DENVILLE - Scoring eight of their 11 runs in the first two innings, it looked as if the only way the hitters on the Denville Medical and Sports Rehab team would get cooled off was if they jumped into the river.
     Four innings later, that's exactly what they did as Denville Medical beat Denville Line Painting, 11-7,  to capture the best-of-three playoff series in the Denville Little League Minors Division, two games to one, in a game played at Gardner Field here on Saturday, June 19.
      Denville Medical opened the championship series with a 14-7 victory on Tuesday, June 15, and Line Painting squared the series at one win each with a 7-6 victory on Thursday, June 17, to set up the third and deciding game.
      Shortly after the final out of the title game, the entire team and coaching staff made a beeline for the nearby Rockaway River where they happily splashed their way through a soaking wet championship celebration.
      "They took me to the river," said Denville Medical manager Stephen Reh, a first-year manager in the Denville Little League program. "They made a rookie manager look good ... I can't thank them enough for what they did throughout the tournament."
      Medical Rehab outscored Line Painting, 31 runs to 21 in the three-game series as the new champions won the first game, 14-7, on Tuesday, June 15, before Line Painting came back to take the second game, 7-6, to set up the title game.
      "Give their team and coaching staff credit for a well-played championship series ... they had solid defense and good pitching," said Line Painting manager Bob Taylor. "Our kids played well in spots and they never gave up and we're all very proud of them."
      Denville Medical scored three runs in the first inning and added five more in the second to take an early 8-1 lead. Line Painting scored one in the first and two in the fourth and then added four more runs in the top of the fifth to pull within four runs, but could get no closer.
      Brett Decker, Brendan Seimon and Alec Mandel  each had two hits to lead Denville Medical's 12-hit attack. Decker finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored; Seimon was 2-for-2 and drove in three runs; and Mandel was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
      Also for Denville Medical, Kyle Wilson was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored; Philip Kirna was 1-for-3 with two runs scored; Conor Fitzgerald was 1-for-2 with an RBI; Andrew Muller was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk; Stephen Mereby was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored; David Paulin was 1-for-2 with a run scored; Thomas Patchlinco walked twice and scored twice;  Kenny Moller also walked twice and scored a run; and Jeremy Dreisbach drew a walk in three official at-bats.
      Kirna was the starting pitcher and got the win while Jonathan Reh relieved in the fifth and Decker pitched the last inning to close the game.
      Dreisbach made the defensive play of the game in the fourth inning when, with runners on second and third, the second baseman caught a hard smash cleanly and threw out the runner to save at least one run, and possibly two from scoring.
      For Denville Line Painting, Matt Dixon finished 2-for-2 with a double and scored once; Danny Buccafusca was 1-for-3 with an RBI triple and also scored once; Anthony Kalanick had a two-run single in three at-bats and also scored a run; Austin Castellano was 1-for-2 with an RBI and run scored: Mike Seeley was 1-for-2 and scored once; Rob Dzialo walked twice, had an RBI and scored twice; and Paul Finzel and Nick Cuneo each drew two walks and scored once.
      Dixon and Castellano shared the pitching duties for Line Painting.
Buccafusca fans 11 in relief to lead Line Painting
     The second game started out as if it was going to be a slugfest as Denville Medical scored four times in the top of the first and Line Painting came back to take a 5-4 lead with a five-run flurry of its own. Denville Medical tied the game at 5-5 with a single run in the third; Line Painting went back in front with a run in the fourth and added another run in the fifth; and Denville Medical scored the final run of the game in the top of the sixth but fell a run short.
      Buccafusca relieved Line Painting starter Dixon to start the second inning and he pitched 4.2 innings of four-hit ball, allowing two runs but staying out of further trouble by striking out 11. Buccafusca reached his pitch count in the top of the sixth with two outs and two on and Austin Castellano came in to record the final out on a strikeout - but not before walking a batter to load the bases.
      "Buccafusca had a phenomenal game and set a team record with those 11 strikeouts," said Taylor after the game. "When I brought in Castellano, I knew I was putting him in a tough position but he handled the pressure well and and came through for us in a very important game."
     Dominick D'Altilio led Line Painting's eight-hit attack, finishing the game 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Buccafusca was 1-for-2 with an RBI triple and scored a run; Seeley had a two-run double in two at-bats; Dixon was 1-for-2 with an RBI; Joe Taylor, Castellano and Finzel were each 1-for-2 with a run scored; and Dzialo walked and scored.
     For Denville Medical, Fitzgerald was 3-for-3 with a triple, two doubles and two RBIs to lead a nine-hit attack. Seimon was 1-for-3 with three RBIs; Reh was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored; Seimon was 1-for-3 with three RIBs and a run scored; Kirna was 1-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored; Mereby was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI; Paulin was 1-for-2 with a run; and Patchlinco walked twice and scored a run.
     Reh and Dreisbach shared the pitching duties for Denville Medical.
Denville Medical 5-run 4th nails down opener
     Denville Medical, holding an 8-7 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning, scored five times and then added a single run in the fifth inning to take a commanding lead on the way to its first-game victory.
     Seimon and Kirna each had two of Medical Sports' nine hits as Seimon was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored and Kirna finished 2-for-3 with a double and run scored.
     Also for Denville Medical, Reh was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a two runs scored; Dreisbach was 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored; Mandel was 1-for-3 with two RBIs; Fitzgerald was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored; Paulin was 1-for-2 with a run scored; Mereby and Decker each walked and scored a run; Muller walked and scored; and Patchlinco walked twice and scored once.
      Paulin pitched the first five innings and got the win while Dreisbach closed with a scoreless sixth.
     Line Painting's 10-hit attack was led by D'Altilio, Buccafusca and Dixon, each of whom finished with two hits. D'Altilio was 1-for-2 with a triple and three RBIs; Buccafusca was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored; and Dixon had two singles in three trips and scored once.
     Also for Line Painting, Dzialo was 1-for-3 with an RBI and scored twice; Taylor was 1-for-1 with an RBI and scored once;  Castellano was 1-for-2; and Nick Cuneo was 1-for-2 with a walk.
     Castellano, D'Altilio and Buccafusca pitched for Line Painting.

