By Angelo Casale, ELIZABETH, NJ (November 5, 2011) – The Atlantic Baseball Confederation hosted the annual Jersey Shore Fall Baseball League All-Star Showcase, on Saturday, November 5th, at beautiful Williams Field on the campus of Elizabeth High School. Players and fans were blessed with sunny skies on a brisk November afternoon, as the state’s brightest high school baseball players demonstrated their skills in front of hundreds of fans, families and dozens of college recruiters and professional scouts. 
 
The day started with a warm-up session led by Tom Kalieta of Sweat Gym and a professional workout run by Joe and Jim Wladyka of Wladyka Baseball followed by two eight inning games. In Game 1, the Joe Black All-Stars defeated the Bobby Thompson All-Stars by a score of 8-2, while the Monty Irvin All-Stars fought off a late eighth inning rally by the Phil Rizzuto All-Stars to win Game 2, 8-6.

Game 1

In the day’s first game, the Bobby Thompson All-Stars squared off against the Joe Black All-Stars. The Joe Black All-Stars produced a big third inning to jump out to an early 4-0 lead, while cruising the rest of the way to victory behind some stellar pitching.

Bobby Thompson starter Andrew Torres (Elizabeth Top 18; Elizabeth High School) pitched the first two innings for his team, striking out the side in the first, and allowing only a double to his Elizabeth teammate Martin Taveras (Elizabeth Top 18; Elizabeth High School) in the top of the second.

Meanwhile, Joe Black starter Ryan Mihalkovitz (Toms River Black Sox; Toms River North High School) pitched a scoreless first, and Wonder Ortega (Caribbean All-Stars; Perth Amboy High School) pitched a scoreless second, leaving the game tied with no score going into the third.

But the Joe Black bats came alive in the top of the third, and they took advantage of an error, walk, and hit batsmen, while coming through with two hits with men on base to open the scoring. Angel Garced’s (NJ Marlins; Jackson Liberty High School) bases loaded 2-RBI double put the Joe Black All-Stars on top for the first time, and Spencer Young (Jackson Jags; Jackson Memorial High School) scored on a wild pitch to make the score 3-0. Rafael DeLaCruz (Elizabeth Top 18; Elizabeth High School) then added an RBI single, to make the count 4-0.

The Bobby Thompson All-Stars got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, when Fernando Guerrero’s (Farrah Scout; St. Mary’s High School) triple was followed by a Billy Riches (Staten Island Orioles; Tottenville High School) RBI groundout to make the score 4-1.

After the teams exchanged runs in the fifth, the Joe Black team led 5-2, and their pitching allowed only three more hits to lead their team to victory. Jacob Tannen (Farrah Builders; Colts Neck High School) and Spencer Young (Jackson Jags; Jackson Memorial High School) combined to pitch the last three innings, and the offense added three more runs in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 8-2, which would end up as the final.

Game 2

Game 2 of the All-Star Showcase featured the Monty Irvin All-Stars against the Phil Rizzuto All-Stars, with the Rizzuto All-Stars making a close game out of it in the late stages of the eighth inning, before the Irvin All-Stars took control and halted the comeback with a timely strikeout.

The Monty Irvin All-Stars got off to a quick start, with Stephen Cuccio (Wladyka Baseball; Jefferson Township High School) and Tyler Pallante (NJ Marlins; Jackson Liberty High School) both hitting RBI sac-flies to give their team a 2-0 advantage in the top of the first.

The Rizzuto All-Stars then answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first. Vincent Cosenzo (Wladyka Baseball; West Essex High School) led off with a triple, and was later driven in by Blake Brandon (Frozen Ropes; Red Bank Regional High School) to cut the lead to 2-1.

The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the fourth, when the Rizzuto All-Stars scored three more runs. Jose Hernandez (Caribbean All-Stars, Perth Amboy High School) hit an RBI single, and Vincent Cosenzo collected his second hit of the game with a 2 RBI single, to give his team a 4-2 lead. Cosenzo went three for three in the game, with three RBI’s and two runs scored.

But the two run lead was the last lead the Rizzuto All-Stars would see, because the Irvin All-Stars answered with a six run top of the fifth, gaining a four run lead. Jason Richard (PAL Elite; Neptune High School) and Austin Peck (Berkeley Bandits; Point Pleasant Boro High School) both knocked in runs with RBI singles, and Fernando Rosa (Caribbean All-Stars, Perth Amboy High School) drove in two more runs with an RBI double in an inning that saw eleven hitters step up to the plate. The inning ended with the Rizzuto All-Stars down 8-4, but their sights were set on a comeback that would almost come to fruition in the last inning.

Neither team was able to garner much offense through the middle innings, until the bottom of the eighth inning, when things started to get interesting. After the Irvin All-Stars got a quick out, Joe Rotelli (PAL Elite, St. John Vianney High School) singled, but was followed by another ground out to bring the Rizzuto Stars to their last out. Vincent Cosenzo singled driving in Rotelli, and he was followed by two walks and an error to load the bases.

However with the game just one swing away from being knotted at eight, Fernando Rosa got the last batter to strikeout, sending everyone home and dashing the hopes of a Rizzuto comeback.