ROCKAWAY RUMBLE 10s TOURNAMENT
Denville takes early 3-0 lead,
falls to Sparta in semifinal
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DENVILLE - The Denville 9/10 All-Star team's run in the Rockaway Rumble 10s Baseball Tournament may ended with an 8-3 loss to Sparta in the first of a semifinal doubleheader on Wednesday, July 28, at Marcella in Rockaway Township but, as Denville manager Bob Taylor told his players after the game: "Other towns will remember Denville baseball after this tournament."
"Our bats got going quickly against Sparta and we put on a nice display of defense and our pithers were throwing strikes," Taylor explained after meeting with his players. "Sparta pitching just shut us down after the first inning and their hitters were tough throughout the game.
"I thought our players represented Denville well on and off the field and that we had a good tournament experience with them."
Denville, which finished with a 5-3 record in overall tournament play, broke out to a quick lead by scoring three runs in the top of the first inning.
Ian Beumee and Joe Taylor had back-to-back singles to lead off the game and Danny Buccafusca reached on a catcher's interfence to load the bases. Cleanup hitter Dylan Berchin followed with a two-run double with Buccafusca getting tagged out at the plate trying to score on the play.
Jack Haley followed with a single to drive in Berchin with the third run of the inning.
Sparta (6-1) scored four times in the bottom of the first inning and then added a single run in the third, two in the fourth and one more in the fifth for its eight runs.
Denville, meanwhile, had runners on base in four of the next five innings but could not score.
Brandon Bubak led off the second with a single but was stranded; Chris Carey walked and Ian Beumee singled in the third; Haley walked and stole second in the fourth; Alec Smith's hard line drive was caught by the Sparta shortstop in the fifth; and Mike Seeley led off the sixth with a walk but was caught stealing.
Sparta got nine hits off three Denville pitchers - Haley, Philip Kirna and Buccafusca. The trio gave up eight runs (six earned) and had a combined total of five strikouts with only one walk.
Beumee finished 2-for-2 with a run scored as Denville was held to six hits. Berchin was 1-for-2 with his two-run double in the first and also scored a run; Haley, Taylor and Bubak were each 1-for-1 with a single with Haley adding a walk and an RBI and Taylor scoring a run. Seeley and Carey drew walks.
Notes: Taylor was impressed with the first-year tournament, sponsored by Rockaway Township Little League ... "I have to commend tourneament director Mark Santora in putting together such a fine tournament ... we thought it was a huge success," Taylor said ... Sparta faces Rockaway Township National in the 6:30 p.m. title game scheduled for Friday, July 30, at Peterson Field in the township ... Rockaway Township beat Hanover, 16-4, in the other semifinal at Marcella on Wednesday night ...
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Beumee, Osifchin lead way in 17-5 win
DENVILLE - Ian Beumee and Luke Osifchin each drove in three runs when Denville scored in every inning to beat Morristown American, 17-5, in a five-inning, mercy-rule Rockaway Rumble 10s first-round playoff game played at Gardner Field here on Saturday, July 24.
Denville (5-2) moves on to the semifinal round of the playoffs where it will play Sparta in the 5:45 p.m. first game of a doubleheader at Marcella Field in Rockaway Township on Tuesday, July 27. Rockaway Township National faces Hanover in the 8 p.m. second game.
"Our hitting was tremendous across the board and our pitching was spot on ... they really couldn't touch us today," said Denville coach Bob Taylor after the game. "To play like this in 100-degree heat was simply amazing ... I just hope we can keep this up for two more games."
Starter Jack Haley, Danny Buccafusca and closer Jake Sinegra combined for a two-hitter in pitching Denville to its victory. Sinegra was particularly effective with his five strikeouts in his 2.2 innings of work.
Beumee finished 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored and Osifchin was 2-for-2 with a walk, three RBIs and a run scored to lead Denville's 13-hit attack.
Beumee and Haley had back-to-back RBI singles; Dylan Berchin's one-hop double to the fence in center drove in another run; MIke Seeley singled in a run and another run scored when Joe Taylor reached on an error in a five-run first inning for Denville.
