The Denville Bruins 12U baseball team strike a pose with the banner they carried during Saturday, July 30, 2011 opening-day ceremonies for the Cooperstown Dreamspark Baseball Tournament in which they will participate starting Sunday, July 31, at Cooperstown, N.Y.
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Denville Bruins' Cooperstown Tournament Roster - 2011
Players: Jared Badalamenti, Richard Boyle, Tyler Faccenda, Justin Giacobbe, William Kenny, Colin McCollough, Daniel Porth, Owen Roche, Jared Sorce, Nicholas Vittorio, Adam Wagner and Conner Walsh
Manager: Gary Faccenda. Coaches: Nick Faccenda, Frank Giacobbe, Jay McCollough and Howard Porth.
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These Bruin pins will be used for trading for other team pins.
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DREAMSPARK NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Bruin HRs earn split on final day
as Denville ends tourney at 4-4
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DENVILLE - The Denville Bruins 12U baseball team split its final two games Wednesday, August 3, in the single-elimination tournament portion of the 2011 DreamsPark National Baseball Tournament held at Cooperstown, N.Y.
The Bruins, seeded 61st in the 104-team field after going 3-3 in the seeding portion of the tournament, beat 84th-seed Houston Slam-White, 6-3, in a morning game and then came back in the afternoon and lost a 17-5 decision to the Rockville Rattlers of Richmond, Va., the No. 40 seed.
The Bruins finished the tournament with an overall record of 4-4 after playing two games a day for four straight days.
"It was a tremendous experience for all of us - players, coaches, parents, fans - who made the trip," said Bruins' manager Gary Faccenda after the game. "The kids played a lot of good baseball and we saw a lot of good baseball."
Denville used the long ball to beat Houston Slam-White in the first game as Tyler Faccenda hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to answer a two-run Houston top of the second; Danny Porth hit a solo home run in the third to give Denville a 3-2 lead and, after Owen Roche singled, winning pitcher Jared Badalamenti gave himself some insurance runs and a 5-2 lead by hitting a two-run homer.
Houston pulled to within two runs at 5-3, but the Bruins got that run back with some alert base-running by Nicholas Vittorio, who stole second, third and home for the Bruins' sixth run.
In the second game, Denville took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but Rockville came back with four runs in its half of the inning and then added three more in the bottom of the second for a 7-1 lead.
The Bruins battled back and pulled to within two runs at 7-5 before Rockville closed out the game by scoring 10 runs over the final two innings.
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Bruins take 3-3 record and 61st seed into tournament
DENVILLE - The Denville Bruins 12U baseball team split the final two games of their seeding-round schedule at the 2011 Cooperstown Dreamspark National Baseball Tournament in Cooperstown, N.Y. on Tuesday, August 2.
The Bruins beat the Brandywine (Pa.) Blast, 10-9, in extra innings with a run in the seventh inning in the first game and then fell to the Texicali (Tex.) Bandits, 23-10, in the second game.
The Bruins finished their six-game seeding-round schedule with a record of 3-3 - winning three straight at one time after starting out 0-2.
Denville was seeded 61st out of the 104 participating teams and will play its first game in the single-elimination tournament at noon Wednesday, August 3, on one of the fields that offers webcasts of games.
Should the Bruins win their first game, they will play in a 3 p.m. game. Later rounds are scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. before the tournament moves on to Thursday, August 4, play.
"The boys did just great, coming back from losing our first two games," said Bruins manager Gary Faccenda after the game. "They are very excited to be here."
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Bruins win twice on Day 2 to even tourney mark at 2-2
DENVILLE - The Denville Bruins 12U baseball team won both of the games it played in the 2011 Cooperstown Dreamspark National Baseball Tournament held at Cooperstown, N.Y., on Monday, August 1, and will take a 2-2 record into its final two games in the first part of the 104-team tournament.
The Bruins are scheduled to face the Brandywine (Pa.) Blast in a 1:45 p.m. game on Tuesday, April 2, and then come back for a 7 p.m. game against the Texacali (Tex.) Bandits. The entire 104 field will then be seeded for a single-elimination competition to close out the tournament.
On Monday, the Bruins beat the Brooklyn Park (Minn.) Bulldogs, 6-0, in the first game and then stopped the Lynnhaven (Va.) Wahoos, 9-3, in the second game.
