Denville-1 ends 2010 season
with 5-4 loss to Mo-Catholic
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DENVILLE -- In a way, the Denville-1 vs. Morris Catholic matchup on the final day of the season was a fitting final touch on the 2010 Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth Baseball League season for the two teams.
"It was a good game played among friends on both teams," said Denville-1 manager Steve Bubak Morris Catholic won, 5-4, in a game that went extra innings at Morris Catholic High School field on Monday, July 5. "It was a nice way to end the season."
Denville-1 finished the season with a 7-6 record and Bubak said he will lose only three players from the 16-18 year-old team for next season.
"Matt Reggiani, Nick Faccenda and Ben Lamac - three key players for us - played their last games at this age group," Bubak said. "All three were solid players all season and should be proud of the way they play and approach the game."
Lamac and Reggiani did the pitching for Denville in Monday's game - Lamac started and went the first five innings, giving up three runs; and Reggiani finished, working the last three innings and giving up Morris Catholic's two winning runs in the top of the eighth.
Morris Catholic took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning and Denville got a run back in its half when Vincent Oliveri singled with two outs, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch.
Morris Catholic added another run in the top of the fifth but Denville came right back and tied it with a two-run flurry of its own in the bottom of the innings.
Sal Parrinello and Blaze Feury opened the inning with back-to-back singles and, after they each moved up a base on a passed ball, Lamac drove in both runners with a single.
Neither team scored in the next two innings and the game went into extra innings, with Morris Catholic drawing first blood by scoring two runs in the top of the eighth.
Denville came back again, however, and had one in and a man on third with two out when the last out was made in dramatic fashion.
Lamac singled to open the Denville eighth and was sacrificed to second by Jake Fleury. Kyle O'Connor drew a walk and both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch. Dan Bubak followed with a grounder to the right side on which the Morris Catholic second baseman made a nice play to retire Bubak as Lamac scored and Fleury moved to third.
With the tying run 90 feet away, Zac Hopler sent a blast to deep left-center that the Morris Catholic center fielder tracked down and caught on a dead run to end the game.
"It was a great game ... a great way to end the season," Bubak said. "Our kids kept coming back and coming back and it took two great plays at the end of the game to keep us from tying it up."
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Faccenda, Sweetser spark sweep of Newton-2
DENVILLE - Nick Faccenda drove in three runs in the first game and Michael Sweetser pitched a one-hitter in the second game as Denville-1 swept Newton-2 in an Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth Baseball League game played at Gardner Field here on Thursday, July 1.
Faccenda was 2-for-3 with two run-scoring doubles and a sacrifice fly; Sweetser finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored; and winning pitcher Vincent Oliveri's two-run single in the sixth inning broke a 6-6 tie when Denville-1 rallied for an 8-6 victory in the first game.
The second game was all Sweetser as he held Newton-2 to one hit and struck out eight in pitching a complete-game 6-0 victory.
Denville-1 is 7-5 with one regular-season game remaining after the doubleheader sweep.
With Newton-2 designated the home team in the first game, Denville-1 took a 2-0 lead in its first at-bat when Michael Reggiani walked, stole second and scored on a single by Sweetser. Faccenda followed with the first of his two doubles and first of his three RBIs to drive in Sweetser with the second run of the inning.
In the third, Oliveri singled and Reggiani's sacrifice bunt moved him to second, from where he scored on a double by Sal Parrinello. Sweetser followed with another double to score Parrinello and, after a steal of third, Sweetser scored the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Faccenda.
Newton-2 scored its only runs of the evening in the fourth inning when the visitors pushed across six runs to take a 6-5 lead, knocking out Denville starting pitcher Chris Faresich in the process. Faresich was replaced by Blaze Feury who got out of the jam with no further scoring.
Denville-1 pulled back into a 6-6 tie in its next at-bat when Parrinello reached on an error and was driven in when Faccenda hit his second double of the game.
In the sixth inning, Bobby Hanson led off with a singled, Matt Reggiani walked and, after both runners moved up a base, Oliveri brought them both home with a single.
Oliveri, who came on to pitch in the fifth inning, shut down Newton in the sixth inning to nail down his win.
In the second game, Denville-1 took a 1-0 lead into the fourth inning when it scored three times when Hanson singled, Reggiani walked and Ben Lamac and Feury followed with back-to-back doubles with Lamac driving in two runs and Feury one.
Denville-1 added runs in the fifth and sixth inning to complete the scoring for the game.
