A righthanded hurler for the Little Ferry/Bogota Senior Base Ruth League baseball team, James Appleton went 6-1 this season for the locals who finished with a 9-7-2 record, after going 1-1 in the playoffs. (Photo by Bill Allen-NJ Sport/Action)

By W. L. Bill Allen, Jr.
Director, NJ Sport/Action

LITTLE FERRY–  After going 1-1 in the postseason and reaching the Bergen County League playoff’s quarterfinal round, the Senior Babe Ruth League baseball battalion from Little Ferry and Bogota has ended its summer season at 9-7-2.

Seeded fourth in the playoffs bracket, the locals waylaid Wallington, the fifth seed, 3-2, on July 1, before being beaten back by Bloomfield, the top seed, 3-2, the following day. Bloomfield went on to lose to second-slotted Rutherford in the league finals, but then rebounded to win the Northeast Regional championship.

Among the LF/Bogota team’s stats standouts this past season were Alex Kelemen, Corrado Mancini, Mike Monforte, Rob Ferrarra, James Appleton and Joe Hielig.

A senior from Bogota High who is on his way to Bloomfield College, Kelemen, a first baseman, averaged .390, with a slugging percentage of .439, an on-base number of .520, a dozen runs batted in and five scored as the club’s cleanup clubber.

A senior from Bogota High who is headed for Bloomfield College, Alex Kelemen averaged .390, with a dozen RsBI for the Little Ferry/Bogota SBR squad. (Photo by Bill Allen-NJ Sport/Action)

Fellow Bogota resident Mancini, a senior leftfielder from Bergen Tech, fashioned a .388 BA, with a half-dozen RsBI, eight runs recorded, a trio of doubles, a pair of triples, a .470 on-base percentage of .470, a slugging number of .531 and ten steals in a dozen swipe sorties as the squad’s second slot slugger.

A junior left-side infielder from Little Ferry and Ridgefield Park High, Monforte averaged .257, with four RsBI and five runs scored from the five hole, while Little Ferry dweller Ferrarra, a junior from Saint Peter’s Prep, corner outfielder and the squad’s sixth spot swinger, averaged .262, with four runs driven in and seven scored on the season.

On the hill, righthanded hurler Appleton, a member of the BHS Class of 2009 who is now playing at Bloomfield College, went 6-1 with one save and five complete games this season, as he pitched to a 1.77 earned run average, with 48 strikeouts and just 16 walks in four dozen frames of hurling.

A member of the RPHS Class of ’09, Little Ferry dweller Hielig went 1-2, with two saves and a 2.53 ERA.

Members of the Fort Lee American Little League contingent revel in the rhapsody of earning the 57-year-old program's first ever NJ Districts championship. The District 6 title-taking team, though, found its best-ever season stopped in NJ Section 2 skirmishes by losses to District 6 champ Lyndhurst American, 5-2, on Monday, July 19, and to District 8 winner Nutley American, 11-0, on Wednesday, July 21, in Edgewater. The eventual Section 2 champ was District 7 titlist West New York American. Photo by Bill Allen-NJ Sport/Action

By W. L. Bill Allen, Jr.
Director, NJ Sport/Action

FORT LEE–  Well before any of the players, players’ parents and coaches from the current Fort Lee/American Little League contingent were born and, most likely, before even some of the players’ grandparents were born, way back in 1954, that organization was born.

However, the FL/American League’s founders could not have possibly envisioned that it would take well into the next century for that association to garner a championship.

Well, surprise! It has, indeed, finally happened, as the FL/Americans have finally reaped the NJ District 6 championship and are competing this week in the NJ Section 2 Tournament in Edgewater.
Section 2 play (which seemed to be an “All-American” affair) opened on Monday night, July 19, with Fort Lee/American facing District 6 champ Lyndhurst and District 7 winner West New York/American battling Nutley/American, the District 8 titlist.

Last night, the two Monday night winners and the two first round losers squared off, with a game set for tonight between the two teams that are 2-1 in their first three games, with a 2-0 team waiting in the wings. Tomorrow is an off-day, with a potential championship game on Friday night. Or, if the two remaining teams each have one loss (2-1 and 3-1), the final game will be played on Saturday night.

The locals kicked-off their current campaign by rousting Ridgefield Park, 11-0, on June 26, prior to licking Little Ferry, 9-8, on June 27. Continuing in pool play, the FL/American bunch was flattened by FL/National, 10-2, on June 30 and lost to that same crosstown rival, 10-7, in the final game of pool play on July 7.
The two FL teams faced each other twice in District 6 pool play due the fact that Englewood Cliffs did not send a team to district level this year.

For the first time in the organization's 57 year history, a Little League from the Fort Lee American League has earned a district championship. The locals, seen celebrating their long-awaited accomplishment, are currently competing in the NJ Section 2 championships in Edgewater. Photo by Bill Allen-NJ Sport/Action

In Pool A, FL/National went 4-0, while FL/American and Little Ferry finished at 2-2 and Ridgefield Park 0-4.

