Homer Sends Paramus to Semis

BRISTOL, Conn.—The hour was getting late in the Paramus Little Leaguers’ bid to control their destiny.

Great Kills American from Staten Island, N.Y., held the slimmest of leads but the New Jersey state champions were struggling to put runners aboard against hard-throwing right-hander Jonathan Carbonella.

A loss would hike up the pressure to win Thursday’s makeup game against Delaware. Paramus needed impetus and Chris Regalbuto stepped forward.

Regalbuto slammed a three-run homer to highlight a six-run fifth inning Wednesday night as the Jersey boys gained a foothold in the Mid-Atlantic Tournament championship round with a 6-2 victory over the New York’s state champions at Leon J. Breen Field.

Paramus (2-1) meets Newark (Del.) National Thursday morning in their final preliminary round encounter. The game will do nothing more than establish the seeding for the two-tier single-elimination playoffs. The Mid-Atlantic semifinals are slated for Friday with games at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“I feel great because we lost our first game and fought back with two tough wins,” Regalbuto said. “Now it puts us into a great spot in the semis where we know we can keep winning.”

Carbonella and Paramus ace Hiro Mizutani hooked up in a pitchers’ duel through four innings, a rare commodity in a tournament that’s seen its share of double-digit scoring.

The only hit Carbonella—New York’s number three starter—permitted in those four innings was a clean single to right by James Rendine leading off the third. Mizutani’s sacrifice pushed him to second but he was gunned down trying to advance on a grounder to short.

The only other baserunner for Paramus was Brandon Smith, who led off the first with a walk.

Mizutani, who struck out six in 3 2/3 innings, was nicked for a run in the fourth.

James Greig worked a one-out walk. Tom Bonviso slapped a single to right and Greig steamed into third when the ball was bobbled. The run eventually scored on a wild pitch. Mizutani’s night on the hill was over after 64 pitches.

“It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make this year, knowing we really wanted to win this game to make sure we moved into the playoff round,” Paramus manager Frank Smith said. “I had my best kid on the mound [but he] wasn’t himself. He didn’t really have command of his curveball, which is why I made the decision.”

The game changed quickly in the fifth. Conor Heim lit the fuse with a single to center and Eric Waxman followed suit. The turning point came in the next two at-bats.

Joseph Rendine dropped a perfect bunt down the third base line, forcing the third baseman to field it. He tried for the force at third but Heim slid in safely to load the bases.

“All I was looking to do was try to move two guys up,” Manager Smith said. “But on the first attempt that was called a ball, I noticed they didn’t have a wheel on. They had them staying back. I changed the sign to bunt down third to make the third baseman field it and I don’t think he could have bunted it any better.”

Gavin Niland rapped a ball that glanced off Carbonella’s glove and trickled into short center field to tie the game.

“All I wanted to do was put the ball in play because I had [a 1-2 count],” Niland said.

Great Kills manager Frank Cambria Jr. could see that Carbonella was on the ropes.

“He threw a gem. He just got unraveled in that one inning,” Cambria said. “A couple things fell the wrong way. There were a couple simple plays where we should have gotten an out we didn’t get.”

Greig, New York’s number two starter, replaced Carbonella and fanned Smith. Waxman scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Moments later, Regalbuto rifled a 2-2 pitch that cleared the left field fence in a hurry for his second homer of the tournament.

“It was a high fastball and he got every bit of it,” Smith said.

Cambria said, “[Greig] had two strikes and didn’t throw the pitch we called. The catcher missed it. When we gave him the sign he got blocked by the umpire. He threw a fastball and [Regalbuto] hit it over the fence.”

Paramus wasn’t finished. Starting left fielder Nick DeNigris, who pitched a scoreless inning in relief to earn the win, blooped a single over the shortstop’s head. With two out, Brian Bonino hit a slow roller to third. The throw bounded into foul territory and DeNigris scored from first, just ahead of the throw.

Niland, who came on to get the third out in the fifth with runners on first and second, was tagged for a home run by Greig leading off the final frame. With one out, Bonviso and Sean Fackovec walked.

Regalbuto finished New York off with a strikeout and lineout to left.

“He’s only pitched an inning, an inning and a third since districts started,” Smith said. “In the section final he came for a couple outs. Same thing tonight. He keeps the ball low, which makes him effective.”

The Staten Island club (1-3), which would have clinched a spot in the championship round with a win, will need help from undefeated Pennsylvania in its game against Maryland (1-2) Thursday to secure the fourth and final playoff slot via the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Smith said he would start DeNigris Thursday and come back with Heim in the semifinal.