---

Cygon, Bubak, Chegwidden lead Onorati in playoffs

      DENVILLE - The Denville Little League Baseball Minor Division best-of-three playoff series between Onorati Construction and D&M Auto Body will be going into Game 3 after Onorati beat D&M, 12-6, in the second game of the series in a game played at Gardner Field on Saturday, June 5.
      D&M Auto Body won the first game of the three-game set, 15-10.
      The two teams will meet Monday, June 7, back at Gardner Field in a 6 p.m. game to decide the series winner.
      Joe Cygon was the winning pitcher for Onorati on Saturday. He worked four innings and struck out eight batters.
      Brandon Bubak was 2-for-2 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored for Onorati. Kevin Chegwidden was 2-for-3 and also had two RBIs and scored twice for the winners. Drew Loughran, Derek DeTommaso, Joe Onorati and Chris Goffredo each had a hit and an RBI for Onorati.
      For D&M Auto Body, Ted Merkt finished 3-for-3 and Ryan Casey and Dave Giansanti each had a hit.

---

Custom Design 5-run 4th beats Sunrise Rotary

      DENVILLE - Custom Design Interiors broke loose for five runs in the fourth inning to take the lead for good in a 10-6 victory over Sunrise Rotary in a Denville Little League Baseball Minors Division game played at Gardner Field on Wednesday, May 19.
      Tyler Fazio had a two-run single and John Tessmer stole home to spark the big inning for Custom Design. Fazio finished the game 2-for-3 and Tessmer was 2-for-2.
      Sunrise Rotary rallied with four runs in the fifth inning on hits by Caleb Tomkins, Kyle Somogyi, Billy Tuttle, John Owens and Luke Osifchin.
      Custom Design's Riley Grawehr started for Custom Design and struck out 11. Bryce Mott, who hit an inside-the-park home run, recorded the final two outs for the save. Osifchin was the starting pitcher for Sunrise Rotary.
      The victory moves Custom Design into third place ahead of Sunrise Rotary going into weekend play.

