ROCKAWAY RUMBLE 12s TOURNAMENT
Roxbury 'slams' Nationals
out of further tourney play
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ROCKAWAY TWP. - Roxbury managed only two hits against Rockaway Township National in their Rockaway Rumble 12s Baseball Tournament playoff game at Peterson Field on Tuesday, July 28, but the second one came on the last pitch of the game to cap a five-run sixth inning and give Roxbury an 8-4 win over the Nationals.
It took the Nationals six innings to come back from a 3-0 deficit that Roxbury created with a three-run outburst in the bottom of the second inning.
Rockaway Township got a run back in the top of the third when Ray McCormick walked, Joe Leonard singled, Billy Nieman was hit with a pitch to load the bases and Chris Conway followed with a single to drive in McCormick.
The Nationals closed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the fourth when Mike Andaloro, who had reached on a single, scored on an error.
Rockaway Township scored two runs in the top of the sixth and final inning to take the lead for the first time in the game. Nieman got the rally started with a walk and Conway singled and Matt Clementoni was hit with a pitch to load the bases.
Jordan Johnson followed with a sacrifice fly to bring in Nieman with the tying run and Matt Pontellioni followed with a single to drive in Conway with the go-ahead run.
Roxbury went into its final at-bat trailing 4-3, tied the game at 4-4 and then its final batter of the game hit a walk-off grand slam to oust Rockaway Township from the double-elimination tournament that was sponsored by Rockaway Township Little League.
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Andaloro, Conway lead Nationals to 4-3 win
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Chris Conway doubled, stole third and continued home on a throwing error in the bottom of the sixth and final inning to give Rockaway Township National a 4-3 walk-off victory over Chester in a first-round Rockaway Rumble 12s Baseball Tournament playoff game played on Monday, July 26, at Peterson Field here in the township.
Chester took an early lead with two runs in the top of the second, but National starting pitcher Mike Andaloro got those runs back with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the second when Joe Leonard reached on an error and Andaloro followed with a home run over the center field fence.
Rockaway Township took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth when Sean Coffey and Brandon Hurt singled, Ray McCormick drew a walk, and Kyle Van Riper was hit with a pitch.
Chester pushed across a run in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 3-3 and then Conway won the game in the bottom of the inning with his bat and his legs.
Andaloro went five inning and gave up two runs (one earned) on seven hits while striking out six and walking two. The National coaches gave the "game ball" to Andaloro in recognition of his five solid innings of pitching and this two-run home run.
Jordan Johnson, who gave up Chester's run (unearned), got the win by pitching the sixth, allowing one hit while striking out two.
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Hurt's 2-run HR, Coffey's RBI beat Roxbury, 3-2
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Brandon Hurt hasn't exactly been hitting the cover off the ball for the Rockaway Township National 12-year-old All-Star team in the Rockaway Rumble tournament this summer.
But he caught hold of one in the third inning against Roxbury on Saturday, July 24, and sent it screaming over the left field fence at Peterson Field to drive in the Nationals' first two runs of what turned out to be a 3-2 victory over Roxbury.
"Brandon has been struggling a bit, but he really got into this one and hit it hard," said RT-National manager Dave Johnson after the game. "His teammates went nuts ... it was a huge hit for him and for us."
Joe Leonard was on base with a single when Hurt's homer gave the Nationals a 2-1 lead, Roxbury having scored a single run in the second inning.
The Nationals scored what proved to be the winning run in the fourth inning when Sean Coffey singled in Matt Pontellioni, who had reached base on a single and moved to second on a wild pitch.
With Johnson keeping pitch counts down on a hot day, the Nationals used three pitchers in the six-inning game.
Abdullah Hairullaeve started and went the first three innings, giving up one run (unearned) on four hits while striking out two and walking none; Jordan Johnson followed and pitched 1.1 innings and allowed one run (unearned) on two hits while striking out two and walking none; and Matt Pontellioni closed with 1.2 innings of hitless ball in which he struck out two and walked none.
"All three pitchers did well ... no walks at all," said Johnson. "We didn't want any of them to pitch too long, so we were very careful with their pitch counts."
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Conway's pitching, hitting spark National's 4-2 win
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Starting pitcher Chris Conway broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run double in the top of the sixth inning when Rockaway Township National beat Morris Plains, 4-2, in a Rockaway Rumble 12s Baseball Tournament game on Friday, July 23, at Peterson Field here in the township.
Conway made his first pitching start for the National All-Stars a solid one as he worked three good innings and allowed one run (unearned) and two hits while striking out one batter and walking three.
With the score tied at 2-2 going into the sixth and final inning, Ray McCormick walked and Matt Clementoni and Joe Leonard each singled to load the bases. Conway then drove in McCormicck and Clementoni with his game-winning double.
Earlier, RT-National scored a run in the third inning when Brandon Hurt singled in McCormick, who had reached on a walk and took second on a wild pitch. In the fourth, Jordan Johnson opened with a single and went to third when Matt Pontellioni doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Andaloro.
