After six days and more than 150 baseball games, the Labor Day Classic has come to an end. Six days of competition celebrating the nation's past time culminated on the summer's final holiday with a series of playoff games at the r.
In the 15U championship, the undefeated Hamilton A's took on the Toms River Black Sox. Following an exchange of runs in the early innings, the contest was tied at three entering the fifth. With a man on first and third and two outs in the top half of the inning, Hamilton shortstop Tyler O'Dell dove to his left, snaring a ground-ball seemingly destined for the outfield. O'Dell rose to his knees before diving to second base to record the force out, ending the inning and extinguishing the Toms River rally.
Hamilton would load the bases in their half of the inning. Tom Ikeda proceded to draw a walk, plating the go ahead run. Ryan Shin followed with an RBI single to make it 5-3. With two outs, Evan Meduri and Steve Loney connected on back to back run scoring singles to extend the lead to four.
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The Black Sox plated a run in the sixth to narrow the deficit, but it proved to be their final threat. The 7-4 victory for Hamilton capped an unblemished tournament run. Righthander Christian Waters went the distance for the victory.
Additional Championship Results:
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In the 10U division, NY Dynasty beat the Jackson Coyotes for the top prize.After surviving an extra inning affair with the Manalapan Outlaws in the semi-finals, the Staten Island Aces came up just short against the Jersey Brawlers, who claimed the 11U 40/60 championship with a 8-7 win.
The Staten Island Rebels edged the Marlboro Mustangs Gold 6-5 to capture the 11U 50-/70 crown.
At the twelve year old level, the Manalapan Braves Blue bested the Marlboro Mustangs Blue 6-5 for the National Division championship, while the Manalapan Braves Red prevailed over the Jersey Shore A's 4-2 for the American Division title. Although first, the Braves had to beat the club team the Jersey Boyz. "For the Braves to be victorious they would have to play flawlessly for 6 innings, and maybe pull a rabbit out of their hat. They did just that," team coach Bob Deblasio said about beating them in the semi-finals. "Behind great pitching and clean, sharp defense the braves shut out the powerful Jersey Boyz lineup. They did enough with their bats and aggressive base running to come away with a huge 2 – 0 win."
When the Braves Red went up against the Jersey Shore A's in the finals, another tight game was played. "Manalapan took an early 2-0 lead, but the scrappy A’s tied the game with 2 in the 4th inning. A few more grey hairs for the parents on both sides of the diamond," Deblasio said. "The Braves took the lead back in the 5th inning and got an insurance run in the top of the 6th to make the score 4 – 2. The Jersey Shore A’s fought back in their final at bat but the Braves took the Championship showing the heart of a champion and proving that hard work always pays off!"
In the 13U division, the Freehold Falcons defeated the Marlboro Mustangs 6-5. Gallagher Baseball toppled the Old Bridge Lightning 10-0 for the 14U championship.
In its fourth year, Manalapan Baseball and Softball Association's annual Labor Day Classic serves as a fundraiser for the Manalapan Braves travel program. Ninety teams traveling from as far as Virginia and New York took to the baseball diamonds of Manalapan to compete in this summer's tournament.
Stay tuned for a full slideshow photo gallery from the classic tomorrow!