Osifchin scored Denville's second-inning run when he led off with a single and walks to Brandon Bubak, Bryce Mott and Sinegra forced him in.
In the third inning, Phil Kirna drove in Haley, who had walked, with a triple; Alec Shea singled in Kirna; and Taylor, Chris Carey, Seeley and Osifchin each drew walks with Seeley and Osifchin getting RBIs for their bases-loaded walks.
Sinegra opened Denville's five-run fifth with a single and Kevin Chegwidden, Beumee and Haley each followed with doubles with Beumee driving in two runs and Haley one. Berchin reached on an error as the fourth run crossed and Shea finished off the scoring for the inning with an RBI single.
In the fifth, Taylor, Carey and Seeley walked to load the bases and Osifchin ended the game due to the 12-run mercy rule when he singled in two runs for the 17-5 final score.
Haley and Shea also had multiple-hit games when Haley finished 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, two RBIs and three runs scored and Shea was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Kirna, Seeley and Sinegra were each 1-for-1 for the game as Kirna finished with a triple, two walks, an RBI and two runs scored; Seeley had a single, two walks and two RBIs; and Sinegra had a single, walk and an RBI.
Kevin Chegwidden was 1-for-2 with a double, walk and two runs scored; Carey walked twice and scored a run; and Mott and Bubak each had a walk.
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Denville held to three hits in loss to Par-Troy East
DENVILLE - Bob Taylor is one who gives credit where credit is due.
His Denville 10-year-old All-Star baseball team will take a 4-2 record into the one-game-and-out playoff portion of the Rockaway Rumble 10s Baseball Tournament on Saturday, July 24, against a team and at a site and time that has yet to be determined.
Both losses came at the hands of Par-Troy East.
The lastest was a 6 -1 loss to Par-Troy East on Tuesday, July 20, at Gardner field, a game in which Denville was held to three hits. The first loss to Par-Troy East was by a 5-4 verdict earlier in the tournament season.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Par-Troy East's pitching staff ... they have exceptionally hard-throwing pitchers," Taylor said after Tuesday's loss. "Our bats were just not active tonight.
"Our pitching and our defense were our bright spots ... we made a few errors, but they didn't lead to any runs. The way we see it, we will be a third or maybe a fourth seed in the nine-team tournament."
Denville took scored its only run in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. Joe Taylor beat out a drag-bunt single, stole second and third, and scored on Ian Beumee's two-out single to right.
Par-Troy East took the lead for good with two runs in the second inning; added three in the third; and finished the scoring for the night with a single run in the sixth inning.
Beumee, Phil Kirna, Danny Buccafusca and closer Jake Sinegra pitched for Denville and gave up a total of six runs (all earned) on six hits.
Dylan Berchin got the third hit for Denville when he led off the sixth inning with a single. Bryce Mott followed with a walk to put two on with not outs, but Par-Troy pitching got the next three batters on strikeouts to end the game.
Denville also threatened in the fourth innig when Chris Carey led off with a walk and stole two bases but, as in the sixth, the Par-Troy pitching proved to be too tough and came up with three straight strikeouts to end the threat.
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'Total team effort' beats RT-National, 13-4
DENVILLE - Nine different players had hits and all three pitchers used drew praise from the manager when Denville defeated Rockaway Township American, 13-4, in a Rockaway Rumble 10s Baseball Tournament game played on Saturday, July 17, at Peterson Field in Rockaway Township.
"A total team effort ... our pitching was phenomenal ... we got our hits when we needed them," said Denville manager Bob Taylor after the game. "Phil Kirna and Jack Haley earned game balls for pitching AND hitting and players like Chris Carey, Kevin Chegwidden and Luke Osifchin made a big difference by stepping up when their time came.
"It was simply a total team effort!"
Kirna was 2-for-3 with two doubles, four RBIs an a run scored and started the game on mound, working 2.1 innings while giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out four and walking two.
Haley pitched middle relief, throwing 2.2 no-hit, scoreless innings while striking out five and walking two. Haley also had a multiple-hit and multiple-RBI day, finishing 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Bryce Mott closed, working the final inning and giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk.