---

Cygon's 'Montster Blast' steals show from DLP win

     DENVILLE - Joe Cygon's team didn't win the game, but his monster 250-foot home run that went well over the 20-foot high chain-link fence in left-center in the bottom of the first inning won the admiration and applause of players, coaches and fans - on both sides!
     Cygon, the 11-year-old cleanup hitter for Onorati Construction in the Denville Little League Baseball Minors Division, launched a three-run shot in the bottom of the first inning of a game that turned out to be a 13-10 victory for Denville Line Painting at Gardner Field's "Field 1"on Saturday, May 15.
     "The second it was hit, you knew it was gone," said Line Painting manager Bob Taylor after the game. "It was a towering fly and, even while the ball was still in the air, you could hear the roar building up from the crowd on both sides of the field.
      "That was some shot over that fence, a fence we call the 'Silver Monster.'"
 Denville Line Painting (5-2) scored five times in the top of the inning and Cygon's three-run homer cut the lead to two runs, two runs that were made up when Onorati (1-6) scored twice in the second inning to tie the game at 5-5.
      DLP regained the lead with a five-run outburst in the top of the third and added a single run in the top of the fourth to take an 11-5 lead. But Onorati scored five times in the bottom of the fourth to cut the gap to a run at 11-0.
     DLP added two insurance runs in the top of the sixth inning and closer Danny Buccafusca - following Michael Seeley and Joe Taylor to the mound - held Onorati scoreless the last two innings to give DLP the victory.
     Taylor and Seeley each finished 2-for-3 with Taylor hitting a double and driving in three runs and Seeley driving in two runs with a pair of singles and also scoring twice.
     Buccafusca had a triple for DLP and Rob Dzialo added a double. Chris Cavalier had an RBI single and scored twice and Paul Finzel had a single and two RBIs. Austin Castellano and Dominick D'Altilio each finished the game with singles and two runs scored.
     Players with multiple hits for Onorati included Kevin Chegwidden, who was 3-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored; Brandon Bubak, who finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored; and Joe Onorati, who was 2-for-3 with a double and one run scored.
     Cygon finished 1-for-3 with his three-run homer; Chris Willis was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored; Drew Loughran was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored; Derek DeTommaso was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored; and Kyle Loughran and Chris Carey each finished 1-for-3.
     Onorati and the Brothers Loughran - Drew and Kyle - did the pitching for Onorati Construction with Kyle Loughran striking out six in his three innings of work
     "Our kids played well, but so did Onorati ... they may be 1-6, but they play as if they were undefeated and will be a force in our post-season playoffs," Taylor said. "It was a great game."
      Highlighted by a great blast off the bat of Cygon - a monster blast.
---

