Freehold Twp. Seniors stand tall at World Series
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

GARY GELLMAN The Freehold Township Senior All-Stars triumphantly walk off the field, having secured a thrilling 6-5 win over Activo 20-30 Little League at the Senior League World Series in Bangor, Maine, on Thursday.

Freehold Township managed to leave its imprint on the Senior League (ages 15-16) World Series.

The reigning champions may not have defended their 2004 championship in Bangor, Maine last week, but the all-stars did manage to play the game of the tournament — a signature game that said more about them than any of their 19 triumphs this summer.

“It was awesome,” said Chase Majewski. “It’s the best game I’ve ever been a part of.”

Freehold Township, the Eastern Regional winner, met Latin American champion Activo 20-30 Little League, of Panama, in an elimination game Thursday. Both teams came into the game 2-1 in pool play, needing a win to advance to the semifinals. Activo was throwing its heralded fireballing starter David Montilla.

Activo jumped out to a 5-0 lead that seemed insurmountable with Montilla on the mound, yet Freehold Township would claw its way back, tying the game at 5-5 in the last of the fourth, and winning it in the bottom of the ninth, 6-5.

Ryan Cuneo paced the victory with his bat and his arm. Called into the game for relief in the second inning, he pitched seven and two-thirds innings of scoreless ball, striking out 11 and keeping his team in the game.

A shoulder injury had limited Cuneo to a very few innings of work this summer, but manager Charles Wilmot sensed that he would need him in Bangor, and when the team fell behind 5-0 in the second, he made the call.

“At that point, we needed him,” he said. “It was a gutsy performance. I didn’t expect him to give us seven-plus innings.”

With Activo’s offense silenced, Freehold Township went about its business mounting a comeback.

It started in the bottom of the second when the defending champions answered Activo’s five-run second with four runs of their own, sparked by Dominick Hayes’ two-RBI double. Mike Kinsella’s RBI single started the inning off. Township did benefit from a pair of Activo errors.

Freehold Township tied the game in the fourth on A.J. Rusbarsky’s run-scoring single, scoring Hayes, who had singled and moved into scoring position on a passed ball.

The game remained deadlocked into extra innings, with Freehold Township ending the game quickly in the ninth. Rusbarsky started it off with a leadoff walk, and Cuneo blasted a double off the center field flag pole that scored Rusbarsky with the winning run more that three hours after the teams first took the field.

Cuneo’s hit was measured at 398 feet, the longest hit ever since the Senior Series moved to Bangor and Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium.

“You can’t forget that win,” said Rusbarsky, who along with Jason Nardi, Cuneo and Hayes, played on last year’s World Series champions. “It was the biggest game that we’ve ever played as a team. It showed the heart we have, to come back and battle against a great pitcher, and win.”

Wilmot was thrilled to be a part of the game.

“It’s the greatest game I been involved in,” he said. “To be down 5-0 to that type of team. It was the best game of the tournament.”

Freehold Township had no time to soak in the dramatic, but exhausting win. The next day they were at it against Pearl City, Hawaii, in the semifinals. Pearl City had won its pool with a perfect 4-0 record.

The tired defending champions would take a 3-0 lead on RBIs from Rusbarsky, Cuneo and Nardi. But the previous day’s marathon would catch up to them and the West Regional champions would eke out a 4-3 win. But not before Freehold Township had the tying run on third base in the top of the seventh when the final out was made.

“I felt my heart was ripped out of me,” Rusbarsky said after the final out was made. “We thought we’d win.”

Nardi said the comeback against Panama made the defeat sting more.

“It made the loss harder,” he said.

Freehold Township’s accomplishments were not lost on its players.

“We had a good ride,” said Rusbarsky. “It was amazing to get back there. It makes you enjoy what we did last year a little more.”

Freehold Township was 19-2 in tournament play this summer. At Bangor, they went 3-2. Besides their win over Activo, they beat Marksville, La., (South-west champion) 12-2, and Georgia YMCA from Tbilis (the European winner), 14-3.

Against Georgia, Hayes was 1-for-4, but had three RBIs. Jason Baggitt was 0-for-1, but scored three times. Kinsella was 1-for-1 with two RBIs.

Nardi was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBIs against Marksville. The top of the Freehold Township line saw Hayes go 2-for-4 with three runs scored, Rusbarsky 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored, Cuneo, 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Nardi, 3-for-3.

Wilmot said he reminded his players after their final game the significance of what they had experienced in Bangor.

“There are athletes all over the world who have never got to a to a World Series or a national tournament like this,” he said. “They are disappointed because they know they could have won. I told them to be proud of what they have accomplished. They made a name for themselves and their town.”

They also made a statement for team play.

“Everybody had to contribute for us to get this far,” Wilmot said. “We had to get it from all 12 players.”

The 2005 Eastern Regional champions and Senior League World Series semifinalists were: Dominick Hayes, A.J. Rusbarsky, Ryan Cuneo, Jason Nardi, Rodger Wilmot, Chase Majewski, Brian Cooney, Jason Baggitt, Mike Kinsella, Andrew Archer, John Whitley and Ian MacLean.

J.D. Rusbarsky and Fran Hayes were the coaches on Charles Wilmot’s staff.