Milltown Legion team is flexing its muscle
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Greg Slavicek (above) and Andy Andersen are two of the top players for the Milltown American Legion team once again this summer, as the squad has raced out to an 11-1-1 start.

MILLTOWN — The Milltown Post 25 Senior American Legion team improved to 11-1-1 on Tuesday with a win over Clara Barton to remain in contention for a league title.

Nick Myers came into the game with one out in the top of third and shut the door on a Clara Barton rally, paving the way for the Milltown comeback. Myers relived starter Matt Merrigan and struck out 10 batters the rest of the way, allowing no runs, no walks and one single.

Greg Slavicek, a Brookdale Community College player and graduate of Spotswood High, tied the game in the fourth with an RBI single, and the game-winning run came home an inning later on a Chris Affinito ground-out.

Thus far, Milltown has been among the most consistent teams in the Middlesex County League, much to the satisfaction of its coach.

"The kids on this team are amazing," Milltown Post 25 head coach Glenn Fredericks said. "They come to the park every day, ready to play, and they bring an unbelievable approach to each at bat."

The squad from Milltown has been mowing down opponents, having already scored a season sweep over Old Bridge and beaten many of the league’s top teams.

Fredericks team recently defeated a previously unbeaten South Brunswick team, 14-6. Eric Hines of Spotswood took the hill for Milltown to duel with South Brunswick’s ace Brian Sock. Sock, one of the area’s top hurlers, was touched for 11 earned runs in five innings.

"The way we’ve been hitting the ball, I knew we’d be all right with the sticks," Fredericks said. "Eric did a great job going 5 1/3 innings to pick up his first win of the season."

Hines ran into some trouble in the sixth, but Milltown’s Meyers came in to close the door. Hines allowed just three hits from the mound, and the game remained wide open until the sixth inning when Milltown blew it open.

"The game belonged to Greg Slavicek," Fredericks said. "He went 3-for-4 with the game-winning, two-run homer in the sixth."

Slavicek finished the game 3-for-4 with six RBIs. Designated hitter Brian Dzuro went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, and right fielder Scotty Dyckman was 3-for-4.

Iselin was Milltown’s next victim in a 14-0, five-inning rout. Left-hander Matt Merrigan improved his record to 2-0.

"Matt is a crafty lefty," Fredericks said. "He hit his spots and consistently stayed ahead of the hitters."

Andy Anderson extended his hitting streak to a team-leading seven games this week and went 3-for-4 in the win over Iselin. Dyckman added another multi-hit game, as well as Dzuro.

"Every starter got a hit and scored a run in the Iselin game," Fredericks said. "Everybody was putting good swings on the ball, and we are getting closer to where we should be."

With a handful of games remaining before the start of the postseason, the Milltown squad is in good position to play well into the end of the summer campaign.

The team features dominant starting pitching, solid defense, and a lethal lineup — all the ingredients of a contender.

"The team is playing well right now and they are fun to watch," Fredericks said. "I’ve got a legitimate pro prospect in catcher Chris Affinito, and he’s returning for his senior year next season."

Diamond notes... While the Milltown squad has played well, there are other teams in the Middlesex County League that have also proven to be contenders this summer.

The Father and Son team from Edison dropped its first game of the summer on Monday, but bounced back on Tuesday by blanking Perth Amboy, 10-0, to improve to 12-1 on the season. Billy Alec (2-0) struck out eight batters in four innings of work to get the win, while Ryan Klouser (2-for-3, home run, three RBIs) and Mike Manfre (home run) supplied the offense.

The Edison team’s fast start this summer is in large part a result of its ability to capitalize on the opposition’s miscues.

"We’ve been scoring a lot of runs on few hits this whole season," Edison Post 435 head coach Chris Banos said. "We’ve been able to manufacture runs, and although we are starting to hit the ball harder, we are not where I’d like us to be, but we are getting there."

If the team starts hitting the way Banos knows they are capable of doing, the other teams better take cover.

The John F. Kennedy American Legion Team dropped its first game of the summer on Tuesday, 7-3 to South Amboy, but appears poised to make a run at a championship summer.

Kennedy coach Jerry Smith knows the often-used quotation, "Pitching and defense wins championships," and believes that this team has plenty of both.

"The team’s pitching and defense is excellent," he said.

Although their offense has seemed sluggish at times, the JFK team continues to win.

Joel Rodriguez, who is the team’s ace, has continued to pitch lights-out all year. If there is one pitcher who can dominate a game, it may just be him. Along with remaining perfect on the year, he pitched a game earlier this season in which a player for the opposing team did not reach second base after the second inning.

As well as Rodriguez has pitched, Kyle Dunich is not far behind. Although he is more of finesse pitcher than power pitcher, Dunich gets the job done. He would be the ace of many pitching staffs, but with Rodriguez on his team, he has to settle to be in the second slot.

The team has been led offensively by Rob Hennessy, K.C. Cabonilas, Joel Rodriguez, Joe Russyk and Kyle Fisher.

The Iselin American Legion baseball team is currently in second place in the North Division, trailing first-place John F. Kennedy by eight points.

It would be a great feat for Iselin to finish in first place, and Iselin just may have the players to put together a run and take over first. With more than 10 games left, this team cannot be counted out.

Iselin has been led this season by the familiar faces of Jeff Botti, C.J. Cirelli, Erik Manressa, Art Beyer and Brian Seifert. It will be these players that will have to propel the squad in order for this team to have success in the next 10 games.

They got off to a bad start on Tuesday by dropping a 5-3 contest to an improving South River team. The Rams gave a up a three-spot over the first two innings, before Dan Louis came in to shut the door on the Mustangs, throwing five scoreless inning of relief. That allowed the South River offense to mount its attack, and the Rams came all the way back to earn the win. Adam Dellavalle broke a third-inning tie with an RBI double, while Louis helped his own cause with a 2-for-4 day.

With the win, South River improved to 9-4 on the summer.