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The Wood-Ridge/ Moonachie Little League 10 Year Old All Star team ended its highly successful tournament run with a disappointing 7-1 loss to Ramsey in the Paramus Summer Baseball League at Paramus on Sunday July 28, 2002. The youngsters finished the Paramus Tournament with a very respectable 8-3 record against some very good competition. The Ramsey game saw the locals take a 1-0 lead in the 4th inning of a pitchers dual but the Ramsey team proved to be too much and roared back with some big hits to eliminate the local team in the quarterfinal round of the 19 team tournament. Tony Veltri knocked in the locals lone run with an RBI single in that 4th inning and Alex Aitkens excelled defensively at 2nd base for the team. The team represented itself , the league and town quite impressively with compliments and high praise from many of the opposing coach’s, tournament directors and District Administrators. This group of young players truly rose to the challenge laid down to them by the coaching staff and the competitive schedule they played. They were eager and willing to learn, play, and most of all compete at the high level they did. Their combined tournaments record was 12-5 with 3 heartbreaking 1 run losses. The players and coaching staff would like to sincerely thank our families for their sacrifices and support in making this quite a wonderful run and a great learning experience for all. Additionally, the support that the league, friends, extended families and well wishers exhibited, was not only noticed by the players but very much appreciated, and served as a great example of what TEAMwork means and was also a wonderful learning experience for the young players. On a personal note I would like to give a special thanks to the league officials who gave me this wonderful opportunity, and entrusted me with this very special group of players. It was hard work, and the players did me, themselves, their families, the league, the town and the rest of the coaching staff so very proud. In closing I would like to acknowledge one of the most dedicated coaching staff’s I have ever had the pleasure of working with. The team members and myself owe you all a great big thank you for all your time and hard work and most importantly your support. So, a tip of our baseball caps go Coach’s Aitkens, Francis, Romero and Cody. Bob Keller Manager

LITTLE LEAGUE Closing Day ceremonies ( Trophy Day ) will be held on Saturday September 7, 2002 at the Wood-Ridge/Moonachie Little League field located on 6th st. in Wood-Ridge. T Ball Division ceremonies are scheduled for 2:00 PM, Instructional Division ceremonies at 3:00 PM, and Minor & Major League Divisions at 4:00 PM. All players will receive a trophy, food and beverages. Players and coaches are free and all others are invited at a nominal cost of $1.00 per child and $2.00 per adult. Players are reminded that all uniforms must be returned to your respective coach’s if not done so already. The next meeting of the Wood-Ridge/Moonachie Little league will be held on Tuesday September 10, 2002 at 8:00PM at the Wood-Ridge/Moonachie Little League field house located on 6th st. in Wood-Ridge. End of season business and election of officers for the 2003 season will be the main topics of the night.

The Wood-Ridge/ Moonachie Little League 10 Year Old All Star Team kept up its winning ways this past week picking up 3 more victories and pushing its two tournament combined record to 11 wins and only 2 losses. At press time ( Friday July 18, 2002 ) the team was eagerly waiting to find out who its opponent will be in the championship game of the District 5 Little League Tournament on Monday July 22, 2002 at 7:00 pm in Rutherford. The team knocked off perennial powers Rutherford Americans and Lyndhurst Nationals this past week to remain undefeated in District play ( 4-0 ). In the Paramus Summer Baseball League the locals pushed its record in that tournament to 7 wins and 2 losses defeating Wayne PAL, and is also awaiting the tournament seedings for that tournament’s playoff round. Tuesday 7/16/02 the locals hosted Wayne PAL and after jumping on the visitors for 8 first inning runs came away with a 15-2 victory. Wood-Ridge/ Moonachie used 6 different pitchers to keep all arms fresh and held the visitors to 2 runs on 4 hits with a combined 8 strikeouts. Leading the offensive attack was Alex Aitkens with 2 hits and 3 runs scored, Tony Veltri also with 2 hits and 1 run scored, and Thomas Fugnitti with a double and 2 runs scored. Jennifer Keller led the defense handling all 6 chances at second base flawlessly. Wednesday 7/17/02 The locals traveled to Lyndhurst for their 3rd District game, this time against Rutherford Americans. In a game for all games the locals battled the Rutherford team and entered the bottom of the 6th inning tied at 1. The locals managed to place runners on 1st and 3rd bases with 2 outs. On the front end of a double steal Nicky LaTesta scored the winning run giving the locals a thrilling 2-1 victory and pushing their record in District play to 3-0. Starting and winning