Tessmer walk-off single wins it for Custom Design

     DENVILLE - John Tessmer's two-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the sixth and final inning drove in the winning run as Custom Design Installations defeated Onorati Construction, 9-8, in a Denville Little League Minor Divison baseball game played at Gardner Field on Saturday, May 8.
      Onorati, after trailing for most of the game, rallied for two runs in the top of the sixth inning to take an 8-7 lead when Chris Carey drove in Kevin Chegwidden to tie the score and Brian Worts singled in Joe Onorati with the go-ahead run.
      In the Custom Design half of the inning, Bryce Mott - who was 3-for-3 for the game - opened with a walk, stole second and scored the tying run when Riley Grawehr (2-for-4) followed with an RBI single. Jeff Kotska followed with a single and Tyler Fazio was hit by a pitch to load the bases and set the stage for Tessmer's walk-off RBI single.
 Tessmer also pitched three solid innings as Custom Design improved to 3-3 for the season.
 For Onorati, Joe Cygon had a bases-loaded triple and Christopher Willis made several solid defensive plays.
---
Paulin, Mandel, Muller spark Denville Medical
 DENVILLE - David Paulin allowed but one run in four innings and all 13 players on the Denville Medical and Sports team contributed to the run scoring in a 14-3 victory over Custom Design Installations in a Denville Little League Minor Division baseball game played at Gardner Field on Thursday, May 6.
 Denville Medical improved to 4-0-1 with the victory.
 Paulin started the game and struck out six in his four innings of work. He was followed on the mound by Brett Decker, who struck out three batters in the fifth inning, and Philip Kerna, who closed by throwing a scoreless sixth inning.
 Alec Mandel and Andrew Muller each drove in three runs for Custom Design as Mandel finished 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored and Muller was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Brenden Seimon and Decker each got two hits with Seimon going 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored and Decker finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored.
 Kerna was 1-for-3 with a two-run triple and two runs scored; Jeremy Dreisbach was 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored; Thomas Paglinco was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk; Jon Reh was 1-for-3 with two RBIs; Kenny Moller was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk; Paulin walked three times, was hit by a pitch, and scored two runs; Kyle Wilson walked, had an RBI and scored twice; Stephen Mereby walked twice and scored twice; and Conor Fitzgerald walked three times and scored a run.
---
Custom Design defeats D&M Auto Body 
      DENVILLE - Custom Design Installations, sparked by the strong pitching of Trevor Campenella and Riley Grawehr, took a nine-run lead after four innings on its way to a 22-13 victory over D&M Auto Body in a Denville Little League Minor Division baseball game played at Gardner Field on Saturday, May 1.
      Campenella started and struck out five in the first two innings and Grawehr threw the next two innings and also struck out five batters as Custom Design jumped out to a 12-3 lead.
      Jeff Kotska and Grawehr each scored four runs for Custom Design while Tyler Fazio delivered a big fourth-inning double for the winners. Bryce Mott, John Murray, Jack Bondi, Fazio and Campenella also scored twice for CDI.
      D&M had its big innings in the fifth and sixth with Brian Gaffney hitting a key double and Nick DiGirolamo, Teddy Merkt, David Giansanti and Jack Haley adding run-scoring hits.
     The defensive play of the game was made by Custom Desin catcher Murray who made a nice play tracking down and catching a foul pop behind home plate.
     Custom Design improved to 2-2 for the season; D&M is now 2-1-1.
---
Denville Medical tops Denville Line Painting
      DENVILLE - Denville Medical and Sports defeated Denville Line Painting, 14-10, in a Denville Little League Minor Division baseball game played at Gardner Field on Saturday, May 1.
      David Paulin started and went the distance, throwing four scoreless innings after Denville Line Painting scored five runs in each of the first and second innings.
     Jon Reh and Brett Decker each had two hits to lead Denville Medical's 13-hit attack. Reh was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Decker finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
     Also getting hits for the winners were Jeremy Dreisbach, Andrew Miller, Brenden Seimon, Thomas Paglinco, Alex Mandel, Philip Kerna, Kenny Moller, Conor Fitzgerald and Stephen Mereby.
      For Denville Line Painting, Joe Taylor was 2-for-3; Austin Castellano was 2-for-3 with a double; Mike Seeley also finished 2-for-3; and Camilo Ramierez finished with two hits, one of them a triple.
---
Castellano-to-Taylor-to-Cavalier for final out
     DENVILLE - A relay play that started from center fielder Austin Castellano to shortstop Joe Taylor to catcher Chris Cavaliere cut down the potential tying run and resulted in the final out of Denville Line Painting's 11-10 victory over Onorati Construction in a Denville Little League Minors Division baseball game played at Gardner Field on Saturday, April 24.
     Onorati, trailing 11-9, had runners on second and third with two out in the top of the sixth and final inning when Chris Carey singled to center to drive in Brian Worts. The Castellano-to-Taylor-to-Cavaliere relay followed with Cavaliere making a diving tag on the second Onorati runner trying to score on Worts' single to center..
     The play ended a game that saw each team score at least one run in each of its at-bats.
     Dominick D'Altilo, Mike Seeley, Joe Taylor and Matt Dixon shared the pitching duties for Denville Line Painting while Kevin Chegwidden, Joe Onorati and Klye Loughran pitched for Onorati.
     For Denville Line Painting, D'Altilio was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored; Taylor was 2-for-3 with two RBIs; Sean Doran Seeley each had two singled and an RBI; Austin Castellano had a run-scoring double; and Camilo Rramirez and Dixon each had run-scoring singles.
     For Onorati, Carey was 1-for-4 with an RBI single and a run scored; Onorati was 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored; Joe Cygon finished 1-for-3 with an RBI triple; Dean Reinhardt was 1-for-3 with a single and run scored; and Brian Chegwidden was 1-for-1 with an RBI single and a run scored.
---