Randolph East falls in Section 1 final
HAMPTON TWP. – The Randolph East Little League baseball team saw its season come to an end on Thursday night with a 10-4 loss to Somerset Hills in the Section 1 final.
District 17 champion Somerset Hills earned a berth in the state tournament, which starts next week in Hammonton.
“We were just thinking we do our best, play our game, and we’d win and go to states,” Somerset Hills left fielder Dave Iaione said. “It feels great, going back there like our team did last year. It’s a memory that we’re going to have the rest of our lives.”
Somerset Hills got its offense going early, smacking two home runs in the bottom of the first. Shortstop Ed Gambelli led off with a solo shot to center, and pitcher Joe Billotti hit a two-run homer for a 3-0 lead. With one out, Iaione singled and scored on a double to center by catcher Jack Kircher to take a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, third baseman Ryan Falduto homered to put Somerset Hills up 5-0.
Randolph East, the District 1 champion, got two runs back in the top of the fourth when pitcher Aden Koenigsberg singled and left fielder Chris Ascione followed with a two-run shot to left to cut the lead to 5-2.
“They were a good team. These kids love to hit, so the second time around we were telling the kids in practice, ‘Hey, they’re a good team, you have to respect them, don’t take anything for granted,’ ” Somerset Hills manager Mike Falduto said. “They battled us today, they really did, and they were a well-coached team, but the kids have been playing well for a couple of weeks now.”
Somerset Hills tacked on another three runs in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer by Billotti and a solo shot to left by first baseman Andrew Holmes for an 8-2 advantage.
In the bottom of the fifth, Somerset Hills kept the home runs going as Falduto hit his second of the game, a two-run shot to center, for a 10-2 lead. In the top of the sixth, Randolph East’s Niko Flores hit a two-run home run to center to cut the lead to 10-4, but Somerset Hills’ Holmes induced a groundout and a strikeout to end the game.
Billotti allowed two runs on four hits, walked two and struck out 10 in 51/3 innings. Holmes came in and allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one in 2/3 inning.
“It’s a great experience because we went there last year and we want to do better than last year,” Billotti said of the state tournament. “I think we’re a really good team, and if we can play well and keep our confidence up we can keep our streak going.”
For Randolph East, Koenigsberg and Justin Townsend combined to allow 10 runs on 13 hits, walked four and struck out five.
During the tournament Somerset Hills defeated District 4’s Ridgewood and Randolph East twice, scoring 30 runs in the process. Randolph East defeated District 2’s Pequannock twice and District 20’s Hobb Engler Byram.
“We didn’t expect any of the games to be easy, and they really weren’t because we’re playing at such a level right now that it’s fun to watch, and who knows what happens next,” Mike Falduto said. “We take a lot of pride in it — we take pride in our teams representing Somerset Hills at any age level, whether it’s the 10s, 11s or 12s. It’s a great feeling. Hopefully we can do well in states, and we can go to Bristol.”
Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com