Millburn 13U Advances to District Final In Walk-off

The 13U Millburn Millers, coached by Mike Dasti, went 4-0 in pool play of the Northern New Jersey District 12 Babe Ruth Tournament. By going undefeated, Millburn advanced to the tournament final and secured a berth in the State Tournament.

In their first game, Millburn defeated New Providence, 6-4. Starting pitcher Charlie Krasnove went three innings, allowing two earned runs on one hit with two strikeouts. Reliever Charlie Wall went four innings, allowing no earned runs on three hits with two strikeouts and no walks. Daniel Licciardi, Sawyer Stein, and Jared Manne had Millburn's only hits while Licciardi and Wall had Millburn's only RBIs. Defensive plays of the game included a putout from right fielder Wes Dieckman to first baseman Manne to end a threat in the fourth, a diving catch by center fielder Brandon Wong in the fifth, and two diving catches by Manne to make the last two outs of the game in the seventh.

Next, Millburn defeated Westfield, 9-5. Wall pitched the first six innings for Millburn, allowing two earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Kyle Chase closed the game by retiring all three batters he faced in the seventh. Stein went two for three with an RBI, and Licciardi went two for four with an RBI to lead Millburn's offense. Wall, Krasnove, Chase, and Wong added hits for Millburn, and Wall, Chase, Wong, and Dieckman each had one RBI.

In game three, Millburn defeated Cranford, 9-8 in eight innings. Krasnove started on the mound for Millburn, allowing three earned runs in five innings while striking out four. Chase pitched two innings in relief for Millburn, allowing three earned runs on three hits. Wall closed the game by retiring all three batters that he faced in the eighth. Millburn's offense came alive with fifteen hits, including four by Wall, three by Licciardi, two each by Stein and Krasnove, and one each by Chase, Wong, Derek Arduino, and Manne. Stein, Wall, Krasnove, Chase, Arduino, and Zach Shulman each recorded RBIs for Millburn.

After going 3-0 in their first three games Millburn needed one more win to advance to the district final and earn a berth in the state tournament. In their final game of pool play, Millburn came from behind to defeat Chatham 5-4 with a walk-off in the eighth inning. After playing to a 4-4 tie through seven and one-half innings, Krasnove led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and then stole second. A bunt hit by Chase advanced Krasnove to third, and then a walk by Harrison Choi loaded the bases. Two batters later, with one out and bases loaded, Dieckman singled to left field to score Chase in a walk-off win for Millburn. Starting pitcher Arduino allowed two earned runs on two hits in two innings. Wong pitched three strong innings in relief for Millburn, allowing no runs, one hit, and no walks in three innings. Wall finished the game for Millburn with no runs, two hits, and no walks over three innings. Chase went two for three to lead Millburn hitters. Stein, Wall, Krasnove, Arduino, Wong, Dieckman, and Manne added one hit each for Millburn. Wall, Krasnove, Arduino, and Dieckman each had RBIs for Millburn. On defense Millburn ended a Chatham threat in the sixth by making consecutive putouts at the plate, second baseman Shulman to catcher Stein, and third baseman Krasnove to catcher Stein. In the eighth, Millburn ended a Chatham threat and preserved the 4-4 tie with a pickoff at third base, pitcher Wall to third baseman Chase.

Millburn now advances to the tournament final on Thursday, July 1, at 5:45 PM at Memorial Field in Cranford, NJ and the state tournament in Wayne, NJ, starting on July 8.