Eight different RT-National players had hits for the winners with Conway's two-run double and Hurt's RBI single doing the most damage. Matt Pontellioni, Sean Coffey, Johnson, McCormick, Leonard and Clementoni also had hits for RT-National.
Abdualla Hairullaev and Pontellioni followed Conway to the mound and neither pitcher allowed any hits the rest of the way to finish the game with a combined two-hitter.
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Three RTN hurlers one-hit Par-Troy East, 10-1
ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township National All-Star entry in the Rockaway Rumble 12s Baseball Tournament won its first game of the double-elimination portion of the tournament when three pitchers combined to one-hit Par-Troy East, 10-1, and three batters hit home runs in a game played Tuesday, July 20, at Peterson Field here.
Mike Andaloro started an worked 3.2 innings before being taken out for pitch count reasons. He gave up the hit in the fourth inning when Par-Troy scored its run and finished with seven strikeouts.
Matt Pontellioni threw 1.1 innings of hitless relief and Jordan Johnson worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close the game for the Nationals.
Ray McCormick, Matt Pontellioni and Matt Clementoni each homered for the winners.
McCormick gave the Nationals a lead they would never lose when he belted a three-run home run in the first inning. Joe Leonard (walk) and Johnson (single) were on when McCormick delivered.
Pontellioni led off the second with his homer, kicking off another three-run inning. Clementoni followed with a walk, Chris Conway singled Clementoni to third, from where he scored when Brandon Hurt hit a sacrifice fly. Conway later scored on a groundball out by Abdullah Hairullaev.
Clementi's home run was a another three-run shot, this one delivered in the fourth inning when the Nationals scored their final runs of the game.
Sean Coffee opened the inning with a walk, stole second and scored on Kyle Van Riper's single. Pontellioni drew a walk to put runners on first and second and Clementoni followed with his three-run home run to close out the scoring for the game.
Coffee had the only multiple-hit day for the winners as he finished 2-for-3 with a run scored to lead the National's eight-hit attack.
Clementoni was 1-for-1 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored; McCormick finished 1-for-3 with his homer, three RBIs and a run scored; and Pontelliioni was 1-for-1 with his solo homer and two runs scored.
Johnson finished 1-for-3 with a run scored; Andaloro was 1-for-1; Conway was 1-for-1 with a run scored; Van Riper finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored; and Hurt finished with his sac fly in one official trip.
The defensive play of the game came when Clementoni, who was catching at the time, picked off a Par-Troy East runner at first base by throwing behind him to Johnson, the RT-National first baseman at the time.
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Conway steals home with winning run in 7-6 win
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Chris Conway stole home with the winning run and Ray McCormick drove in three runs when Rockaway Township National defeated Denville, 7-6, in a Rockaway Rumbles 12s Baseball Tournament game played Sunday, July 18, at Peterson Field in Rockaway Township.
With the score tied at 6-6 going into the bottom of the sixth and final inning, Conway and Abdulah Hairullaev drew walks to put runners on first and second.
Conway stole third and, a few pitches later, also stole home to give RT-National its one-run victory.
RT-National had to rally twice during the game before Conway stole the victory.
Denville took a 3-0 first-inning lead and, with the score tied at 4-4, moved out in front again with a two-run rally in the top of the fifth inning.
It took RT-National four at-bats to overcome the first Denville lead, starting out in the second inning when McCormick singled in Sean Coffee for his first RBI of the game. Coffee had reached on a single and stole second.
After Denville scored a run in the top of the third to pull ahead by three runs at 4-1, RT-National closed the gap again by scoring two runs in the third. Jordan Johnson singled to start the rally and Michael Andaloro and Matt Pontellioni walked to load the bases. Coffee drew a third-straight walk to force in Johnson and Matt Clementoni followed with a single that brought in Andaloro to cut Denville's lead to 4-3.
RT-National tied the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth when Chris Conway singled, was forced at second by Hairullaev and, after Joe Leonard walked, Johnson singled to bring in Hairullaev.
Denville again took the lead, scoring two runs in the top of the fifth, but RT-National had another comeback up its sleeve and came back with a two-run flurry of its own to tie the score at 6-6.
Coffee reached on an error, Clementoni walked and, after both runners moved up a base, McCormick delivered them both with a single that tied the score.
Denville did not score in the top of the sixth and Conway stole the game in the bottom of the inning with his walk-off theft of home.
Johnson, the third of three RT-National pitchers, got the win by pitching the final two innings of the game. He gave up two runs while striking out the side in fifth inning and pitched a scoreless sixth with three more strikeouts. Hairullaev worked 3.1 innings of relive and gave up a run (earned) on one hit and three walks while striking out three.
McCormick led RT-National's six-hit attack by going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Coffee was 1-for-1 with a walk and an RBI; Clementoni and Johnson were each 1-for-2 and each added an RBI and a run scored; and Conway finished 1-for-1 with a walk.
