Livingston Juniors Sweep Nutley

NUTLEY - Livingston did not want to play a third game on Monday. They got their wish with the help of the pitching of Luke Roddino.

Livingston Post 201 Junior American Legion swept Nutley in the best-of-three series in the Essex County Junior Legion Championships with a 1-0 victory on Sunday in Nutley in game 2.  If it was necessary, Livingston would have played the third game at home on Monday night.

The victory by the Post 201 junior team made it a sweep for Livingston as the senior American Legion team also took home the county title.

On Saturday, it was the pitching of Jake Dock that led Livingston juniors to a 10-0 win against Nutley. And on Sunday, it was the pitching of Roddino.

"I thought he was phenomenal and he retired 17 in a row at one point," said Livingston Manager Bob Thiemer. "It is big when you don't give up any runs in two games."

Roddino made sure that Livingston did not need that third game as he shut down Nutley and at one point did not allow a Nutley runner for five straight innings. The incoming sophomore at Livingston High School struck out five and allowed only two hits that came in the first inning.

"I just wanted to give my team a chance to win," said Roddino.

Offensively, Dock was 2-for-2 and was on base all four times.  Evan Miles was 2-for-3 while Max Farbstein was 1-for-1 and was on base all three times including a pair of walks.

One of the biggest innings came in the first inning when Nutley loaded the bases and then Roddino struck out Jack Kraft and Al Petraco.

"It was really huge," said Roddino.

This was the second game against Nutley for Roddino, who defeated Nutley earlier in the season in a one-run game. He said that his main pitch was the fastball and threw some off-speed pitches in to put them away. "I was just trying to keep them off balance with my curveball," said Roddino.

Livingston got the only run of the game in the sixth inning when Post 201's Brady O'Connor ripped a pitch between second and shortstop that scored Jake Dock from third base for the 1-0 lead.

Livingston definitely played small ball as Dock opened the sixth inning with a base hit to centerfield and then took advantage of an error by Nutley's Anthony Nissivacia to get to second. Alex Haberman then sacrificed Dock over to third with a ground ball the opposite way to second base before O'Connor got the big hit.

For Roddino, it was a big lift for him when Post 201 scored what it turned out to be a lone run of the game. "When we got the lead, it was definitely a big momentum shift," said Roddino.

With the victory, Livingston received the choice of where to play in the districts for the Junior Legion state tournament. Livingston will play in Linden this weekend. The first game is Saturday morning at Linden Memorial Field.

Post 201 hopes to go a step or two further this season in the state tournament. Last season, Livingston made the Final 4 in the state before being knocked out.

Coach Thiemer knows what the team will need to win the states. "We need good pitching and defense," said Thiemer. "I think we're going to score runs."