Against the Bulldogs, Richie Boyle and Jared Badalamenti each pitched three innings of one-hit ball and got plenty of defensive help to complete the shared shutout.
With Denville leading 2-0 early in the game, Denville nailed a Bulldog runner at the plate on a perfect relay play from leftfielder Will Kenny to shortstop Nicholas Vittorio to catcher Conner Walsh.
In the fifth, the Bulldogs had the tying runs on second and third with two outs when Denville first baseman Owen Roche saved two runs when he went to his right to field a ground ball and then scrambled back to first and made a diving tag on the batter-runner for the final out of the inning.
Also, second baseman Jared Sorce made a nice running catch on a soft liner up the middle and right fielder Tyler Faccenda saved at least one run when he made a diving catch with two on and one out.
Danny Porth led the Bruins offense by going 3-for-3 with a double, RBI and two runs scored. Vittorio was 2-for-3 with a run scored; Sorce finished 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs; and Tyler Faccenda was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
In the second game, Justin Giacobbe pitched 5.2 innings and got last-out relief help from Boyle, who came in with bases-loaded and two outs and recorded a strikeout on three pitches to end the game. Giacobbe allowed three runs (all earned) on eight hits.
Walsh and Roche each had two hits for the Bruins. Walsh had two RBIs and Roche singled and just missed a home run when the ball hit off the top of the wall. Also, Adam Wagner singled and scored a run; Faccenda singled and scored; and Sorce singled in two runs.
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Bruins lose twice on tourney's opening day
DENVILLE - Down to the last out and with the tying run on second, Adam Wagner's bid for a base hit to right field was deftly handled by the first baseman when the Denville Bruins 12U baseball team lost a 4-3 decision to the California Renegades in an 11 a.m. game on Sunday, July 31, the first day of the 2011 Cooperstown Dreamspark National Baseball Tournament at Cooperstown, N.Y.
In Sunday's 4:30 p.m. second game, the Bruins were out-muscled, 18-4, by the five-home run attack of the Warren (Ill.) Blue Devil Travelers.
The Bruins play two more games on Monday, August 1 - a 1:45 p.m. game against the Brooklyn Park (Minn.) Bulldogs and a 7 p.m. game against the Lynnhaven (Va.) Wahoos.
In the first game, Denville trailed by a run going into the sixth and final inning and put the tying run on base when Conner Walsh drew a two-out walk. Courtesy runner Jared Badalamenti stole second to get into scoring position but Adam Wagner's sharp, high-hop bouncer to first base was handled cleanly and the California first baseman who then out-racing Wagner to the bag for the final out of the game.
"Their first baseman made a terrific play," said Bruins manager Gary Faccenda after the game. "Both teams played well."
Denville took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Will Kenny reached on an error, took second on a wild pitch, went to third and tried to score on a single by Danny Porth only to get caught in a rundown from which he escaped to give Denville its 1-0 lead.
California answered with two runs in its half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead.
Denville came right back with two runs in the top of the third to regain the lead at 3-2 as Richie Boyle singled home Nicholas Vittorio and eventually came around to score on an error.
California went to the long ball to score the final two runs of the game, belting a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to forge the final 4-3 score.
Tyler Faccenda pitched a complete game for Denville, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out two, walking none and hitting one batter.
Porth led Denville's four-hit attack by going 2-for-2 with an RBI; Vittorio was 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI; and Boyle was also 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.
In the second game, the Blue Devil Travelers hit three home runs to jump out to an 11-0 lead after three innings before Denville got its first run of the game in the fourth inning on a double steal. The Bruins added three more runs in the fifth inning on Jared Sorce's RBI double, Owen Roche's RBI single and a grounder by Justin Giacobbe that went for an error.
The team from Minnesota put the game out of reach with a seven-run sixth inning, clubbing two more home runs in the process.
Vittorio had the only multiple-hit game for Denville, finishing 2-for-3.
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Bruins set for tourney games
after opening-day ceremonies
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DENVILLE - It was all fun and games for the Denville Bruins' 12U baseball team when the players participated in the Cooperstown Dreamspark Baseball Tournament's opening-day ceremonies and skills competition in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Saturday, July 30, 2011.
