monday, Denville ran into a team that pounded out 15 hits in just five turns at-bat. Roxbury American led 5-1 after one inning, 8-2 after two, 12-2 after three before adding five more runs in the bottom of the fifth.
    Denville finished with six hits with Chris Tavarone leading the way by ging 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
    Troy Ejdys was 1-for-3 with a triple and a run scored; Michael DeNucci was 1-for-2 with an RBI; Alex Cuhney was 1-for-3 with an RBI; Michael Cardone scored two runs and Sam Huss scored one run.
    Anthony Colucci, Chandler Keith and Cardone handled the pitching duties for Denville.

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Denville out-hits PTE, but fall to late rally, 14-11

     DENVILLE - Par-Troy East's three-run flurry in the top of the sixth and last inning proved the difference in the game in a 14-11 victory over Denville in a Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament game played at Gardner Field on Saturday, July 9, 2011.
    With both teams scoring runs in each of the six innings except the second, Denville (1-5) then came back with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning to close the gap to the three-run margin of victory. PTE improved to 4-1 in the tournament.
    Denville finished with 11 hits to PTE's seven with Troy Ejdys and Christ Tavarone leading the way, each with two hits. Ejdys was 2-for-2 with two doubles, two RBIs and a runs scored and Tavarone finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
    Chandler Keith was 1-for-3 with two RBIs; Michael Cardone was 1-for-3 with a triple, RBI and one run scored; Luke Malatesta was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored; Anthony Colucci was 1-for-2 with two runs scored; Jonathan Blum was 1-for-3 with a run scored; Nick Parente was 1-for-2 with a run scored; Sam Huss finished 1-for-3; and Michael DeNucci scored a run.
    Paton was the most effective of Denville's three pitchers, working the first two innings of the game and allowing only one run on one hit while striking out two.
    Denville wil face Roxbury American at Roxbury in a 6 p.m. game on Monday, July 11.

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Blum, Colucci get only hits in 7-2 loss to Mo-Nat

    DENVILLE - Jonathan Blum and Anthony Colucci got the team's only hits when Denville lost a 7-1 decision to Morristown National in a Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament game played at Burnham Park in Morristown on Thursday, July 7, 2011.
    Trailing 6-0 after three innings, Denville (1-4) scored its only run in the top of the fourth inning when Michael DeNucci walked, stole second, reached third on an error, and scored when Chandler Keith grounded out to first.
    Nick Paton and Luke Malatesta pitched for Denville, which which has its next game scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, July 9, against Par-Troy East at Gardner Field.
    In an earlier game, Denville was held to three hits in a 14-4 loss to Tri-Town at Pepe Field in Boonton Township on Saturday, July 2.
    Alec Cuhney was 2-for-3 with one RBI and a run scored and Michael Cardone was 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.

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Denville's 19 runs on 19 hits secure first victory

     DENVILLE - The Denville 9s All-Stars scored 19 runs on 19 hits but still had to hold off a six-run sixth-inning rally to win their first Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament game, a 19-16 victory over Roxbury National at Kiwanis Park in Roxbury Township on Wednesday, June 29, 2011.
    Luke Malatesta came in with one out in the sixth and final inning and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with the winning run at the plate by striking out the last two batters of the game to seal the victory.
    Each team scored at least one run in each of its six at-bats with Denville starter and winner Anthony Colucci allowing a run in each of the first three innings but avoiding further damage by striking out five as Denville (1-2) took a 9-3 lead after the first three innings.
    Denville took a 10-3 lead with a run in the top of the fourth, but Roxbury National scored five times in the bottom of the fourth to make it 10-8 in Denville's favor.
    Denville regained its seven-run lead with a five-run fourth-inning flurry only to see Roxbury National come back again with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth.
    A four-run outburst in the top of the sixth sent Denville into the bottom of the sixth with a 19-10 lead, but Roxbury National had one more rally left and scored six runs and had bases loaded with only one out before Malatesta had to come in and put down the uprising with his two big strikeouts.
    Alec Chuhney led Denville's 19-hit attack by going 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
    Nick Paton, Michael Cardone, Chris Tavarone, Troy Ejdys, Colucci and Malatesta each had two hits for Denville. Paton was 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scoredf; Malatesta finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs; Cardone was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and one run scored; Tavarone finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored; Colucci was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored; Ejdys was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two  runs scored.
    Also, Jonathan Blum was 1-for-4 with a scored; Michael DeNucci was 1-for-1 with three runs scored; Chandler Keith was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored; and Nick Parente was 1-for-2 with two runs scored.
    Denville will try to get back to the .500 mark on Saturday, July 2, with a 10 a.m. game against Tri-Town at Pepe Field in Boonton Township.
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Randolph West pulls away to beat Denville