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Feury pitching, early hitting beat Newton-1, 9-2
DENVILLE - Denville-1 scored all of its nine runs in the first two innings to back the seven-hit pitching of Jake Feury in a 9-3 victory over Newton-1 in an Iron Area Babe Ruth Senior Baseball League game played at Gardner Field on Tuesday, June 29.
Feury threw a complete game, giving up three runs (all earned) while striking out three and walking only one batter.
Walks got Newton in trouble in the first inning as Denville-1 took a 4-0 lead in it first at bat by taking advantage of six Newton walks. The first four Denville batters walked for the first run; Nick Faccenda singled in the second and third runs; and two more Denville batters worked walks to force in the fourth and final run of the inning.
Denville add five more runs in the second inning when Matt Reggiani drew a one-out walk, Ben Lamac single and Nick Reneo walked to load the bases. After a flyout for the second out, Faccenda walked to force in a run, Blaze Feury singled in two more runs and, after a walk to Dan Bubak, Chris Faresich hit another two-run single to give Denville a 9-0 lead.
Feury gave up two runs in the third inning and another one in the fifth but was able to stay away from the big inning because of his control.
Faresich and Faccenda each finished the game with the same stat line: 1-for-1 with two walks and three RBIs.
The win put Denville back at the .500 level at 5-5.
Denville will attempt to go out on the plus side when it ends its regular-season on Thursday, July 1, with a doubleheader against Newton-2 at Gardner Field here. First game starts at 6 p.m.
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Denville-1 falls to Golden 2-hitter, 9-2
DENVILLE - Pat Golden pitched a complete-game two-hitter and Mark Defeo drove in four runs as Denville-2 beat Denville-1, 9-2, in an Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth League baseball game played at Gardner Field on Sunday, June 27.
Golden struck out 14, walked three and both runs scored against him were earned as the teams evened their "Battle of Denville" series for 2010 at one game each. Denville-1 won the first meeting, a 5-0 one-hit victory by Sal Parrinello.
Denville-2 improved to 2-6 with the victory; Denville-1 is now 4-5.
Denville-1 took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when Zac Hopler walked and scored on Matt Reggiani's double.
Denville-2 came back in its half of the inning with a four-run burst that gave the winners the lead for good.
Andy Plucinsky started the rally with a one-out single; Conor Rush was hit with a pitch; Plucinsky stole third from where he scored when Christian Stempert followed with a single; Marc Defeo drove hom both runner with a triple; and Golden followed with a sacrifice fly to center bring in Defeo with the run that gave Denville-2 a 4-1 lead.
Denville-2 made it 8-1 with another four-run rally in the top of the fifth when Rush doubled, Christian Stempert walked and Defeo drove them both home with a double. Golden then singled Defeo to third, stole second with Defeo holding and both runners scored on Brendan Stempert's single.
Denville-1 scored its second run and got its second hit off Golden in the seventh when Blaze Feury singled, Ben Lamac walked and Feury eventually scored when Nick Faccenda hit into a fielder's choice.
Denville-1 completes its regular-season schedule this week with three games - all at Gardner Field. The first game is a 6 p.m. game against Newton-2 on Tuesday, June 29. A doubleheader against Newton-1 has been scheduled for Thursday, July 1, with the first game starting at 6 p.m.
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Parinello pitches Denville-1 back to .500 level
DENVILLE - Sal Parrinello scattered six hits and struck out eight batters in a complete-game victory when Denville-1 reached the .500 mark by beating Rockaway, 8-2, in an Iron Area Babe Ruth Senior Baseball League game played at Gardner Field here on Thursday, June 24.
Denville (4-4) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Ben Lamac doubled, took third on an error, and scored on a single by Blaze Feury. Denville then made it 2-0 in the third when Nick Reneo singled, stole second and third and scored on a groundout by Kyle O'Connor.
Denville's big inning was the fourth when it scored its final six runs of the game to take an 8-0 lead.
Parrinello walked to start the rally and, after stealing second and third, scored on Lamac's single. Lamac was erased on a doubleplay that cleared the bases, but Chris Faresich kept the rally alive with a two out-single.
Faresich stole second and scored on a single by Dan Bubak to make it 4-0 Denville. Bubak stole second and Conor Lovett followed with a single to put runners on first and third. Reneo singled to score Bubak and O'Connor followed with another single to score Lovett to give Denville a 6-0 lead.
