Teamwork equals success for Sayreville all-stars
11-year-olds win
Sayreville and Milltown
tournaments
By Warren Rappleyea
Staff Writer

Good defense, solid pitching and timely hitting helped the Sayreville Little League’s 11-year-old all-star team to a 19-7 record overall, as well as the championships of the Sayreville Memorial Day Tournament and the Milltown Little League tourney.

According to the team’s coach, Bruce D’Apolito, the players came together at the right time and played team-oriented baseball, which was the key to their success.

"Our players have a lot of desire, they’re dedicated and on the field; they’re disciplined," said D’Apolito. "They work well together and they like playing the game."

The team ended its season on Aug. 10 when it finished third in the Marlboro tournament.

Along the way, Sayreville defeated the Brick Breakers, 8-5, in nine innings.

Steve Godowski hurled the first six frames, striking out 11, and Rich McCutcheon held the Breakers over the last three frames. Eric Chandler had a pair of hits for the winners.

Next, Sayreville downed the Manalapan Mustangs, 5-1. Stephen Witkowski went the distance and struck out five hitters.

Michael Harris went two-for-two with a pair of RBIs, while Mike DeJoy and Harris both doubled.

The Mustangs, however, rebounded to eliminate Sayreville in the rematch, 4-1.

Sayreville opened its campaign with three straight wins to take its Memorial Day tourney, downing Milltown twice along the way, including an 11-6 victory in the final.

From there, D’Apolito’s team took second in the Freehold Tournament, losing a 7-3 contest in the championship game.

In the Milltown tourney, Sayreville won six successive games, and downed Metuchen, 4-2, in the title game. The team also played in tournaments in Lawrence and Woodbridge.

D’Apolito noted that Godowski, DeJoy, McCutcheon, Witkowski, catcher Billy Woods and outfielder Vinnie Terhune, were consistently his team’s best hitters, although he said all of his players provided important hits throughout the season.

The coach added that first baseman Bobby Woods kept the team in several contests with his strong defensive play.

Other members of the team include infielder Alan Pines, who went 3-3 in a win over Milltown; and outfielders Eric Poltrictzky, who came on in relief to save a game in the Milltown tournament and who had a pair of hits in a victory against South Brunswick, and Michael Negron.

Ron Pines and John Harris are the assistant coaches.