Season Ends for South Brunswick U-9

A long -- and very successful -- season came to an end for the South Brunswick U-9 baseball team.

South Brunswick went 3-1 in pool play in the local tournament it hosted. This qualified the team for the playoffs. Unfortunately, South Brunswick was then eliminated from further action by an 8-6 loss to Sayerwood South on July 16.

"We played in five tournaments and we made the finals in two of them," South Brunswick Manager Hip Crespo said. "The main thing was the boys were competitive."

The members of the team are Nick Nosal (pitcher, catcher and outfielder), Brendan Kane (pitcher, catcher, second base, shortstop and outfield), Travis Bush (pitcher, outfield and third base), Nick Campigotto (outfield, pitcher and second base), Matt Harrison (pitcher, outfield and third base), TJ Scarpa (pitcher, catcher, first base and outfield), Anthony Ramos (pitcher, catcher, shortstop and outfield), Reese Jenne (pitcher, outfield, shortstop and third), Eytan Lugassy (outfield, first base and pitcher), Giovanni DeLuca (pitcher, catcher, first base and outfield) and Trevor Crespo (outfield, second base and pitcher).

"I think the boys improved greatly during the year, which is great to see," Crespo said. "They were in every game. They never got mercied (had the game stopped because they were losing by 10 or more runs)."

What impressed Crespo even more was the constant outstanding effort he got from the boys on his team.

"Regardless the game or where it was, we always put in the battle, made that last surge," Crespo said. "These boys never gave up. That's what made me so proud of them."

It's also why South Brunswick so wanted to win its game against Sayerwood South. The members of the team realized that as soon as it was eliminated from the South Brunswick Tournament, the season was over.

"Having such an aggressive scheduled challenged the boys," Crespo said.

In addition to sharpening everyone's baseball skills, Crespo also believed the busy schedule "Built character. If I could do it all over again, I would."

If anything, the members of the South Brunswick U-9 team wanted to keep winning and stretch the season even further.

"I think everyone enjoyed it (the busy season)," Crespo said. "I think that's what made the last game so tough. Everyone knew if we lost that game, the season would be over. The fact everyone was so sad after that game showed me how much they enjoyed playing together. It's baseball. It's fun. We're going to miss it."