WEST DEPTFORD, NJ -- Using a six-run first inning and strong pitching by
Abe Heredia, South Vineland, NJ advanced with a 7-2 win over Newark
National, DE in a winner’s bracket game Saturday night at the 2002
Senior Little League Eastern Regional.
South Vineland, NJ, the New Jersey state champion, will face West
Deptford, NJ, the host District NJ15 champs, will face off at 5 p.m.
Monday. Newark National, DE will face the winner of Derry, NH - Max
Sinoway LL (North Haven), CT on Monday at 1 p.m. Those two teams face
off on Sunday in an elimination game for the right to meet the Delaware
state champs.
Newark National’s starter Justin Bittner, the ace of the staff,
struggled from the start. Eight of his first nine pitches were balls and
he walked the first three batters he faced. After South Vineland got on
the board with an RBI single by James O’Donnell, Bittner forced in a
pair of runs when he hit the next two batters to give South Vineland a
3-0 lead. Then Bittner uncorked a wild pitch to score O’Donnell and make
it 4-0, which ended his night on the hill after just 25 pitches. Of
those, 17 were balls.
When the dust settled at the end of the first inning... South Vineland:
six runs on one hit.
Meanwhile, Newark National reliever Jordan Keith settled things down and
kept his ballclub in the game. He retired the first five batters he
faced and 12 out of 15 to restore order and keep South Vineland in check
for the most part.
Newark National got two runs back in bottom half of the first on an RBI
double by Butch Covey and a South Vineland throwing error.
National had a chance to pull closer in the third, but Heredia pitched
out of a jam. With runners at second and third and two outs, slugger
Eric Trent worked a 3-1 count. Heredia reached back, however, and got
Trent to strikeout and end the threat.
Heredia had it in cruise control after that. He only allowed three hits
after that and finished the night with 10 strikeouts.
The game marked first time in the 12 years of regional play at West
Deptford, the last two regional champions met Saturday night. South
Vineland won the 2001 regional, while Newark National won the 2000
regional, defeating South Vineland for the crown.
Friday, August 2
G 4 - Floral Park, NY 6, Derry, NH 1
G 2 - West Deptford, NJ15 6, Elmwood (Providence), RI, 4
G 1 - South Vineland, NJ 6, Swampscott, MA, 0
NOTE: G3 eliminated due to Vermont withdrawl
Saturday, August 3
G 7 - South Portland National, ME 5, West Side (West Chester), PA 3
G 8 - Elkton, MD 11, Floral Park, NY, 1
G 6 - West Deptford, NJ15, 5, Max Sinoway LL (North Haven), CT 3
G 5 - South Vineland, NJ, 7, Newark National, DE 2
Sunday, August 4
G 11 - Swampscott, MA vs. West Side (West Chester), PA, 11 am
G 12 - Elmwood (Providence), RI vs. Floral Park, NY, 2 pm
G 10 - Derry, NH vs. Max Sinoway LL (North Haven), CT, 5 pm
NOTE: G9 eliminated due to Vermont withdrawl
Monday, August 5
G 14 - Winner G11 vs. Winner G12, 10 am
G 13 - Newark National, DE vs. Winner G10, 1 pm
G 15 - South Vineland, NJ vs. West Deptford, NJ15, 5 pm
G 16 - South Portland National, ME vs. Elkton, MD, 8 pm
Tuesday, August 6
G 17 - Loser G15 vs. Winner G14, 1:30 pm
G 18 - Loser G16 vs. Winner G13, 4:30 pm
G 19 - Winner G15 vs. Winner G16, 7:30 pm
Wednesday, August 7
G 20 - Winner G17 vs. Winner G18, 5 pm
G 21 - Loser G19 vs. Winner G20, 8 pm
Thursday, August 8
G 22 - Winner G19 vs. Winner G21, 5 pm
G 23 - if necessary
Newark National, DE vs South Vineland, NJ (Aug 03, 2002)
* Box score
* Play-by-Play
Box score
2002 Senior LL Eastern Regional
Newark National, DE vs South Vineland, NJ
Aug 03, 2002 at West Deptford, NJ (Union Field)
Newark National, DE 2 (7-2,0-1 REGIONAL)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Ellis, Kevin 3b.......... 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
Agnew, Mark 2b........... 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 2 0
Bittner, Justin p/ss..... 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 3
Spiese, Steven ss/1b..... 3 0 0 0 0 2 8 0 1
Trent, Eric lf........... 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 2
Schmidt, Josh rf......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Humphrey, J.D. ph/rf.... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Keith, Jordan 1b/p....... 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1
Pike, Ryan ph........... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Covey, Butch c........... 3 1 2 1 0 0 6 2 0
Lapenta, Dante cf........ 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Totals................... 27 2 6 1 3 10 18 6 7
South Vineland, NJ 7 (12-1,2-0 REGIONAL)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Ford, Darren cf.......... 3 1 1 0 1 1 2 0 0
Rivera, Sean c........... 3 1 0 0 1 0 11 1 0
Martinez, Chris 1b....... 3 1 1 0 1 2 4 1 0
Myrie, Curtis pr/2b..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
O'Donnell, James rf...... 3 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 2
Nieves, Luis ss.......... 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 2
Acevedo, Chris 3b........ 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Heredia, Abe p........... 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1
Castillo, Alex lf........ 2 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0
Ruggiero, Steve 2b....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rivera, Albert ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lugo ph................. 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Cichy, Joe ph........... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Totals................... 23 7 5 4 5 7 21 5 6
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Newark National, DE. 020 000 0 - 2 6 1
South Vineland, NJ.. 600 001 X - 7 5 2
-----------------------------------------
E - Bittner(1); Acevedo 2(3). DP - So. Vineland 1. LOB - Newark Nat'l 7; So.