RT-American touched Kirna for two first-inning runs, but Denville got them back in its first at-bat when Carey led off with a walk, stole second and third and scored on a single by Haley. Haley also stole two bases before being knocked in by a single by Osifchin.
Denville added five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a lead it never lost.
Alec Shea drew a leadoff walk and then Denville followed with four straight hits - a single by Joe Taylor, a two-run double by Kirna, a double by Mott and a two-run single by Carey. Dylan Berchin drove in the final run of the inning with a two-out single.
Denville scored twice in the third to take a 9-2 lead. Kevin Chegwidden's leadoff double and walks to Mike Seeley and Taylor loaded the bases for Kirna, who knocked in two runs with a double.
Denville added four in the fourth when Carey was hit with pitch, Brandon Bubak walked and both scored when Haley followed with a double. Osifchin and Berchin drew walks to load the bases and Chegwidden knocked in a run with a fielder's choice and Shea followed with an RBI single.
RT-American got two runs in the top of the sixth, but some slick fielding on Denville's part prevented and further damage.
Mott hit the first batter he faced in the sixth and gave up two straight singles to account for a run. On the RBI single to left, a perfect relay from left fielder Chegwidden to shortstop Taylor to second baseman Berchin nabbed the batter/runner trying to stretch his single into a double.
The next two batters reached on a run-producing error and a walk to load the bases with one out, but Mott got out of the jam when he snagged a line drive hit back through the box and alertly threw to first to double-up the RT-American runner who had just reached on a walk.
Kirna and Haley had plenty of help on offense as Carey finished 1-for-2 with a walk, three RBIs and two runs scored; Chegwidden was 1-for-3 with a double, RBI and a run scored; Osifchin was 1-for-1 with a single, two walks, one RBI and a run scored; Berchin was also 1-for-1 with a single, two walks and an RBI; Shea was 1-for-1 with a single and a walk, one RBI and a run scored; Taylor was 1-for-2 with a walk and run scored; Bubak was 0-for-1 but walked three times and scored once; Seeley was 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored and was hit with a pitch; and Ian Beumee was 0-for-1 with a walk and was also hit with a pitch.
Denville, now 4-1, plays Par-Troy East on Tuesday, July 20, in a 6 p.m. game at Peterson. Par-Troy East is the team that handed Denville its only loss earlier in the tournament.
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Denville bats sizzle in 15-6 win over Hanover
DENVILLE - The weather may be the only thing hotter than Denville's bats in the Rockaway Rumble Baseball Tournament for 9/10 year-olds that is being sponsored by the Rockaway Township Little League.
For the second straight game - and third in four tournament outings - Denville's 9/10 All-Stars run total went into double-figures as they beat Hanover, 15-6, at Black Brook Park in Whippany on Thursday, July 15.
Denville beat Roxbury, 13-1, in its previous game after opening the tournament with an 18-10 victory over RT-American and a 5-4 loss to Par-Troy East.
"Our bats have been on fire the past two games, but our pitching and defense have helped make the difference, too," said Denville manager Bob Taylor after the game. "What's equally amazing about this team is that there are not just one or two stars ... we have different players leading the way and different players stepping up to lead this team.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team than I am right now."
Dylan Berchin made his coach proud by going 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored to lead Denville's 13-hit attack.
And Jake Sinegra, Danny Buccafusca and Ian Beumee also made their coach proud as they combined to hold Hanover to four hits and six runs - with three of the runs coming in the last inning when Denville had built a 15-3 lead.
Sinegra struck out seven - including the side in the second - in his four innings of work; Buccafusca pitched the fifth and into the sixth when Beumee came in to close the game and started a double play when he snagged a line shot back through the box and caught the runner off third and then got the final out on a comebacker.
Denville was held without a run in its first at-bat and Hanover scored in its half of the inning to take a 1-0 lead ... but it was all Denville after that.
In the top of the second inning, Berchin led off with a single and Phil Kirna followed with a walk. After both runners moved up a base, Beumee drove them both in with a single. Brandon Bubak and Jack Haley followed with walks to load the bases and Kevin Chegwidden hit another two-run single to put Denville on top, 4-1.