Jake Feury followed with a single to bring home Reneo and O�Connor and end the scoring for Denville.
Rockaway (2-7-1) got its two runs in the top of the fifth inning on two singles, a hit batter, a wild pitch and a forceout.
Denville-1 and Denville-2 square off Saturday, June 26, in a 6 p.m. game at Gardner Field.
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Denville-1 held to two hits in 11-1 loss to Vernon
DENVILLE - The Denville-1 entry in the Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth Baseball League was held to two hits in an 11-1 loss to Vernon at Vernon High School's baseball field on Saturday, June 19.
The game was stopped in the bottom of the sixth by the league's 10-run mercy rule after Vernon scored seven runs.
Chris Faresich and Kyle O'Connor got Denville's hits - both singles - as Denville's season record dropped below the .500 mark at 3-4.
Denville starting pitcher Sal Parrinello was working on a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts going into the sixth inning when he tired. Denville was short on players for the game and had no other experienced pitchers available to throw.
Denville is back in action on Tuesday, June 22, against Mount Olive at Mount Olive; plays Rockaway at Gardner Field on Thursday, June 24; and faces the Denville-2 team at Gardner on Saturday, June 26. All games start at 6 p.m.
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Rockaway's 2-run 7th, spoils Denville-1's late rally
DENVILLE - Rockaway scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to spoil Denville's four-run rally in the top of the inning and hand Denville a 5-4 defeat in an Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth League game played at Donatoni Park in Rockaway on Thursday, June 17.
Down 2-0 going into the top of the seventh, Denville started its comeback when Sal Parrinello led off the inning with a single, Mat Reggiani drew a walk, and Ben Lamac was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Vinny Oliveri drew a walk to force in Denville's first run of the game and Bobby Hanson followed with another walk to tie the game a 2-2. Tommy Moore followed with a two-run single to give Denville a 4-2 lead but Rockaway got out of the inning without any further damage.
Rockaway scored its first run on an error, a passed ball and a single and, after a walk and a single loaded the bases with one out, pinchhitter Alex Valerio singled to drive in the tying and winning runs for Rockaway.
Denville (3-3) was held to three hits - singles by Parrinello, Oliveri and Moore. Nick Faccenda, Oliveri and Michael Reggiani shared the pitching duties for Denville.
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'Big Innings' help Denville overpower Dover, 13-3
DENVILLE - The "big inning' was the weapon of choice for Denville-1 in its 13-3 victory over Dover in an Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth League game played at Gardner Field on Tuesday, June 15.
Denville-1 (3-2) scored four runs in the first inning for a 4-0 lead; added five more in the fourth after Dover got on the board in the top of the inning with its three runs; and then closed out the scoring in the sixth inning with a five-run flurry that ended the game because of the league's 10-run mercy rule.
Denville-1 scored all the runs it would need during a four-run first inning.
Leadoff hitter Matt Reggiani doubled and then stole third and home to give Denville-1 a 1-0 lead. Vinny Oliveri followed with another double and he came in on a single by Bobby Hansen. Hansen scored on Sal Parrinello's single to make it 3-0 and, after Ben Lamac moved Parrinello up a base to second on a ground out, Dan Bubak singled to drive in Parrinello with the final run of the inning.
Starter and winner Mike Sweetset kept Dover off the board until the fourth, when the visitors scored all three of their runs.
Denville-1 answered with five runs in its half of the inning on two hits and three Dover errors and then ended the game by putting up four more runs in the sixth inning.
Sweetset worked 4.2 innings and gave up three runs on six hits while striking out nine. He was relieved by Blake Meza with runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Meza got out of the jam without a run being scored as he got the final out of the inning on an infield bouncer and then worked a hitless seventh with two strikeouts.
Reggiani and Oliveri each finished with three hits to lead Denville-1's 11-hit attack. Reggiani was 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored; and Oliveri was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Dan Bubak was 2-for-2 with an RBI; Kyle O'Connor was 1-for-1 with two RBIs; and Bobby Hansen and Parrinello each had RBI singles and scored a run for Denville.
Denville-1's next game is scheduled for Thursday, June 17, against Rockaway at 7 p.m. at Donatoni Park in Rockaway.
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Denville-1 falls to Newton late-inning rallies, 10-5
DENVILLE - The Newton-2 entry in the Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth League scored five runs in the final two innings to beat Denville-1, 10-5, in a game played at Gardner Field here on Saturday, June 13.