pitcher Shannon Sullivan held Rutherford to no earned runs while striking out 5 and issuing no walks. She also helped her own cause with solid defense from the mound. Alex Aitkens plated Tommy Lacey with the locals other run with an RBI single in the 3rd inning. The defensive play of the game was turned in in the 5th inning when centerfielder Brian Melber cut of a solid hit in the gap and turned and fired a strike to 2nd baseman Jennifer Keller nailing the batter trying to stretch the hit into a double. Thursday 7/18/02 The team traveled to Rutherford’s Little League field for a winners bracket showdown against Lyndhurst National. Starting off slowly in this District 5 game the locals found themselves down 4-0 early in the game. They answered back with 4 runs of their own in the 2nd inning and then tacked on 2 runs in the 3rd inning before scoring 8 times in the 4th inning and defeating the Lyndhurst team 14-4 in a shortened 10 run rule game. The locals pushed their record in District 5 play to 4 wins and 0 losses and now will play in the championship game on Monday July 22,2002 at 7:00PM, again at Rutherford. Winning pitcher Alex Aitkens ( 2-0 pitching record in district play ) allowed only 4 hits while walking only 1 and striking out 5. He helped his own cause with 4 hits including 2 booming doubles off the left field fence ( warning track power) knocking in 4 runs. Tommy Lacey contributed 2 hits, scoring 2 runs and knocking in 1 run, Tony Veltri also had 2 hits for 2 RBI’s and 1 run scored, Brian Melber had a hit for an RBI and scored 2 runs and Robbie Francis knocked in a run with his hit and also scored. The infield trio of Tommy Lacey, Thomas Fugnitti and Tony Veltri turned in a 6-4-3 double play to end the 3rd inning. Coach Keller

This year’s 9 year old team began their all star season competing in a very competitive Wayne PAL tournament. The boys finished with a 3-2 record making it to the semi-finals and only losing by 1 run in a game that was filled with poor umpiring calls. In any case, all of the boys played great and should be proud of their performance, especially considering that Wood-Ridge was the smallest town in the tournament. The team opened up against North Bergen rallying for 12 hits to win 10-1. Nicky La Testa (2 hits, 3 runs), James Potchoiba (3 hits, 1 run, 4 rbi), Anthony Montufar (2 hits) and Alex Prell (2 hits, 1 run) lead the offensive attack. On the mound, Alex Prell pitched 3 innings allowing only 1 hit on 3 strike outs and Nicky La Testa pitched 3 innings allowing only 1 hit on 5 strike outs. Defensively, John Janeczko and James Potchoiba made some great unassisted plays with James also throwing out a runner at 3rd base from centerfield. From the catcher’s position, Nicky La Testa paired up with Joe Azzolini and Anthony Montufar to throw out two attempted stealing base runners on 2nd and 3rd. The boys weren’t as fortunate in their second game, losing on a very hot July 4th to a strong Montville team 16-0. The only offensive production came from Joe Azzolini, Alex Prell, and Patrick Dimase who each had a hit. Michael Beckerman and Dan Sartori played a very good defensive game, but the Montville bats were too much to handle. The third game which was scheduled against Elmwood Park was won by forfeit, since Elmwood Park never showed up to play the game. The best game of the tournament was the fourth game against Millburn which Wood-Ridge won 7-5. In a very good defensive game, Wood-Ridge went ahead 2-0 in the 3rd inning on a 2 run double by Anthony Montufar. Defensively, Chris Menge and Michael Beckerman were solid in the field. Alex Prell pitched an excellent game striking out 11 and only giving up 5 hits, 3 of which came in the 5th inning when Millburn scored 5 runs to take the lead 5-2. Wood-Ridge came back in the bottom of the 5th scoring 5 runs of their own when a bases loaded walk scored Eric Puga, a sacrifice fly by Anthony Montufar scored Joe Azzolini, a 2 run double by Thomas Santoro scored Nicky La Testa and James Potchoiba, and a double by Michael Beckerman scored Thomas Santoro. Wood-Ridge lost a heartbreaker to Wyckoff 13-12 in the semi-final game. Wood-Ridge had a 12-7 lead in the 5th inning and was 1 out away from getting out of the inning when the home plate umpire did not call a Wyckoff runner out for running into our 1st baseman John Janeczko and interfering with him while he was in the process of catching a routine fly ball. After our coaches and fans exploded with the bad call, our boys lost the momentum they had and gave up 6 runs before the inning was over. Although it was a tough loss, we had some great individual efforts with Thomas Santoro going 3 for 4 with 6 rbi, Nicky La Testa going 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored, and Anthony Montufar going 1 for 4 with 2 rbi. John Janeczko, Patrick Dimase, and Eric Puga each got on base with a hit as well. All of the coaches are proud of the effort that everyone on the team gave throughout the tournament. The 9 year old team now will move on to defend the championship title of last year’s 9 year old team in the Lodi All-Star Tournament.