The two top teams from each of the two pools move on to the district championship round and FL-A got the nod over Little Ferry based on the outcome of their head-to-head tussle.
In the title round, Fort Lee-American rattled Ridgefield, 2-0, in the first round on July 9, prior to clipping crosstown competitor FL-National, 6-5, in a semifinals showdown on July 10 and then passing Palisades Park/Leonia, 5-1, in the title tussle on July 12.
The Fort Lee/American roster includes catcher Richie Capone, first baseman Matt Tarabola, second sacker Josh Posner, shortstop Kai Otomo, third basemen Matthew Ware and Cory Hong, corner infielder Nick Menne, leftfielder Sam Keller, centerfielder Anthony Scrivanich, rightfielder Danny Duarte and second bagger/outfielder Zachary Ware, with Hong, Tarabola, Posner and Scrivanich making up the team’s pitching platoon.
Guiding Fort Lee/American are manager Scott Posner, a member of the Tappan Zee High Class of 1979, and coach Kevin Ware, a 1900 Teaneck High alum.
“This championship is all about the kids,” emphasized Posner. “The kids on this team practice hard and play hard and have worked hard to become very smart ball-players and that’s why they were able to win the district championship.”

Among the members of the Little Ferry/Bergenfield American Legion Baseball League contingent are three Ridgefield Park High grads: Justin Rivera, Matt McArow and Jon Fitzgerald.

By W. L. Bill Allen, Jr.

Director, NJ Sport/Action

AREA–  Economic turmoil wreaks havoc in pretty much all areas of life and leisure.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that, just as many other entities and organizations that depend upon donations and sponsorships, American Legion Baseball League teams are affected, as well.
The end result of the economic downturn is that the Legion club that has been sponsored for several years by Bergenfield Post 390, will now be a recipient of support from the Little Ferry Post 310 contingent and will feature either the Ridgefield Park varsity field or Boassano Memorial Field at Lakeside Park in Little Ferry as its home diamond as of the summer of 2011.
During this translational campaign, the Bears are wearing Bergenfield jerseys and Little Ferry caps as a demonstration of their split sponsorship.
Among the regulars for the Bears baseball battalion are a quartet of competitors from Leonia High and a trio from Ridgefield Park HS.
A junior righthanded hurler from LHS Kyle Beldoch has totaled 14 strikeouts, 28 hits allowed and a dozen walks issued, to go along with a 3.21 earned run average in 22 frames of work.
Also an LHS 11th-grader, Justin Ziegler, a third baseman who bats ninth and who is frequently the Bears; courtesy runner, has scored a half-dozen runs so far this season, while Liam Jones, a third bagger who bats ninth, is averaging .303, with five runs batted in an seven scored to his credit.
Also from LHS is Alstin Levy, a 2009 grad who plays shortstop and bats third. Levy holds a .271 BA, with an octet of RsBI and a nonet of runs recorded.
A senior leftfielder from RPHS, Jon Fitzgerald, the squad’s seventh slot slugger, sports stats of two RsBI and a septet of runs scored, while classmate Matt McArow, is averaging .234, with four RsBI, seven scores and a trio of stolen bases in a septet of swipe sorties as the Bears leadoff hitter and Justin Rivera, a senior catcher who played for the Scarlets squad, hits eighth and is averaging .246, with three RsBI and three runs scored to his credit.
The locals are slated to close out their regular season Bergen County Legion League slate by traveling to take on Park Ridge, today, Wednesday, July 7.

By W. L. Bill Allen, Jr.
Director, NJ Sport/Action

LEONIA–  Following a season in which the baseball battalion from Leonia High went 9-14 overall, with a 9-10 showing a middle-of-the-pack finish in the 11 team Bergen County Scholastic League/Olympic Division standings, four members of the Lions diamond contingent have garnered some level of post-season plaudits.
Voted to the All-BCSL/Olympic First Team was Liam Jones, while John Lopez and Kyle Beldoch secured second string status in the All-League hierarchy and To, Quinton was named to the All-BCSL Honorable Mention list.
A senior shortstop who hit out of the three hole, Jones, who was named the team’s MVP, fashioned a .433 batting average, with 17 runs batted in, 22 scored, five stolen bases in a quintet of swipe sorties, five doubles, a triple and a three-run round trip blast at Emerson in the final game of the year.
A senior centerfielder and leadoff hitter, Lopez had a .306 BA, with 14 walks, an on-base percentage of .427, 10 steals in a bakers dozen theft trips, a half-dozen doubles, 14 RsBI and a score of runs scored.
A junior righthanded pitcher, Beldoch totaled 53 strikeouts and only six walks issued in 57 frames of firing, while Quinton, a junior first baseman who hit fifth, recorded 15 RsBI and a dozen runs scored, to go along with a fielding percentage of .985.
“With a team this young, which included four sophomore starters, finishing at 9-13 is a positive thing and, with our younger players gaining such invaluable experience, I’m hoping that we’ll be much improved next year,” summed LHS head coach Steve Perrota.