Father & Son seniors chase state tourney spot
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

EDISON - The Father & Son Senior Legion team kept pace with South Amboy last week to finish atop its division with a 20-2 record in county play and a 21-3 mark overall.

A three-game series this week will determine whether Father & Son will continue its season into the state tournament.

After an 8-4 loss to South Brunswick to open last week's action, Father & Son rebounded with a must-win victory over South Amboy by a 6-3 score.

"We let the game against South Brunswick get away from us in the third inning when they put seven runs across," Father & Son head coach Tim Banos said. "It was a big catastrophe of an inning."

Father & Son's Gary Thompson took the loss despite allowing just two earned runs. Teammates Alberto Ruiz and Dave Zavistoski paced the offense. Ruiz finished 1-for-3 with a two-RBI double while Zavistoski went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored.

A complete turnaround was the story in the following day's win over South Brunswick with starting pitcher Nate Fabretti notching the win. Fabretti scattered six hits over seven innings to get the complete-game victory.

"He did a great job keeping hitters off balance," Banos said. "He had complete command of his pitches and really hit his spots."

Father & Son jumped ahead with a run in the first inning when Julian Laguna's sacrifice fly plated Ruiz. Julian Laguna added a big hit in the fifth with a two-RBI double that put Father & Son ahead 5-2. South Amboy added a run in the sixth, but Shawn Renner's sac fly in the seventh gave Father & Son a three-run cushion and that was where the scoring ceased.

"It was a really big win for us," Banos said. "We only managed four hits, but we reached base via seven walks and three hit batters. We took advantage of getting on base and we even left them loaded twice."

Father & Son wrapped up the week with wins over South Plainfield, Iselin and Perth Amboy. In the 16-6 win over South Plainfield, Zavistoski and Steve Tagliareni combined to knock in nine runs. Zavistoski finished the game 3-4 with a homer, 5 RBIs and two runs. Tagliareni entered the game in the third inning and went 2-2 with a homer and four RBI.

Renner's complete-game 2-1 victory over Iselin was crucial for the team to stay atop the standings alongside South Amboy. The offense put both runs across in the second inning as Julian Laguna scored on an RBI single off the bat of Tim Lowe. Lowe was pushed across on a single by Steve Loriot.

"Shawn made pitches when he needed," Banos said. "He got into a couple of jams, but he got us through it."

The team wrapped up last week's action with a 13-6 win over Perth Amboy on Saturday. Seven different players in Banos' lineup finished the contest with an RBI.

The Laguna brothers, Julian and Dylan, paced the offense with 3-for-4 performances. Dylan finished with a double, three runs and a stolen base.

Loriot and Rob Rubenstein each tallied a pair of hits, with Rubenstein crossing the dish five times in the win.

"We have a big week ahead of us," Banos said. "We'll head into the three-game series finding out our opponent just prior to the series and where we'll be playing just minutes before the first pitch. What is important is for us to play well and get to the state tournament."