Also, Hairullaev had a walk and scored a run; Andaloro also drew a walk and scored once; and Matt Pontellioni and Leonard each drew walks.
Clementoni had the defensive plays of the game at catcher when he threw out two runners trying to steal third in the same inning.
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Andaloro, Leonard lead Nationals to 15-2 win
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Dave Johnson found a way to rest Michael Andaloro's arm but there was no way he was going to rest his bat.
Andaloro pitched 3.2 innings of no-hit ball and was 3-for-3 at the plate when Rockaway Township National defeated Chester, 15-2, in a Rockaway Rumble 12s Baseball Tournament game at Peterson Field here on Saturday, July 17.
"We hated to take him out while he was pitching a no-hitter," said the RT-National manager after the game. "But we wanted to keep his pitch count down in the event we need him to pitch again in a few days."
Andaloro finished with seven strikeouts and only one walk in his 3.2 innings of work. Matt Clementoni came in and closed out the game with an effective 2.1 innings pitched, giving up two runs (one earned) on only one hit while striking out for and walking two.
Joe Leonard, who was also 3-for-3, and Andaloro led RT-Nationals' 15-hit attack with each player driving in a run and scoring a run to go with their three hits.
Andaloro and Matt Pontellioni drove in runs in the first inning and RTN added two more in the second on Abdulla Hairullaev's two-runs single.
Andaloro doubled in the third, went to third on a single by Pontellioni and scored on a sac fly by Kyle Van Riper for a 5-0 lead.
In the fourth, Billy Nieman's sac fly, Leonard's RBI single, and Sean Coffee's two-run single accounted for four runs and RTN completed its scoring with a five-run fifth on Andaloro's RBI double, a two-run single by Ray McCormick and two other runs came in on Chester errors.,
Johnson and Pontellioni each had multiple-hit games as Johnson finished 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored and Pontellioni was 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.
Hairullaev was 1-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs and a run scored; Van Riper was 1-for-1 with a walk, sacrifice fly and a run scored; McCormick was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored; Clementoni was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored; Coffee was 1-for-4 with an RBI; Nieman finished with two RBIs; Chris Conway walked twice and scored a run; and Brandon Hurt drew a walk and also scored a run.
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Nationals edged on two-run, walk-off single, 12-11
ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township National entry in the "Rockaway Rumble, an All-Star tournament for 12-year-olds sponsored by Rockaway Township Little League baseball, fell victim to a two-out, two-run, walk-off single in losing a 12-11 decision to Morristown National on Monday, July 12, in a game played at Peterson Field here in the township.
The teams were tied at 10-10 after four innings of play and, after each team failed to score in the fifth inning, Rockaway Township took an 11-10 lead in the sixth when Bill Nieman reached on a single and, after stealing second base, scored on a single off the bat of Joe Lonard.
Morristown National came back and loaded the bases with two outs on a single and two walks when the sixth batter of the inning hit a two-run single to end the game.
Earlier, Rockaway Township took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Abdulla Hairullaev led off he game with a bunt single, was sacrificed to second by Sean Coffey, took third when Jordan Johnson singled and stole home on the front end of a double steal for the first run. Michael Andaloro followed with a single to bring in Johnson.
Morristown National also scored two first-inning runs but Rockaway Township answered with a five-run outburst in the top of the second to take a 7-2 lead.
Chris Conway got the rally started with a single and Matt Clementoni followed with a walk. Brandon Hurt doubled to score Conway and Joey Leonard walked to load the bases and Hairullaev, Coffey and Johnson followed with singles and Rockaway Township had its five-run inning.
Morristown National scored twice in its half of the inning, but Rockaway Township came back with three more runs in the top of the third when Matt Pontellioni was hit with a pitch and Chris Conway reached on an error. After both runners moved up a base, Kyle Van Ripper drove them in with a single and Van Ripper eventually scored on a single by Hurt to give Rockaway Township a 10-4 lead.
But Morristown National came back yet again and scored three runs in the bottom of the third and another three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at 10-10 and set up the deciding sixth inning.
Hairullaev and Johnson led Rockaway Township's 13-hit attack with two hits each. Hairullaev finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored and Johnson was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Coffey was 1-for-3 with an RBI; Andaloro was 1-for-1 with an RBI; Conway was 1-for-3 with an RBI; Conway finished 1-for-3 with a run scored; Clementoni was 1-for-2 with a walk, one RBI and a run scored; Nieman finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored; Van Ripper was 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs; Hurt was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored; Leonard was 1-for-2 with a walk, RBI and a run scored; Pontellioni walked twice; and Ray McCormick also drew a walk.
Hurt, Johnson and Hairullaev split the pitching duties for Rockaway Township with Johnson striking out four batters in his two innings on the mound.
Coffey came up with the defensive play of the game for Rockaway Township when the second baseman went to his left to make a diving catch of a grounder and got to his feet and threw a strike to catcher Pontellioni who tagged out a Morristown runner trying to score to end the second inning.
