Angelo Casale – COLTS NECK, NJ (July 31, 2011) – The Monmouth Monarchs and Toms River Hurricanes played for all the marbles on a hot and sticky Sunday morning at Colts Neck High School, and by the end of the day only one of them would be crowned ABCCL champions. It was the top two teams in the league going head to head one last time to see who would hoist the Jerry Lillis ABCCL Championship Cup. The teams had split a doubleheader yesterday at Raritan Bay Waterfront Park, and they knew that this would be their last chance at glory before their summer baseball seasons ended. When it was all said and done, and with the sun beating down on the biggest ABCCL crowd to attend a game so far this season, the Monarchs reigned supreme, winning a close game by the score of 4-2.

The game was relatively quiet through the first five innings, with neither team being able to mount much offense. In the bottom of the first, Toms River threatened with runners on second and third and just one out, but they were unable to push any runs across the plate after Monarchs starter J.R. Seader (Kutztown University; hometown Piscataway, NJ) got a pop up and a fly-out to end the threat.

Seader went on to toss five strong scoreless innings, allowing just four singles while walking three.

The Monarchs bats were being held at bay as well, as Hurricanes starter Conner Medler (Rutgers-Newark; hometown Edison, NJ) was pitching a fantastic game early on. Through his first five innings, he gave up only one hit, and allowed just two base-runners.

The game remained scoreless until the top of the sixth inning, when the Monarchs finally broke through and scored two runs off of Medler. After an error allowed Will Mooney (Bucknell University; hometown Princeton, NJ) to reach first and advance to second on a dead ball, Anthony Bowens (Montclair State University; hometown Nutley, NJ) singled to put runners on first and third. Medler ended up striking out the next batter, but Matt Ray (Davidson College; hometown Long Valley, NJ) doubled, plating both runs and giving the Monarchs a 2-0 lead. Ray finished the day 3-4, with two doubles, a single, and 2 RBIs.

Monmouth was able to score two more runs in the top of the seventh, from an RBI groundout by Chris Greco (Monmouth University; hometown Totowa, NJ). Tom Goulian (Stevenson University; hometown Kinnelon, NJ) also scored on a botched pickoff attempt at third. This gave the Monarchs a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, and had the Hurricanes back on their heels.

While the Monarchs were busy cushioning their lead, Jordan Tabakman (University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill; hometown Pompton Plains, NJ) had entered the game in relief of Seader in the sixth. He immediately ran into some trouble in the bottom of the inning after allowing three singles to load the bases. But with the bases loaded and two outs Tabakman struck out the last Hurricane batter of the inning to escape without any damage. It seemed to be a reoccuring theme for the Hurricanes, as they couldn’t take advantage with runners in scoring position. They also left two runners on base in the first, fourth and seventh innings.

In the bottom of the eighth it looked as if the Hurricanes might make a comeback off of Tabakman. After Matthew Mancini (Saint Peter’s College; hometown Toms River, NJ) reached on an error and went to second on the overthrow, he advanced to third on a wild pitch.  DJ Roche (NJIT; hometown Kendall Park, NJ) then singled home Mancini to score Toms Rivers first run of the game. After Roche stole second, he was brought home by Matthew Toth’s (Lake Erie College; hometown Lorain, OH) RBI single to bring the score to 4-2. But with two outs, Toth was caught stealing and thrown out at second to end the threat.

The Monarchs were retired in order in the top of the ninth, and the Hurricanes had one last chance to become champions.  After Tabakman got two quick outs on a weak grounder and a strike out, he walked the next batter, bringing the tying run to the plate.  However, since a lefty was stepping up to the plate for Toms River, Monarchs coach Bobby Brownlie came to the mound and brought in lefty Jon Cohen (Bryant University; hometown Norwalk, CT) to finish the job. The lefty vs lefty match-up worked perfectly, and Cohen got a weak pop up on just one pitch to end the inning and game.

When the game was over, the Monarchs were presented with the Jerry Lillis Championship Cup, as family members and friends joined them on the field for a celebration. The Hurricanes took the loss in stride, and should be proud of a great season which saw them top the 30-win mark for the first time in ABCCL history and the #1 seed in the playoffs.

All ABCCL fans are encouraged to attend the always exciting All-Star Game, tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 PM at Kean University.