Holbrook 11s anxious to start District tourney

BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

JACKSON — Rodney Carr has been coaching Little League long enough to know that the team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins.

He also knows that when you play teams from Toms River, pitching and defense are the formula for victory.

When the 11-year-old Holbrook Little League All Stars host Toms River East American at 6:30 p.m. July 6 in the opening round of the District 18 tournament, Carr is hopeful his squad remains as business-like on that night as it has during the two weeks of pre-tournament workouts.

"The kids show up every day and work very hard on defense and on not making those little mistakes that can lead to a big inning," Carr said. "So far, we have looked very sharp in workouts. There is no fooling around during our workouts. The kids are focused and leave everything on the field. We’re looking forward to playing against some very tough competition."

Following the opener against TRE American, Holbrook is scheduled to travel to Toms River to take on Brick National July 11 before returning home to host Barnegat on July 17.

"There are no easy games when you get to this level of play," Carr said. "All the teams can play. The teams that make the least amount of mistakes have the best shot at winning. We’re lucky that this group has been together for the past couple of years. I feel we are a pretty solid fielding team."

Second baseman Dylan Amos and shortstop Kevin Carr, the coach’s son, anchor the infield. Rounding out the infield are third basemen Robert Titus and Cory Iampaglia and first baseman Matthew Brewer.

"We’re very confident that we have a solid core group of guys in this infield," Carr said. "They’re all experienced and have been in this position before. They know what to expect. If we make the routine plays, we have a good chance of beating whomever we face."

Carr is graced with a number of good hurlers. Dan Falvo, Justin Hernandez and Kore McGuiness will see a majority of the pitching duties. All have good control and threw plenty of innings during the regular season.

"We have a number of live arms we can go to," Carr said. "We’re confident in whomever we decide to start. If we throw strikes and stay away from the walks, we’ll be OK."

Chris Rubessa will start behind the plate. He’ll split time with McGuiness.

Outfielders Chris Russo, Steven Ricci and Thomas Prohammer all possess good speed and strong throwing arms.

"We have a lot of intelligent players on this team," Carr said. "We make the plays we’re supposed to make, and we don’t throw the ball around. We’ll do what we have to do in order to score runs. We run the bases well and we’ll play small-ball if we need to."

All but two players were members of the 10-year-old All Stars in 2003. Last year, the squad posted victories over Manchester and Point Boro before falling to Barnegat.

"It is basically the same team from last year," Carr said. "They know how to handle the pressure. They’re excited about getting started. We’ll go out and do the best we can."