Huskies' Strong Bats Not Enough to Overcome Mustangs

The Matawan-Aberdeen Huskies faced off against the Montville Mustangs in their second of three games in the 11U state baseball tournament Saturday afternoon.

Both teams stood at 0-1 making this July 23 game a must win. After Friday night’s marathon of a game, it was critical for the Huskies to come out early and take a lead.

The Huskies' bats started just the way they left off last night, jumping on the Mustangs for an early lead. However, the boys missed a few opportunities that caused the Huskies the game in the end, losing 8-6 in a nail bitter.

The Huskies came out in the first inning on fire, with three of their first four batters reaching base on singles. The three singles were then preceded by three RBI walks by John Caielle, Austin Nappi, and Pat Caragliano. All three batters worked the count full before walking.

Although scoring three runs was a good start, leaving the bases juiced once again is something the Huskies have done all too much between Friday and Saturday.

The Mustangs came right back playing the comeback roll very well all game. They scored two runs in the bottom half of the first to make the score 3-2 after an inning of play.

With two quick outs in the second, it seemed that the Mustangs were going to be hitting again with the same momentum. Steven Salot, however, worked a two-out walk which brought Mark Fitzsimmons to the plate. Fitzsimmons wasted no time blasting the second pitch of the at bat for a two run homer over the left field fence. This gave the
Huskies a comfortable three run lead again.

The Huskies then added one run in the third and it seemed as if they were cruising with a 6-2 lead. However, the wheels fell off for the boys in the bottom half of the third inning. Three infield hits in a row, two of which were plays that should have been made, set the Mustangs up for a big four run inning, tying the game at 6-6.

It seemed as if the Huskies were prepared to answer those four runs with some runs of their own. They were set up with second and third with one out when they couldn’t produce a run. Then with the bases loaded and two outs in the same inning, the Huskies still could not get any runners across home plate.

The big hit finally did come in the game; however it was not by one of the Huskies. It was by clean-up man Pat Reegan of the Mustangs, who lifted a homerun just over the left center field fence in the bottom of the fifth to give the Mustangs a 7-6 lead.

That was all the Mustangs needed to silence the Huskies in the game, although they did add one more for insurance.

The Huskies still have an outside chance to finish second in their respective pool, which will put them in the playoffs, although they will need a lot of help and a victory on Sunday.