    DENVILLE - The Denville and Randolph West 9-year-old All-Stars went back and forth for the first three innings, but Randolph West pitching finally shut down Denville in the second three innings and West was able to move out to a 20-8 victory over Denville in a Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament game played at Gardner Field on Monday, June 26, 2011.
    Randolph West (1-1) scored three times in the top of the first but RBI singles by Michael Cardone and Chris Tavarone keyed a four-run outburst that gave Denville (0-2) a 4-3 lead after one full inning.
    Randolph West took the lead 6-4 with another three-run inning and Denville came back with only one in the bottom of the second as Randolph led 6-5 after two innings.
    A five-run outburst gave Randolph West an 11-5 lead but Denville came back again, scoring three runs with Chandler Keith's two-run single the big hit of the inning.
    The Denville bats stayed quiet the rest of the way and Randolph West padded the lead with a four-run rally in the top of the fourth and before putting the game out of reach with five runs in the sixth and final inning.
    "We played a solid three innings early on an trailed by only two," said Denville manager Lee Blum. "The kids never let up and played hard all the way and I know we'll be ready for out next game."
    Cardone and Tavarone each finished with two hits to lead Denville. Cardone was 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored and Tavarone finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
    Anthony Colucci was 1-for-2; Jonathan Blum was 1-for-3 with a run scored; Luke Malatesta was 1-for-3 with a run scored; Keith was 1-for-2 with two RBIs; and Nick Paton and Troy Ejdys each scored a run.
    Cardon, Malatesta, Blum and Paton pitched for Denville.
    Next up for Denville is a 6 p.m. game against Roxbury National at Kiwanis Park in Roxbury on Wendesday, June 29.

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Denville 5-run rally not enough in 10-8 defeat

     DENVILLE - Trailing 10-3 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Denville 9s All-Stars rallied for five runs only to suffer a 10-8 loss to Par Troy West in a Mendham 9s Baseball Tournament game played at Gardner Field on Saturday, June 25, 2011.
    "We got off to a slow start, had a nice five-run rally later in the game but in the end we fell short," said manager Lee Blum after the game. "It was a tough loss for our first game in the tournament, but the kids played hard right up to the end."
    Par Troy West scored two first-inning runs that were answered by Denville in its half of the inning to take a 2-2 tie into the second inning. Par Troy scored two in the top of the second, one in the third and then broke loose for five runs in the sixth for its 10-3 lead it never lost.
    Both teams finished with eight hits in the game with Michael DeNucci, Anthony Colucci, Michael Cardone, Alec Chuhney and Jonathan Blum sharing the pitching duties.
    Eight Denville players each finished with one hit to account for Denville's hitting attack.
    Chris Tavarone was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored; Sam Huss was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored; Nick Paton was 1-for-1 with an RBI; Nick Parente was 1-for-2 with an RBI; DeNucci was 1-for-2; Colucci was 1-for-2 with a run scored; Cardone was 1-for-3 with a run scored; Jonathan Blum was 1-for-2 with a run scored; Chandler Keith drove in a run; and Alec Chuhney scored a run.
    Denville's next game in the Mendham tourney is scheduled for Monday, June 27, against Randolph West at Gardner Field at 6 p.m.

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Denville 9s to open Mendham play vs. Par-Troy West

    DENVILLE - The Denville 9-year-old All-Star baseball team will open play in the Mendham 9s Tournament on Saturday, June 25, with a 10 a.m. game against Par-Troy West at Gardner field here.
    The Mendham tourney features a 15-team field with each team playing each other once with the team with the best record at the end of the 14-game schedule being declared the tournament champion.
    Lee Blum is the manager for Denville and Mike Cardone, Tom Colucci and Tom Malatesta are the team's coaches.
    The team's 12-man roster is made up of players Johnathan Blum, Michael Cardone, Anthony Colucci, Alec Cuhney, Michael DeNucci, Troy Ejdys, Sam Huss, Chandler Keith, Luke Malatesta, Nick Parente, Nick Paton and Chris Tavarone.
    The other teams in the tournament are Par-Troy East, Hanover, Chester, Roxbury American, Roxbury National, Rockaway Township, Randolph East, Randolph West, Tri-Town, Morristown American, Morristown National, Madison and the host Mendham club.