On Sunday, July 31, the fun and games become more for keeps as the Bruins are scheduled to play two games to open the 104-team tournament. The Bruins face the California Renegades in an 11 a.m. start and then play the Warren (Ill.) Blue Devil Travelers in a 4:30 p.m. game.
The Bruins will play two games on Monday and Tuesday, after which the 104-team field will be seeded and a single-game elimination competition will begin.
Denville warmed up for its six-game tourney schedule by placing 13th out of 104 teams in the "Around the Horn" competition as Bruins Colin McCoullough, Conner Walsh, Danny Porth, Tyler Faccenda, Adam Wagner, Will Kenny, Jared Badalamenti, Owen Roche and Justin Giacobbe "... performed the rotation flawlessly," according to manager Gary Faccenda.
"Jared Sorce did a terrific job in the Road Runner speed competition, finishing 12th in his group," Faccenda added. "Nicholas Vittorio scored a point in the Golden Arm throwing competition and Richie Boyle participated in the King of Swat home run competition and, although he hit the ball hard on all five of his swings, all his shots landed short of the fence.
"It was a terrific evening for all the kids. The weather was perfect and the stadium was packed with fans ... the kids were smiling ear-to-ear as they carried their Bruins banner around the field while throwing candy to the crowd during opening-day ceremonies."
After Sunday's games, the Bruins will play Monday, Aug. 1, against the Brooklyn Park (Minn.) Bulldogs at 1:45 p.m. and the Lynnhaven (Va.) Wahoos at 7 p.m. before closing out their six-game seeding schedule on Tuesday, Aug. 2, with games against the Brandywine (Pa) Blast at 1:45 p.m. and the Texacali (Tex) Bandits at 7 p.m.
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Bruins off to Cooperstown
and '... trip of a lifetime'
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DENVILLE - The Denville Bruins 12-under All-Star baseball team will be experiencing what team manager Gary Faccenda describes as "... the trip of a lifetime," starting the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, July 30-31, 2011, when the team and its entourage travels to Cooperstown, N.Y., for the Cooperstown Dreamspark Baseball Tournament.
This will mark the fifth time in the last six seasons a team from Denville has participated in the 12-under tournament that attracts 104 teams each summer.
It will be the first time for Faccenda, who admits that he and the coaching staff, parents, and other family and friends making the trip are "... just as excited as the players" about making the trip and taking in the tournament.
"Everybody we've talked to whom has gone to Cooperstown before has said this tournament is a trip of a lifetime," Faccenda says. "The kids will be playing on top-notch fields and staying together in a barracks with the coaches.
"It's baseball, summer, friends, baseball, hanging out, wiffle ball, baseball, pin-trading, the Hall of fame, baseball ... you're 12 years old and you love to play baseball -- what could be better?"
The competition will also be top-notch as the tourney field is made up of 104 teams from all over the country, with some teams holding multiple-town tryouts to fill out their All-Star roster.
"We've heard of some incredible teams that have competed here in the past," Faccenda says. "We looked back at our teams and it looks as if the best a Denville team has done is 4-4 so we figure if we can come in the top 32, that would be an amazing accomplishment for us when you consider the competition and the fact that we are a one-town All-Star team."
Each of the 104 teams plays six games - two games a day for three days - and then the entire 104 team is seeded and a single-elimination tournament begins to determine the champion for this particular week's tournament, the ninth and final such tourney of the summer.
The tournament opens Saturday, July 30, with pre-tournament ceremonies and a Skills Competition. Richie Boyle is the Denville entry in the King of Swat home run competition; Jared Sorce will represent the Bruins in the Road Runner speed competition; Nicholas Vittorio is the Denville entrant in the Gold Arm throwing accuracy competition; and the entire team will participate in an Around The Horn competition.
Joining Boyle, Sorce and Vittorio on the team are Jared Badalamenti, Tyler Faccenda, Justin Giacobbe, William Kenny, Colin McCollough, Daniel Porth, Owen Roche, Adam Wagner and Conner Walsh.
Faccenda's coaching staff includes Nick Faccenda, Frank Giacobbe, Howard Porth and Jay McCollough.
"Most of these boys have been playing together for the past four years now ... it's a great bunch of kids," Faccenda says. "Now that they'll be moving on into their teenage years, this is sort of a right of passage in their development."
... the trip of a lifetime.
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