Another four-run flurry in the top of the third made it 8-0. Sinegra started it off with a single, Mike Seeley walked and, after each runner moved up, Joe Taylor singled to drive in them both. After Taylor stole second, Bryce Mott singled to drive in the third run of the inning and Berchin doubled for his first RBI of the game.
Hanover scored twice in the bottom of the fourth but it could have been more except for two fine defensive plays by Taylor at short and Alec Shea at second. Taylor made a diving play on a grounder to throw out a Hanover runner at first and Shea dove and got to a ball heading up the middle and was able to force the runner coming from first.
Denville added five runs in the fifth to take a 13-3 lead. Consecutive walks to Luke Osifchin, Chris Carey, Seeley and Taylor forced in the first run; Mott doubled to drive in three runs; and Berchin ended the inning with a single to drive in Mott.
Bubak's two-run single drove in Kirna and Shea in Denville's sixth. Kirna had reached on a walk and Shea had singled to get on base.
While Berchin's 3-for-3 performance that included a double, two RBIs and a run scored paced Denville's 13-hit attack, he had plenty of help.
Beumee, Taylor and Mott each finished with two hits. Beumee was 2-for-3 with a double, 2 RBIs and two runs scored; Taylor was 2-for-2 with three RBIs and scored twice; and Mott was 2-for-3 with a double, four RBIs and two runs scored.
Bubak was 1-for-1 with two walks, a RBI and scored once; Chegwidden was 1-for-2 with two RBIs; Shea was 1-for-3 with a run scored; Sinegra was 1-for-2 with a runs scored; Kirna and Seeley each walked twice and scored twice; Osifchin, Carey and Haley each drew a walk and Osifchin and Carey each scored once.
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Denville turns on the extra-base power in 13-1 win
DENVILLE - Ian Beumee hit a three-run home run and a doubled in a run to finish with four RBIs when the Denville 10-year-old All-Stars beat Roxbury, 13-1, in a Rockaway Township Baseball sponsored Rockaway Rumble 10s Baseball Tournament game held at Gardner Field here on Sunday, July 11.
Philip Kirna pitched three innings, allowing one run (unearned) on three hits while striking out six and walking one, and Bryce Mott closed with a hitless inning, striking out two and walking two.
Alec Shea tripled and Jack Haley doubled to add to Denville's extra-base hitting attack, prompting Denville manager Bob Taylor to say that "... everybody got the job done tonight," after the game ended.
"We knew Roxbury had some good pitching, but our bats were on fire tonight," Taylor explained. "And Philip and Bryce did a fine job pitching with their combined eight strikeouts in four innings."
After Kirna struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 first inning, Denville took the lead for good with a three-run outburst when Brandon Bubak singled and scored on a double by Beumee. Beumee, who took third on the throw to the plate, scored when Shea grounded out to short and, after Danny Buccafusca drew a walk, Joe Taylor singled and Shea scored.
Denville, which is not 2-1 in the tournament, scored five runs in each of the third and fourth innings to bring on the tournament's 12-run mercy rule.
In the third, Haley led off with a double and was driven in by Dylan Berchin's single. Berchin stole second and third and Kirna drew a walk to put runners on first and third. Bubak singled in Berchin and Beumee followed with his inside-the-park home run to right center.
Shea tripled to open the Denville half of the fourth. Buccafusca, Chris Carey, Taylor and Jake Sinegra followed with walks with Taylor and Sinegra getting RBIs for walking with the bases loaded. Mott then reached on a throwing error that enabled allowed three Denville runners to score and the game was halted.
Defensively, Denville second baseman Berchin made a nice play on a hard-hit ball and threw out the runner and, on the very next play, Kirna fielded a hard-hit comebacker and threw out the runner.
Beumee finished 2-for-2, driving in four runs with his homer and double and scoring twice; and Bubak was also 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Shea finished 1-for-1 with his triple, an RBI and a run scored; Taylor was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored; Berchin was 1-for-1 with an RBI and a run scored; and Haley was 1-for-1 with his double and a run scored.
Buccafusca drew two walks and scored twice and Kirna, Sinegra and Carey each walked once.
