South Orange/Maplewood 12u Baseball Team Take States by Storm

After winning the District title last weekend on a walk-off home run, the SOMA Cougars 12u baseball team took their hot bats to States - and boy they did not disappoint. The Cougars won the first two games in pool play this past weekend, outscoring their opponents 29-7. Six different Cougar players combined to hit 9 home runs with Zac Calveric launching three over the fence. With the wins, the Cougars are guaranteed to advance out of their pool and play in the States’ semi-finals on Friday, August 14th.
In the first game, the Cougars defeated Basking Ridge 14-5. CK Epstein took the mound for the Cougars and blanked Ridge in the first inning. Calveric then set the tone for the game and the weekend with a lead-off home run for the Cougars. Nolan Secor followed with a two-out single to score Vince Difazzio as the Cougars opened a 2-0 lead. Max Caracciolo hit a deep ball to center, but Ridge’s center fielder robbed him of a homer making a great catch at the fence. After Ridge scored a run in the second, the Cougars extended their lead to 4-1 when Devin Aiken and Owen Belisle hit back-to-back home runs over the left field fence.
Ridge would mount a comeback in the third scoring 4 runs to take a 5-4 lead. After putting runners on second and third, two ground outs to second baseman Oliver Ellis around a pair of walks scored two more runs for Ridge. Ryan Leibensperger relieved Epstein. Ridge hit a hard ground ball past first scoring a run and Leibensperger then hit a batter to force a run home. Leibensperger would settle down to get the Cougars out of the inning and then held Ridge scoreless over the next two innings to earn the win.
The lead did not last long. Secor launched the second pitch in the bottom of the third over the left field fence to tie the game at 5. The Cougars then broke it open from there. After Epstein, Caracciolo and Will Iozzio walked to load the bases, Leibensperger singled home a run. Owen Belisle grounded out to second scoring another run. After a balk by Ridge’s pitcher, Calveric smashed his second homer of the game giving the Cougars a 10-5 lead. Ridge would go on to walk in a run before Caracciolo hit a deep sacrifice fly scoring Difazzio making it 12-5. The Cougars would add two more in the fourth on back-to-back run scoring singles by Calveric and Ben Leepson. Adam Carlucci would come on to pitch the last inning and a third holding Ridge scoreless to close out the game.
The Cougars came back strong on Sunday to crush Denville 15-2 in four innings. The Cougars jumped out to a big lead early when Secor laced a line drive over the fence for a grand slam, his second home run of the weekend. Two batters later Epstein went deep with a solo shot to make it 5-0. The Cougars would continue to bat around with singles by Aiken, Calervic, Belisle and Leepson. Secor would finish the scoring with a single, his second hit of the inning, that brought in 2 more runs and gave the Cougars a 10-0 lead. That was more than enough for starting pitcher Jack Cartaina. Cartaina threw a complete game for the Cougars for the win allowing one earned run and scattering 7 hits over four innings while striking out 6 batters. The Cougars would score another five runs in the third inning. Calveric led off with a solo homer to center, his third one in States. After a Belisle single, Vince Difazzio followed with a blast to deep center well beyond the fences. After a single and two walks, Cartaina lined a single to left scoring the final two runs. Calveric and Secor each had three hits in the game, with Epstein and Aiken getting two hits apiece.
Up Next: The Cougars finish pool play Wednesday August 12th against Millburn who is also 2-0 in the pool. The game will decide seeding for single elimination semi-final games on Friday August 14th. The winners will play for the State title on Saturday August 15th.