Paramus Shut Down by Erial, Play for State Championship Wednesday

After everything went right in 12-0 win over Erial Little League on , it seemed like everything went wrong when the two teams met again on Tuesday.

Paramus saw its seven-game winning streak snapped as they lost to Erial 10-0 in four innings on Tuesday night. It was Paramus' second and worst loss so far in tournament play.

"I think we have the two best teams here," Paramus manager Frank Smith said. "We handed it to them the first game, they handed it to us this game."

Paramus managed just one hit against Erial starting pitcher Adam Holland on Tuesday, that hit being a fourth-inning single by Nick DeNigris. Four of Paramus' first five hitters struck out in the game and they did not advance a single runner past second base.

"It came down to pitching," Smith said. "Our pitching was on the last game, today Adam came in and shut us down and that's part of the game. Good pitching will shut anyone down, no matter how much of a powerhouse you are."

Erial got out to the lead early on Paramus starting pitcher Hiro Mizutani. Erial catcher Jake Vespa hit a solo home run in the first inning to give his team a 1-0 lead. The home run was the first hiot off of Mizutani so far in tournament play.

Paramus decided to remove Mizutani after 1 1/3 innings, keeping his pitch count at 19 pitches. This allows Paramus to start Mizutani on the mound in Wednesday's championship game.

The game was actually close most of the way, as Erial's lead was just 3-0 entering the bottom of the fourth. However, things unraveled for Paramus in the final inning, as Erial put up seven runs in the inning to end the game by mercy rule. Paramus got just one out in the inning as Erial pounded four hits, including two doubles and a triple to end the game.

Erial's Jason Reynolds had the game-ending hit with two runners on and one out in the inning. Reynolds hit a ball down the third base line that was called fair by the home plate umpire, but foul by the third base and left field umpires. Thinking the ball was foul, left fielder Gavin Niland didn't throw the ball in immediately, allowing both runners to score and Reynolds to get to third base with a triple.

Paramus came into tonight's game having not taken the field since Saturday. The team got a day off on Sunday and then ended up not working out Monday due to the rainout.

With both teams now with a loss, the state championship comes down to a winner-take-all game on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The pitching matchup will be the same as Friday's tournament opener, as Erial will pitch Jake Vespa against Paramus' ace Mizutani. Paramus is hoping the result will be the same as Friday's.

"I think we get more confident having Hiro on the mound then we do having whoever they throw on the mound," Smith said. "We knew Adam was going to be tough today, and I think we get a little more confident having our ace on the mound."

The winner of tomorrow's game will be the New Jersey 12-year-old state champions and advance to Bristol, Conn., for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament, which begins Friday.