Denville (3-2) trailed 2-0 before getting on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Zac Hopler opened the third with a single and went to third on Mike Reggiani's double. Hopler was forced in when the next two batters drew walks; Bobby Hanson followed with a two-run single; and Sal Parrinello followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in the fourth run of the inning and give Denville a 4-2 lead.
Newton tied the game at 4-4 with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth and Denville came back to retake the lead with a run in its half of the inning when Reggiani and Vinny Oliveri walked and, after both moved up on stolen bases, Blake Meza hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Reggiani and give Denville a temporary 5-4 lead.
The rest of the game belonged to Newton-2 as the visitors scored a run in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 5-5; added three runs in the top of the sixth to take the lead for good; and then scored two insurance runs in the seventh to make it 10-5.
Parrinello, Oliveri and Reggiani did the pitching for Denville.
Denville-1's game against Newton-1 scheduled for Sunday, June 13, was rained out and has yet to be rescheduled. Denville-1 is scheduled to play Dover in a 6 p.m. game on Monday, June 14, at Gardner Field in Denville.
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Denville-1 held to two hits in losing first game of season
DENVILLE - Mount Olive scored six first-inning runs en route to a 10-2 victory over Denville-1 in an Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth Baseball League game played at Gardner Field here on Wednesday, June 9.
Denville, which was held to two hits in losing its first game of the season after opening with two victories, did not get its first hit until the fourth inning when Sal Parinello singled.
Denville scored its runs in the sixth inning when Tommy Moore was hit by a pitch with two outs and, after stealing second and third, scored on a triple by Ben Lamac. Lamac scored on a strike-three passed ball.
Next up for Denville is a 6 p.m. game Thursday, June 10, against Newton-2 at Memory Park in Newton. Denville returns home on Saturday, June 12, for a 6 p.m. game against Newton-1 at Gardner Field during Denville Little League's annual picnic.
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Parrinello beats Denville-2 on six-inning one-hitter
DENVILLE - Sal Parrinello pitched six innings of one-hit ball as Denville-1 defeated Denville-2, 5-0, in a Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth League baseball game played at Gardner Field on Saturday, June 5.
Parrinello struck out eight batters before giving way to Michael Reggiani, who pitched the last inning and gave up a leadoff single before getting out of the inning with no further damage.
The win was the second in as many outings for Denville-1; the game was the season-opener for Denville-2.
Parrinello helped out his own cause when he drove in a run in the top of the first inning to give Denville-1 a lead it never lost. Reggiani drew a walk to lead off the game and stole second and Nick Reneo singled Reggiani to third from where he scored when Parrinello followed with a sacrifice fly.
Denville-1 added two more runs in the fourth without getting a hit when Reggiani and Reneo drew walks to open the inning and both runners advanced a base on a passed ball. Reggiani scored on an error and Reneo scored on a sacrifice by Kyle O'Connor to give Denville-1 a 3-0 lead.
The winners scored their final two runs in the fifth inning when Blake Meza and Chris Faresich each singled, putting runners on first and third. Reggiani's sac fly brought in Meza for the fourth run and Mike Sweetser singled to drive in Faresich with the fifth and final run of the game.
Denville-1 is back in action on Tuesday, June 8, with a 6:30 home game at Gardner Field #3 at 6:30 p.m.
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Sweetser blanks Wharton as Denville-1 opens with a win
DENVILLE - Michael Sweetser pitched a complete-game shutout when Denville-1 beat Wharton, 7-0, to open the Iron Area Senior Babe Ruth League baseball season in a game played at Gardner Field on Thursday, June 3.
Sweetser struck out 10 and made a Denville first-inning run hold up for six innings until Denville's bats got loose and produced six sixth-inning runs.
Denville got its first-inning run when leadoff hitter Sal Parrinello was hit by a pitch and moved to third on consecutive sacrifice bunts by Nick Faccenda and Sebastian Aguirre. Nick Reneo followed with a single and Denville had its 1-0 lead.
Dan Bubak and Conor Lovett opened the sixth inning with back-to-back singles and both runners moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt by Chris Faresich.
Kyle O'Connor brought home both runners with a double for a 3-0 lead. Tommy Moore followed with a run-scoring single to bring O'Connor in to score; Matt Reggiani follwed with a double to drive in Moore; Sweetser doubled to bring in Reggiani; and, after the second out of the inning was made, Faccenda singled in Sweetser with the final run of the inning.
