Russo blast wins title for Holbrook

It is a baseball fantasy so many young players run through their minds: one swing and a hit in the last inning to give their team the victory.

Chris Russo lived that fantasy and it could not have been much more dramatic — a game-winning grand-slam home run with one out that lifted the Holbrook Little League Senior League all-stars of Jackson to an 8-7 victory over Freehold Township for the Little League Section 3 championship on July 24 in Old Bridge.

The next stop for Holbrook on its postseason baseball journey will be the Little League Senior League state tournament that begins at 5:30 p.m. July 30 in Toms River against an opponent that had not been determined at press time.

Russo, the team’s regular first baseman, delivered a message to his teammates in the dugout in the last inning before going out to deliver his first home run of the postseason after he hit four during the regular season.

The grand slam was Russo’s first gamewinning hit ever and it came after the Freehold Township reliever who came on an inning earlier had walked the bases loaded.

“I told them if I get up this inning, we’re going to win some way, some how,” said Russo.

One pitch later he smacked a belt high fastball that was a bit outside over the centerfield fence, 355 feet from home plate. The home run made a winner out of reliever Vinnie Sica, who relieved Jordan Mundell in the third inning as Holbrook came back from deficits of 3-0 and 7-4.

“We were fighting and never lost faith,” said Russo, who not only played on this Holbrook team that won its first Little League District 18 championship earlier this month en route to the Section 3 title, but also played on the Jackson Memorial High School junior varsity team that lost only one game and won the Ocean County championship.

Ironically, Russo was moved down one spot in the batting order from cleanup to No. 5 for the Section 3 championship game because manager Dave Citron said Russo had been struggling a little of late and he wanted to take off some of the pressure.

“He had been doing some extra work in batting practice … and our hitting coach, Bill Carlock (Ric Flores is the other coach), would say to him, ‘Bottom of the last inning, bases loaded, down by two runs, two out, what do you do?’ ” said Citron. “We want him to pick his pitch in that situation and we felt good about it because he has been swinging the bat all summer.”

Trailing Freehold Township, 3-0, Holbrook tied the score in the third inning on run-scoring singles by Sica and Brian Johnston sandwiched around an errant throw on a double-steal that allowed another run to score.

Freehold Township answered with two runs in the fifth inning for a 5-3 lead, and Tyler Pallante lined a run-scoring double in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull Holbrook to within 5-4.

Freehold Township added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take a 7-4 lead and set the scene for the seventh inning when Sica, Johnston and Pallante walked

ahead of Russo.

“We were down and we preached from Day 1: first pitch,

last pitch,” said Citron. “It was

their fifth comeback win as allstars

and once again they kept up

the fight and didn’t give up.”

Holbrook moved into the

championship final with a comeback

13-8 victory over Franklin Township. Russo lofted a game-tying sacrifice fly in the fifth inning for Holbrook, which went ahead in the sixth inning with two runs and added four insurance runs in the seventh off two-run doubles by James Volpe and Russo.

Volpe and Johnston each smashed two hits and Pallante made some nice defensive plays at third base. Brian Belesky got the mound win with 4.2 innings of nine strikeout relief of starter Pallante.

In its Section 3 tournament opener, Holbrook beat Howell South, 18-2, on July 20 in a game shortened to five innings after Holbrook trailed, 2-1, in the first inning. Pallante lined two doubles and Johnston and Volpe each had two hits. Sica lined a run-scoring triple that energized Holbrook and he also pitched three innings in relief of starter Jake Byford, who got the decision.

It was a great start in the section tournament after a resounding District 18 7-4 championship victory over Manchester, which had forced the championship showdown with a 2-0 victory over Holbrook. Holbrook flexed its muscle with Johnston’s two-run home run in the second inning for a 3-1 lead and Volpe’s three-run homer in the sixth inning that widened the lead to 6- 1.

“Johnston is our power hitter so I was not surprised by his home run,” said Citron of his No. 3 hitter in the batting order. “Volpe is our leadoff hitter so that was a big pop for us.”

Belesky, a left-hander, started the game but came out in the sixth inning when he hit the Senior League limit of 95 pitches.

“Belesky pitched a good game. He mixes his pitches with off-speed ones and keeps the batters off-balance all day. They were really frustrated,” Citron said.

Holbrook won four of five games in the District 18 tournament, including an 11-0 victory over Lakewood, an 11-4 triumph over Toms River East, and a 5-1 comeback victory over Manchester in the winners bracket, the latter pitched by ace Pallante. Right fielder Bill Carlock smacked a key two-run single in the fifth inning that put Holbrook ahead, 2-1.

Pallante had a solid supporting cast of pitchers in the district tournament that includes left-handers Belesky and Sica, who plays center field when he is not on the mound, and righty reliever Byford.

Pallante throws a sharp fastball and a curve and Sica also has a well regarded fastball.

The pitchers also had the luxury of a reliable defense behind them that has included Russo at first, Tyler Flores at second base, Volpe at shortstop and Pallante at third base. Johnston is the catcher. Mundell has played a valuable role off the bench as he backs up many of the infielders when any of them go to the mound and he earned Citron’s praise as he “plays every position extremely well.”

Center fielder Sica has been flanked by Corey Johnson, backed up by John Musica, in left field, and Belesky in right field, where Carlock also has seen some action.