Woodstown, Elmer fall in opening games in the District 3 LL Tournament; Franklin Twp. walks off Woodstown, East Vineland one-hits, run-rules Elmer
NJ LITTLE LEAGUE DISTRICT 3
| AMERICAN | REC. | RF-RA | NATIONAL | REC. | RF-RA |
| East Vineland | 1-0 | 10-0 | S. Vineland | 1-0 | 10-3 |
| Franklin Twp. | 1-0 | 6-5 | Buena | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Pennsville | 0-0 | 0-0 | S. Cumberland | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Woodstown | 0-1 | 5-6 | N. Vineland | 0-1 | 3-10 |
| Elmer | 0-1 | 0-10 |
FRIDAY’S GAMES
East Vineland 10, Elmer 0, 5 inns.
Franklin Twp. 6, Woodstown 5
South Vineland 10, North Vineland 3
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
FRANKLINVILLE – Manager Andrew Myers knew how much Luke Hudson wanted to win Franklin Twp.’s opener in the District 3 Little League Tournament from the mound Friday. It didn’t quite work out that way for the right-handed pitcher, so instead he won it at the plate.
By all accounts Hudson was having a rough night. He was the starting pitcher and gave up five runs in the first four innings before reaching his pitch limit. It wasn’t going much better at the plate, either, as he was hitless in his first three at-bats.
But he wound up salvaging the day in a big way when he ripped a bases-loaded single into left field with none out in the sixth inning driving home Liam Lippenger with the winning run in Franklin Twp.’s 6-5 victory over Woodstown.
“When I was up to bat, I didn’t have the highest hopes,” Hudson said. “I wasn’t feeling good. I pitched terrible. I gave up a home run in the first inning and then I was 0-for-3 up to that point. With bases loaded, I just hit a hard line drive over the third baseman’s head. I kind of think of it kind of like redemption. Even though I played bad at start I played good at the end, so it evens out in the my mind.”
“When it comes down to the game, he wants the ball,” Myers said. “He didn’t want to come out of the game pitching; he wanted to finish it. He wanted to be the one to bring home the win on the mound, but lucky for him he got the chance to do it at the plate and he did it.”
Lippenger started the winning rally by legging out a bunt single and used his speed to reach second when Caden Goodwin’s bouncer came up on Woodstown shortstop Ashton Wadman. Lucas Capecci singled into right field to load the bases and Hudson won it by lacing a 2-2 pitch from reliever Mason Fackler past the third baseman Daulton Hawk into left field. Several runners came home, but Franklin Twp. only needed one to win.
Woodstown had a chance to break the tie in the top of the inning. They got two runners on with two outs and clean-up hitter Wadman, who homered earlier in the game, coming to the plate, but field umpire called out lead runner Fackler for leaving second base too soon ending the inning.
Woodstown had leads of 2-0, 4-3 and 5-3 in the game. Wadman, one of three players from the Salem LL on the combined roster, gave them a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a long two-run homer. Franklin Twp. answered with three in the home first, but Woodstown retook the lead in the second when Grant West poked a two-run opposite-field single into right. They extended the lead to 5-3 in the fourth on Logan Roback’s RBI double.
“We had some big hits in big situations,” Woodstown manager Dave Murnane said. “Obviously, they did, too. Things could have literally went either way. It didn’t go our way, but it could have.”
Franklin Twp. tied the game 5-5 in the fourth on Vincent Coia’s two-out, two-run double.
“I like the fight in them; they battled back,” Myers said. “There were times where they got upset, they were ready to check out, but, guess what, they checked back in and they brought the win.”
Both teams are back in action Saturday. Franklin Twp. hosts Pennsville in the Eagles’ tournament debut and Woodstown looks to bounce back at home against East Vineland.
“We’ve got to, at this point, probably to advance, we’ve got to run the table,” Murnane said. “That’s our attitude, but I think we can probably beat anybody on our schedule. It was very encouraging (Friday) because you go into these games not knowing what you’re going to get from the opponent, from your own team. The main thing is it was fun.”
EAST VINELAND 10, ELMER 0: Elmer was holding its own for four innings against East Vineland just waiting for its bats to come around. They never did and East Vineland erupted for eight runs in the fifth inning to bring an early end to the game.
Two East Vineland pitchers held Elmer to one hit and struck out 13 in the five-inning game. Jace Oliveri pitched the first 3 1/3 innings, gave up the Elmer’s only hit and struck out 10. He also hit a two-run homer in the break-out inning.
Cash Williams had Elmer’s only hit, an infield single that put two on with none out in the first inning, then Oliveri retired the next eight in a row before issuing a walk to Damon Houchins. Telmer put the tying runs on with one out in the top of fifth, but couldn’t bring them home.
East Vineland’s big inning started with three straight walks and a two-run single to make it 4-0. Williams and Connor Harding retired the next two batters, then the next five reached, including Oliveri’s homer and the two-run double that closed it out.
“We held them for a while,” Elmer manager Ray Harding said. “We were in it and then all of a sudden that one inning really took its toll. We just needed the ball to get hit. It’s like one of those deals where you’re waiting for this one to hit, that one to hit, to get that momentum going. We just needed a couple hits and all of sudden things start clicking. We’re hoping Monday we can hit.”
| Woodstown | 220 | 100- | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Franklin Twp. | 300 | 101- | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| Elmer | 000 | 00- | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| East Vineland | 101 | 08- | 10 | 8 | 0 |
REMAINING POOL PLAY SCHEDULE
(All games 5:45 p.m. unless noted)
Saturday’s Games
East Vineland at Woodstown, 5 p.m.
Pennsville at Franklin Twp., 7 p.m.
Buena at South Cumberland, 7 p.m.
June 29
East Vineland at Pennsville
Elmer at Woodstown
South Cumberland at North Vineland
June 30
East Vineland at Franklin Twp.
Elmer at Pennsville
South Vineland at South Cumberland
North Vineland at Buena
July 1
Franklin Twp. at Elmer
Woodstown at Pennsville
South Cumberland at Buena
DISTRICT FINALS
July 6
at Buena LL
Game 1: American 1 vs. National 2
Game 2: National 1 vs. American 2, 8 p.m.
July 7
at North Vineland LL
Game 3: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2
Game 4: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, 8 p.m.
July 9
at Pennsville LL
Game 5: Loser G3 vs. Winner G4, 7 p.m.
July 10
at South Vineland LL
Game 6: Winner G3 vs. Winner G5, 7 p.m.
July 11
at South Vineland LL
If necessary, 7 p.m.
Winner advances to Section IV Tournament at Hammonton, July 17
Riverview Sports News 