The Makings of a Baseball Dynasty in Fair Lawn

“When you put the ball in play, good things happen.”

Never did that old baseball maxim ring more true than in this July’s North Jersey Youth Baseball 9U Summer Bash championship game at Foschini Park in Hackensack.

After clawing back from a 6-0 deficit, the Fair Lawn Grey Cutters 9U Travel Team trailed by two runs heading into their final at-bat.

Sparked by timely hitting and aggressive base running, the Cutters staged a miraculous comeback, putting up three scores in the bottom of the 6^th to upend 9U state champion Wyckoff, 9-8, for a walk-off victory.

“We were down to our last strike in the bottom of the 6th,” said Rick Puerto, who coaches the team with Jorge Reyes. “To come back and win it, this team’s strength has definitely got to be their heart. They don’t give up.”

After one out, Dylan Cedeno drew his second walk of the game to launch the last-inning rally. He stole both second and third base with Michael Naples at the plate, and came around to score when Naples ripped a clutch single that cut the deficit to one.

When a Naples swipe of second left first base open, Wyckoff’s coach chose to put the winning run on base via intentional walk rather than pitch to Cutters' second baseman and top hitter Jamin Reyes.

An out and a double steal later, the Cutters were down to their final out with runners on second and third, and slugging cleanup hitter Kevin Whalen stepping to the plate.

One strike from defeat, Whalen sent a ground ball into the hole at short. Despite a valiant effort by Wyckoff’s shortstop, his throw pulled the first baseman off the bag and allowed the tying run to score.

All the while, Jamin Reyes, who had begun the at-bat on second base, was chugging hard around third and never hesitated heading home.

Taking advantage of the errant throw, Reyes scored from second to win the game, and the Summer Bash Tournament, for the Cutters.

The victory was sweet revenge for the boys, who had fallen three times to Wyckoff earlier in the travel ball season.

“It was great because the kids, they’ve been close,” Puerto said. “Last year we made it to the state championships and lost. This year we made it to the semifinals and we lost. So they’ve never got to feel that joy.

“This year, they finally got to,” Puerto continued. “They got to pile on each other on the mound, and it was something that these kids, they needed.  They needed it because of all the hard work that they put in.”

The Grey Cutters, who are on the field five-to-six times a week during travel season, are made up of the best 9U baseball players in the Fair Lawn All-Sports league, as determined by independent evaluators.  The travel team started its season on Memorial Day, after the conclusion of the All-Sports recreation league season.

Puerto and Reyes, both former collegiate ballplayers, are in their second season coaching the team together.

“Last year was more of getting them acclimated to being on a travel baseball team,” Puerto said. “Knowing that it’s not like rec and everyone’s not going to get on the field for six innings a game. Everyone has to find their niche.”

This year the coaches instilled a motto of teamwork throughout the course of the year: One team…One dream.

“Every email that went out, every time we huddled up, it was ‘One team…One dream,’” Puerto said. “What we were trying to tell them was, no matter how much or what you do in a game, you’re going to have an impact on that game. So make every opportunity count. You’re not playing for yourself, you’re playing for the man next to you.”

Puerto said the team, which played its home games at Memorial Park and Gregory Field, relied heavily on pitching and defense this travel season.

Jasdeep Singh anchored the pitching staff, followed by a stable of solid workhorses in Jakob Shapiro, Michael Payano and Kevin Whalen.

Behind them in the infield is what Puerto called the “core of our team.”

His son, Alex, played first base and Jamin Reyes, Jorge’s son, suited up at second to round out the infield’s right side.

On the other side of the diamond, Whalen and Payano took turns at short, and Michael Taylor and Ryan Perez held down third base.

With the sticks, Reyes, Whalen and Michael Naples led the way, followed by leadoff hitter and team spark plug, Dylan Cedeno.

The Cutters’ championship win, which satisfied their “one dream,” of wining a tournament and earning a bid to play in an out-of-state regional or national competition, will take them to Delaware next May.

The team received an invitation to play in the Sports at the Beach tournament in Rehoboth Beach, Del. on May 19 and 20, where they’ll compete in the 10U division.

To raise money for their trip, at the , the first in a series of fundraisers they’ll be holding to raise money for their Delaware trip.

“Our goal is to get $3,000,” said Puerto, who hopes to buy the team new equipment and uniforms with the money they raise.

“A lot of these teams in Delaware are clubs teams,” he said. “They’re paying thousands of dollars to play on these teams, so they have the best equipment, they have the best uniforms out there. We want to be able to represent Fair Lawn in that way. We want to go out there and look like a quality product. We want to play like a quality product, but we want to look the part as well.”

Any left over funds will be used to offset the travel and lodging costs borne by the kid's parents who make the trip.

Beyond this season, Puerto sees bright things for his players and the town, as it relates to Fair Lawn's high school baseball program.

“One of the things that we hear from parents all over the town is that this age group is one of the most athletic age groups that they’ve seen in years,” Puerto said. “We’re hoping this can be the core of something to build on at the high school.”