Sports
Point Pleasant Thunder Rolling into Playoffs
Baseball team of 10-year-old players won second place finish in Memorial Day tournament
With the playoff season in the offing, the Point Pleasant Thunder, a baseball team playing in the US Amateur Baseball League, is on a roll.
The boys, who are 10 years old, are 7-0 against their National Central division competition in the Jersey Shore Baseball League affiliate of USABL.
Even more thrilling for the boys was a run through the Marlboro Baseball Memorial Day Tournament, where they lost in the title game, but had a second-place finish – a result that very much pleased their manager, Bob Rothery, whose team was making its first appearance in any tournament.
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“The kids used every tool we taught them,” said Rothery, who is assisted by John LaSpina, Frank DiTullio and Brad Robinson.
After winning their first two games of the tournament, they lost the third one, but won the next game to advance to the final. There, they lost 11-8 to a Marlboro team that rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Thunder.
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“They (Marlboro) just chipped away at our lead,” Rothery said. “Our pitching and defense were strong throughout the tournament, and there was a lot of hustling and not a lot of mistakes until the (last game).”
Even better, Rothery said, the boys got to meet players from other areas and spent time hanging out with a team from Brooklyn that came to the tournament.
“We had a lot of fun,” he said. “It was a really great time.”
Now the playoffs – which occur within their division only – lie ahead, starting on June 19.
In addition, there is potential all-star team participation for most of the boys, who participate in Point Pleasant’s Little League and Babe Ruth programs as well.
In Point Pleasant, the two programs work cooperatively.
“When all-star time comes, they participate with their rec teams,” said Rothery, who also coaches both. It allows the players who want more out of the game to have that, he said.
And they are happy with the results.
“Over the last couple of years I’ve seen the kids really grow as a team,” Rothery said. “It’s been a great experience.”
The members of the Point Pleasant Thunder include: Christian Aurin, John Chipak, Sam Collins, Tom DiTullio, John Duda, Paul Franceschini, Andrew LaSpina, Joseph Letizia, Trent LiVolsi, Spencer Robinson, Robert Rothery and Jake Wegener, and scorekeeper Robert “Babe” Rothery.