Vineland 6. 2B - Bittner(1); Covey(1); Castillo(1). HBP - Nieves; Acevedo.
SH - Nieves(1). SB - Ellis(1); Agnew(1); Spiese(1); Ford(2).
Newark National, DE IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Bittner, Justin..... 0.0 1 6 5 3 0 1 6
Keith, Jordan....... 6.0 4 1 0 2 7 22 25
South Vineland, NJ IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Heredia, Abe........ 7.0 6 2 1 3 10 27 30
Win - Heredia (1-0). Loss - Bittner (0-1). Save - None.
WP - Bittner(1); Heredia(1). HB - Bittner 2. PB - Covey(1).
Umpires - Home:Jim Miller 1st:Bob Baker 2nd:Mike Russinello 3rd:Chris Graham
Start: 8:00 pm Time: 2:28 Attendance: 875
Game: GM-05
Bittner faced 6 batters in the 1st.
Play-by-Play
2002 Senior LL Eastern Regional
Newark National, DE vs South Vineland, NJ - Play-by-Play
Aug 03, 2002 at West Deptford, NJ (Union Field)
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Newark National, DE. 020 000 0 - 2 6 1
South Vineland, NJ.. 600 001 X - 7 5 2
-----------------------------------------
Newark National, DE - inning 1
Ellis struck out swinging. Agnew flied out to lf. Bittner doubled to left
center. Spiese struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
South Vineland, NJ - inning 1
Ford walked. Rivera, S. walked; Ford advanced to second. Ford stole
third. Martinez walked; Rivera, S. advanced to second. O'Donnell singled
up the middle, RBI; Martinez advanced to second; Rivera, S. advanced to
third; Ford scored. Nieves hit by pitch, RBI; O'Donnell advanced to
second; Martinez advanced to third; Rivera, S. scored. Acevedo hit by
pitch, RBI; Nieves advanced to second; O'Donnell advanced to third;
Martinez scored. Acevedo advanced to second; Nieves advanced to third;
O'Donnell scored on a wild pitch. Bittner to ss. Spiese to 1b. Keith to
p. Heredia grounded out to 2b, RBI; Acevedo advanced to third; Nieves
scored. Castillo struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. Rivera, A.
pinch hit for Ruggiero. Acevedo scored on a passed ball, unearned.
Rivera, A. grounded out to 2b. 6 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Newark National, DE - inning 2
Ruggiero to 2b for Rivera, A.. Trent walked. Schmidt struck out swinging.
Keith struck out swinging. Covey doubled down the lf line, RBI; Trent
scored. Covey advanced to third. Lapenta reached on a throwing error by
3b, out at second 1b to ss; Covey scored, unearned. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1
error, 0 LOB.
South Vineland, NJ - inning 2
Ford grounded out to c. Rivera, S. grounded out to 1b unassisted.
Martinez singled to right field. Myrie pinch ran for Martinez. O'Donnell
singled to left center; Myrie advanced to second. Nieves reached on a
fielder's choice; O'Donnell advanced to second; Myrie out at third 3b
unassisted. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Newark National, DE - inning 3
Martinez to 1b for Myrie. Ellis grounded out to p, bunt. Agnew singled to
center field. Bittner struck out swinging. Agnew stole second. Spiese
reached on a fielding error by 3b; Agnew advanced to third. Spiese stole
second. Trent struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
South Vineland, NJ - inning 3
Acevedo struck out swinging. Heredia popped up to p. Castillo doubled to
left center. Lugo pinch hit for Ruggiero. Lugo struck out swinging. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Newark National, DE - inning 4
Myrie to 2b for Lugo. Humphrey pinch hit for Schmidt. Humphrey flied out
to cf. Pike pinch hit for Keith. Pike struck out swinging. Covey grounded
out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
South Vineland, NJ - inning 4
Humphrey to rf. Keith to p for Pike. Ford struck out swinging. Rivera, S.
grounded out to ss. Martinez struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Newark National, DE - inning 5
Lapenta lined out to rf. Ellis walked. Ellis stole second. Agnew struck
out looking. Ellis advanced to third on a wild pitch. Bittner grounded
out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
South Vineland, NJ - inning 5
Schmidt to rf for Humphrey. O'Donnell walked. Nieves grounded out to p,
SAC, bunt; O'Donnell advanced to second. Acevedo flied out to rf;
O'Donnell advanced to third. Heredia popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Newark National, DE - inning 6
Spiese struck out looking. Trent singled down the lf line. Schmidt flied
out to cf. Keith struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
South Vineland, NJ - inning 6
Castillo walked. Cichy pinch hit for Myrie. Cichy struck out swinging.
Ford singled through the right side; Castillo advanced to second. Rivera,
S. reached on a fielding error by ss; Ford advanced to second; Castillo
scored on the error, unearned. Martinez struck out swinging. O'Donnell
fouled out to 1b. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Newark National, DE - inning 7
Myrie to 2b for Cichy. Covey singled to third base. Lapenta walked; Covey
advanced to second. Ellis flied out to rf. Agnew singled to shortstop;
Lapenta advanced to second; Covey advanced to third. Bittner hit into
double play p to c to 1b; Covey out on the play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
