By Wayne Witkowski
Jackson’s hopes for a Little League Intermediate Section 3 championship were cut short when host Middletown won, 5-3, in the championship finale July 10.
Jackson, coming out of the losers bracket, had won an earlier game against Middletown that day, 8-4, to force the do-or-die showdown and hoped to make it a sweep to the title while avenging a 7-6 loss to Middletown earlier in the tournament, which had sent Jackson into the losers bracket.
“It’s always tough when you have to win two games back-to-back against a good team,” Jackson manager Tim Beck said. “They really wanted it. Our downfall in the second game [for the championship] was our bats. You have to score runs to win games.”
Jackson came into the tournament as a strong favorite with most of its lineup off last year’s 12U team that advanced to the Little League Eastern Regional finals before losing.
“This is something these kids will remember,” Beck said. “It’s tough to win the district and then it gets harder. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of teams go home earlier and don’t even get into July.”
In the championship finale, Middletown’s Colin Dowlen connected for a three-run homer in the first inning — his fourth homer of the tournament. Middletown never lost the lead from there, as Michael Gonzalez went the distance on the mound with a five-hitter, striking out six and walking two. He threw 95 pitches.
Ryan Lasko blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to center field after Dan Greenwood singled to pull Jackson to 3-2.
Gonzalez, who hit two home runs in Middletown’s 7-5 victory over Jackson early in the tournament, sent a 3-0 pitch from Tyler Beck leading off the third inning over the right center field fence for a 4-2 lead that proved to be the winning run.
“Aside from those two pitches [for home runs], Tyler bounced back from the start of the game, and we had a good defensive game but did not get our bats going the way we knew we could,” manager Beck said, as his son allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked one before Lasko relieved in the last inning.
Jackson answered in the home third, pulling to 4-3 when Jake Wendell slapped a single, advanced on a walk to Caden Brooks and a groundout and scored on a wild pitch with two out.
Mark Romano hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning for the 5-3 Middletown lead that scored Gonzalez, who was intentionally walked and then stole second.
Jackson, meanwhile, was held in check over the closing innings.
In the earlier game, Jackson secured its 8-4 victory when Tyler Beck belted a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning for a 5-4 lead. Dan Greenwood padded the lead in the fifth inning with a run-scoring double, and winning pitcher Brooks laid down a well-executed suicide squeeze bunt in the sixth inning that drove in the final two runs.
Middletown struck first when Gonzalez led off the game with a home run. Jackson rallied back in the home first inning with four runs, three scoring off passed balls and another on a single by Matt Feld.
Middletown came back to tie it at 4-4 with timely hits by Pat Marinich, who lined a two-run double in the second inning and smashed a run-scoring single in the fourth inning.
Brooks gave up five hits with eight strikeouts and five walks.
Jackson had stayed in the hunt in the losers bracket for a Section 3 championship July 9 when it beat Edison, 12-2, in a game stopped after five innings by the 10-run rule to set up the rematch against Middletown for the title.
Lasko set the tone when he hit the first pitch out of the park. Wendell belted two home runs, had three hits and knocked in four runs. Feld went the distance for the mound win.
Middletown sent Jackson into the losers bracket in the opening action of Section 3 July 6 with a 7-5 victory, scoring three runs in the sixth inning. Beck had staked Jackson to a 5-4 lead with a solo homer.
Gonzalez belted a two-run homer in the sixth inning — his second one of the game — that gave Middletown its first lead at 7-5, after Middletown came into the inning trailing, 5-4.
“That win was absolutely huge because that Jackson team is fundamentally good, very well coached,” Middletown manager Mike Altilio said. “We played very good defense.”
C.J. Miranda’s baserunning produced Middletown’s first run of the comeback rally, as he had a hit, stole second and scored the tying run on an overthrow to third while he was stealing that base.
Jackson bounced back July 7 with an 11-1 victory over Millstone that was stopped in the fifth inning by the 10-run rule. Lasko tagged a grand slam in the fifth inning that brought an early ending to the game. Joe Arcarese connected for a three-run homer for Jackson. Wendell lined a triple and a double and batted in a run, and Beck had two hits and an RBI for Jackson.
Jackson got all the runs it needed in the first inning, scoring a pair off hits by Wendell and Beck.