The Wood-Ridge/Moonachie Little League 10 Year Old All Star team has started off their two tournaments with an overall record of 8 wins and 2 losses. After eight games in a tournament organized by Paramus Summer Baseball the 10 Year Old All Stars have a 6 and 2 record and have started their local district tournament by winning their first 2 games. The team is playing exciting ball and their two losses have come by 3 runs and 1 run. On Thursday 6/20/02 the team lost their opening game of the Paramus tournament at home to Dumont by a score of 7 to 4. Nick Romero, Alex Aitkens, Shannon Sullivan and Nick LaTesta all scored runs for the home team. On Saturday 6/22/02 the team traveled to Glen Rock and came home with a 4 to 2 victory. Tony Veltri was the winning pitcher with Shannon Sullivan earning the save. Leading the attack was Tommy Lacey scoring 2 runs. Alex Aitkens ended the game with an unassisted double play at 1st base. On Tuesday 6/25/02 Hawthorne visited Wood-Ridge and the locals sent them home beating them 14 to 7. Tommy Lacey was the winning pitcher and was supported by Thomas Fugnitti reaching base 3 times and scoring 2 runs, Alex Aitkens 2 hits, Sean Cody’s 2 hits and 2 runs scored and Jennifer Keller’s double and 2 runs scored. On Friday 6/29/02 Wood-Ridge hosted Little Ferry besting them 17 to 3. Winning pitcher Thomas Fugnitti allowed only 3 runs on 3 hits and received an assist when Alex Prell pitched a scoreless 6th inning. Leading the hitting attack that day for the locals was Tony Veltri’s 3 hits and 3 runs scored, Brian Melber’s 2 runs scored, Danny Connor’s hit and 2 runs scored, Robby Francis’s reaching base 4 times and scoring 1 run and Alex Prell’s 1 hit and 2 runs scored. On Saturday 6/30/02 the locals hosted Oradell and suffered a heartbreaking 8 to 7 one run loss to the visiting Oradell team. The well-balanced Wood-Ridge attack was reflected by 7 different players scoring runs that day. Leading the locals was Robbie Francis reaching base 2 times and scoring a run, Alex Aitkens 2 doubles and scoring a run, Thomas Fugnitti reaching base 3 times and scoring a run and Tommy Lacey also reaching base 3 times and scoring a run. On Tuesday 7/2/02 the team traveled to Passaic and escaped with a 15 to 13 victory. Trailing 10-9 entering the 6th inning the locals went to work scoring 6 runs in the top of the 6th inning and holding on for the win. Tony Veltri was the winning pitcher in relief and helped himself with a base hit knocking in 2 runs along with Robbie Francis’s 2 RBI single in the big 6th inning. Also carrying big bats for the locals were Nick Romero 1 hit 2 runs scored, Shannon Sullivan 2 hits and 2 runs scored, Alex Aitkens 1 hit 3 runs scored, and Brian Melber with a triple as one of his 2 hits and 2 runs scored. On Saturday 7/6/02 the locals opened their District tournament at Lyndhurst with a 6 to 2 victory over Lodi. Winning pitcher Tony Veltri held Lodi to 5 hits while striking out 5. The well balanced attack was again reflected by the fact that 6 different local players each scored a run. Thomas Fugnitti led the way reaching base 3 times. Nick Romero had the defensive play of the game snaring a popped up bunt attempt with a lunging catch. Alex Aitkens put the finishing touches on the win with an unassisted double play at 1st base to end the game. On Tuesday 7/9/02 the locals returned to the Paramus tournament with a thrilling 11 to 10 victory over Ramsey at home. Trailing 10 to 7 entering the home 5th inning the locals rallied for three runs in the 5th inning and pulled out the win in the bottom of the 6th inning when Jennifer Keller stole 3rd base on the front end of a double steal and was able to continue home with the winning run when the throw skipped past Ramsey’s 3rd baseman. Shannon Sullivan earned the win in relief and was supported by Brian Melber’s 2 hits, Thomas Fugnitti’s 2 runs scored, Alex Aitkens 2 hits and 2 runs scored and Tony Veltri’s reaching base 3 times. On Wednesday 7/10/02 Wood-Ridge returned to the District tournament winning their 2nd game and successfully staying in the winners bracket with a thrilling 7-4 come from behind victory against Hasbrouck Heights. The locals scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning to come back from a 4 to 2 deficit. Tommy Lacey singled in 2 runs and winning pitcher Alex Aitkens ( complete game with 5 strikeouts ) helped himself with a 2 RBI single in that 5th inning. The defense was suburb throwing out Hasbrouck Heights runners at 2nd base, 3rd base, and homeplate. Catcher Nick Romero caught a runner attempting to steal 2nd base and the outfield play of Sean Cody, Brian Melber, Danny Connor and Robbie Francis had the fans gasping all game. On Tuesday 7/11/02 the team returned to Paramus tournament play visiting Saddle Brook and again coming back from a deficit to win 12 to 10. Trailing 9-5 after 4 innings the locals rallied for 4 runs in the 5 inning and 3 in the 6th inning for the victory. Shannon Sullivan again secured the win in relief. Alex Aitkens knocked in the winning runs with a double in the 6th inning. Other key contributors were Tony Veltri with 3 hits, 3 RBI’s and 2 runs scored, Tommy Lacey 2 runs scored, Thomas Fugnitti 2 runs scored, Jennifer Keller with 2 runs scored and Robby Francis with a hit and 2 runs scored. Coach Keller