Father & Son Legion team heads to Vermont
Captures county's second state title
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

EDISON - For just the second time in the long history of American Legion baseball in New Jersey, a team from Middlesex County took home the state championship.

Like it did in 1996, the Father & Son Senior Legion captured the title this summer and advanced to the regional tournament in Vermont where it will begin play among seven other teams for a shot at advancing to the National Tournament in Oklahoma.

Starting pitcher Gary Thompson pitched a gem in the state championship game against Bordentown to record the 2-1 and send his mates packing for Vermont. Thompson pitched into the ninth inning and allowed a leadoff home run and recorded an out before handing the ball to Nate Fabretti. Fabretti needed just two pitches to get the final two outs and the save.

"Gary was just phenomenal in the tournament," Father & Son head coach Tim Banos said. "He pitched 17 and a third innings without issuing a single walk. He pitched the title game on three days rest and he was able to perform so well because he was so economical in his first outing, a 4-3 win over Bordentown in the tournament opener."

Because the team had a plethora of strong arms this summer, Banos was able to rest his starters and prevent overuse throughout the regular season.

"Thompson was well rested going into the tournament and he really came through for us in the big game," Banos said. "It seemed like he was ahead in the count to just about every batter he faced."

In the title game, Dave Zavistoski delivered the big hit in the fifth inning with a RBI-single to plate teammate Kevin Ryan. In the seventh inning Dylan Laguna scored what proved to be the winning run on an infield error.

The title game marked the third meeting between Father & Son and Bordentown in the state tournament. Bordentown won the second meeting 5-3 after Father & Son opened the tournament with three consecutive victories.

"Steve Tagliareni pitched into the eighth inning for us in the loss to Bordentown and he pitched very well," Banos said. "That was a pivotal game for us and Steve stepped up and did what we asked of him. He recorded a lot of fly ball outs because he kept hitters off balance. His strong outing made us even stronger for the title game because we were to get our relievers some much needed rest."

In the second game of the tournament, Father & Son battled perennial powerhouse Brooklawn into extra innings before Steve Loriot won the game with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning. Starting pitcher Shawn Renner gave the team six solid innings with Julian Laguna notching the win.

After the Brooklawn win came a 13-5 pounding of Bloomfield in which Father & Son put seven runs on the board after the first three innings and struck for a late game six-run rally. Fabretti tossed a complete game with 12 strikeouts for the win. The victory assured the team of a trip to the regional tournament. The win in the title game sent Father & Son to Vermont while runner-up Bordentown is off to the regional tournament in Pennsylvania.

Also competing for a shot at the National Tournament this week in Vermont are the state champions from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. All games will be held at the University of Vermont at the 5,000-seat Centennial Stadium. The stadium is also the home of the Vermont Lake Monsters, the Washington Nationals Single-A affiliate.

"We plan to play hard and have a lot of fun," Banos said. "We'll have a couple days off before Thursday's game so hopefully the rest will get us off to a good start."

Unlike the state tournament, only one team from the regional tournament will advance to the next stage.