Pennsville staves off elimination in the District 3 LL Tournament behind Morrison’s pitching and big extra-base hits by Mannino, Weatherbee; South Vineland reaches championship round; includes Section 4 softball update
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
VINELAND – The Pennsville bats were stifled for the first four innings of their District 3 elimination game Tuesday night, but manager Steve Pangle never lost confidence they would come around and he let his players know it every chance he got.
The bats did come alive in a big way in the fifth inning and now the Pennsville 12U All-Stars are playing for a spot in the district championship game.
JoJo Mannino crushed a two-run homer and Brayden Weatherbee roped a three-run double to fuel a five-run fifth that carried Pennsville to a 5-3 win over Millville American in the District 3 Little League Tournament. They now play East Vineland in East Vineland Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. with a place in the championship game opposite South Vineland in the balance.
Millville starter Vash Jacobs, helped by a couple double plays, had faced only one batter over the minimum through a scoreless four innings, but Pennsville got to him in the fifth.
Nathan Breeden got it started with a leadoff double and he scored on Mannino’s no-doubter of a go-ahead two-run homer. Cayden L’Ecuyer restarted it by reaching on a dropped third strike, Chase Pangle singled, Caleb Fontaine drew a two-out walk to load the bases and then Weatherbee brought them all around with his hit of the game.
“I was confident the bats would come around,” Pangle said. “I just wanted to hang with them, stay with them, keep the score close if not the same (until they did).
“I preached to them the whole game that this is our game. I felt it. I could just feel the vibe how we did warmups. I let them know every inning they came out this is us, you’ve got to have it in your heart right now. I feel it; you’ve got to feel it.
“In the fourth inning, after they got that (go-ahead) hit, a couple of the kids came up and were like I feel it. I said, you feel that? Yes, I feel it. All right then let’s do it and that’s when we had the five-run inning.”
None of the hits were bigger than Weatherbee’s double – and not just for what it did to the scoreboard. The only 11-year-old on the roster, Weatherbee was 0-for-10 in the tournament with seven strikeouts and had fanned in his previous three at-bats before sending his bases-clearing double into right field.
“It worried me some,” Weatherbee said of the slump, “but even major-league players get in a slump. I just kept on trying to swing, hit the ball and make contact with it and here we are today where I hit a double and sent three people home. I was a little bit sad (about not having a hit), but then when I hit it, it was amazing.”
“We know any kid on this team can hit the ball at any time,” Pangle said. “People are going to go through slumps and that’s fine; we’ve preached having each other’s back. You may not get a hit for a while and then all of a sudden you get that hit when we need it. That’s been our message the entire year: Just keep fighting. That was just big by him. Lifted his confidence way up. It was a monster three-run double for us.”
Pennsville starter Nate Morrison was just as unhittable as Jacobs early in the game. He faced one batter over the minimum through the first three innings and pitched into the sixth before reaching his pitch limit getting the first two batters out. He allowed only six hits over 5 2/3 innings, two unearned runs, no walks and struck out five.
Millville threatened once Morrison left the game, bringing the winning run to the plate, but reliever Caiden Colomy closed it out by getting a game-ending liner to short.
“I wasn’t worried at all,” Pangle said. “(Colomy) was the right guy. We had the utmost confidence in him. We went out and talked to him after he got a couple base runners on. We told him we believe in you, you believe in yourself, the team believes in you, this is your game, let’s finish it, and that’s what he did.”
SOUTH VINELAND 5, EAST VINELAND 2: South Vineland answered East Vineland’s two runs in the top of the fourth with two in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, then took the lead with three in the fifth to reach the championship round of the tournament.
Mason Mendez drew a bases-loaded walk to break the 2-2 tie and Kaden Potts followed with a two-run single to extend the lead.
Derek Cuba, the walk-off hero of South Vineland’s seventh-inning win over Millville Monday, pitched the first 5 1/3 innings and gave up eight hits, two earned runs and struck out seven. Ronald Leverette got the final two outs, getting a ground out with the bases loaded to end the game.
South Vineland did manage to get East Vineland slugger Enzo Candelario out once, but Candelario went 2-for-3 and hit his sixth homer in five tournament games.
South Vineland will play the survivor of the losers bracket in the championship game 7 p.m. Friday at East Vineland.
DISTRICT 3 LL FINALS
TUESDAY’S GAMES
(At South Vineland LL)
South Vineland 5, East Vineland 2
Pennsville 5, Millville American 3 (Millville eliminated)
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
(At East Vineland)
Pennsville vs. East Vineland, 5:45 p.m.
FRIDAY’S GAME
(At East Vineland)
G6: South Vineland vs. Pennsville-East Vineland winner, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAME
(At East Vineland)
G7: If necessary, 7 p.m.
(Winner to Section 4 Tournament at Erial LL, starting July 12)
South Vineland 5, East Vineland 2
| East Vineland (4-1) | 000 | 200- | 2 | 8 | 4 |
| South Vineland (6-0) | 000 | 230- | 5 | 5 | 2 |
Pennsville 5, Millville American 3
| Pennsville (4-2) | 000 | 050- | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Millville American (2-3) | 000 | 111- | 3 | 8 | 0 |
Section 4 Senior Softball
Pennsville Senior Softball will play host Middle Twp. for the Section 4 championship Wednesday at 6 p.m. after Middle routed Monroe Twp. 20-6 in Tuesday’s elimination game. Pennsville beat Middle 7-2 in its tournament opener Monday night.
SECTION 4 SENIOR SOFTBALL
(At Middle Twp. LL)
TUESDAY’S GAME
Middle/Dennis Twp. 20, Monroe Twp. 6 (Monroe eliminated)
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
G4: Pennsville vs. Middle/Dennis Twp., 6 p.m.
G5: If necessary, 8 p.m.
(Winner to State Tournament at Dennis Twp. LL)
Riverview Sports News 