Bloomfield Bombers Earn Championship Round Chance but Fall Short in Ripken South Carolina Tournament Action

The Bloomfield Bombers 13Under team battled its way to the championship round of the Ripken Baseball Wave Rider Tournament last week in Myrtle Beach, SC.

But the Bombers’ run ended against another New Jersey team, the Jersey State Bombers of Medford, who won, 4-3, in the prestigious tournament.

Seventeen travel teams from 10 states including Florida, Oklahoma and Michigan participated in the week-long tournament. The Bloomfield gang went 2-3 in round robin play and were one of 12 teams that advanced in the playoffs. The Bombers, whose pitching proved to be a major strength, were seeded 10th in the playoff round. The Bombers yielded just 20 runs, the third best mark, in round robin play.

The Bombers began their week with a 2-1 loss to the Michigan Wildcats Monday afternoon. Pitcher Manny Corporan kept the Bombers close but it was not enough. Craig Dittrich provided the lone Bomber RBI, driving in Corporan.

Another strong pitching performance, a combined effort by Dylan Piacenza, Elliot Urgent and Ed Abplanalp, helped the Bombers to their first victory, 5-1, against the Sykesville (MD) Storm Monday afternoon. Urgent, Dittrich, Kyle Tice and Kyle DiMatteo drove in runs for the Bombers.

A strong start against the QBA (FLA) Hurricanes did not stand up for the Bombers who lost, 12-8, Tuesday. The Bombers led, 4-0, after Urgent and Jordan DiFabritis each drove in two runs. Florida scored twice against Bombers starter Sean Demo who was relieved by Urgent.

QBA closed to within 4-3 but Demo and Dittrich added RBIs in the fifth to stretch the Bomber lead to 6-3. Each team scored twice in the sixth inning and the Bombers held an 8-5 lead.

The Bombers were two outs from another victory after a terrific catch by Urgent in the top of the seventh. The defense then uncharacteristically failed the Bombers as QBA scored seven unearned runs.

The day was not over for the Bombers who played the eventual tournament winners, Legends Prospects (MA), Tuesday afternoon. Pitchers DiMatteo and Brandon Kelly kept the Bombers close, allowing only two runs over six innings but Legends pitcher Harrison Brickett held the Bomber bats in check with a complete game, 109-pitch effort in the 4-0 Bomber defeat.

The Bombers took out their frustrations against the Western Mass Tidal Waves with an overwhelming 11-1 victory Wednesday. The Bombers led from start to finish in the five-inning game. Tice and Liam Bejasa combined to one-hit the Tidal Wave while eight different Bombers, including Robert Reboa and Jonathan Gugliemino drove in at least one run. J.J. Mendoza scored during a 5-run second inning that broke the game open.

The Bombers sent their ace, Abplanalp, against the seventh-seeded Medford, NJ-based Jersey State Bombers with a rematch against the Legends Prospects at stake. The Bloomfield bunch was confident with Corporan and Piacenza available in the bullpen.

DiFabritis singled in Urgent to give Bloomfield a 1-0 lead in the first but Jersey State bounced back and led, 4-1, after six innings. But the Bombers were not done – not by a long shot. They fought back in the seventh to load the bases and push across two runs but eventually fell short, 4-3.

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