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Denville's 4-run final-inning rally falls a run short
DENVILLE - Denville, held to one hit and no run for the first five innings, scored four times on five hits in the sixth and final inning to take a 4-2 lead in the Rockaway Rumble, a tournament for 10-year-olds sponsored by Rockaway Township Baseball.
Trouble is, whatever woke up Denville's bats also woke up Par-Troy East as PTE scored three times in the bottom of the inning to escape with a 5-4 victory in a game played at Taylor Field in Parsippany.
"It was a pitchers' duel until the final inning," Denville manager Bob Taylor said after the game. "They put four fine pitchers against us and, when we did hit the ball, they did not make any mistakes in the field.
"It was an exciting finish, though, and we're looking forward to playing them again at home."
Alec Shea had the only hit for Denville through the first five innings and Par Troy East, which scored two runs on four hits going into the sixth inning.
Joe Taylor and Jack Haley opened the top of the sixth inning with back-to-back singles and Brandon Bubak knocked in Taylor with the third single of the inning for Denville. Shea got his second hit of the game to drive in Haley and then Danny Buccafusca tripled to bring in Bubak and Shea and give Denville a 4-2 lead.
Par-Troy East opened its half of the inning with a single but center fielder Luke Osifchin threw out the Par-Troy batter/runner trying to stretch the hit into a double, getting the ball quickly to shortstop Jake Sinegra who put the tag on the runner.
That's where the good things stopped happening for Denville, however, as Par-Troy got one run home on an error, a single and another error and then tied the game at 4-4 on yet another error. The next batter hit an RBI single and Par-Troy East walked off with its 5-4 victory.
The four Par-Troy East pitchers combined to strike out 14 Denville batters and allowed a total of six hits while giving up four runs, all earned.
Jake Sinegra and Danny Buccafusca split the pitching duties for Denville with Sinegra starting striking out five and walking two in three innings of no-hit ball. Buccafusca worked the last three innings and gave up seven hits but only one earned run while striking out six and walking two.
Shea finished 2-for-2 with an RBI, one walk and scored once; Buccafusca was 1-for-2 with his two-run triple; Bubak was 1-for-3 with an RBI single and one run scored; Taylor and Haley were each 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored; and Kevin Chegwidden and Chris Carey each got on base with a walk.
Both teams are now 1-1 in tournament play.
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'Team Effort' leads Denville to 18-10 victoy
DENVILLE - Ian Beumee, Joe Taylor, Jake Sinegra and Alec Shea each had two hits to lead a 13-hit attack as Denville defeated Rockaway Township American, 18-10, in an opening-round game of the first Rockaway Rumble, a 10U baseball tournament sponsored by Rockaway Township Baseball.
The game, played on Tuesday, June 29, at Peterson Field in Rockaway Township, saw Denville score in five of its six at-bats and Rockaway Township score in four of its at-bats.
"It was a true team effort," said Denville manager Bob Taylor after the game. "Everybody contributed to the victory in one way or another."
Four Denville pitchers - Beumee, Sinegra, Phil Kirna and Danny Buccafusca - combined to hold Rockaway Township to three singles while striking out nine batters.
Denville held a 6-1 lead that Rockaway Township closed to one run a 6-5 after two innings, but Denville answered with five-run innings in the third and fourth innings on the way to its victory.
Beumee finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, three RBIs and scored twice; Taylor was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored; Sinegra was also 2-for-2 with an RBI and scored twice; and Shea was 2-for-2 and scored a run.
Brandon Bubak finished 1-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored; Buccafusca was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored; Mike Seeley was 1-for-1 with a two-run single and was hit with a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in a third run; Jack Haley was 1-for-2 with a two-run single; Luke Osifchin walked with the bases loaded and scored twice in on official at-bat; Kirna was 0-for-0 with three walks and scored twice; and Dylan Berchin finished 1-for-2 with an RBI single and scored one.
The rest of the schedule:
Tuesday, July 6 - Denville at Par-Troy East, 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 10 - Roxbury at Denville, 10 a.m.
Tuesday, July 13 - Denville at Hanover, 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 17 - Rockaway American at Denville, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, July 20 - Par-Troy East at Denville
