Blackwood 10-11s Open Section Play with a Bang

LINWOOD—The tiniest opening. That was all the Blackwood Kiwanis Little League 10-11 all-star team needed in its Section 4 opener against Waterford.

With Blackwood leading 1-0 in the top of the second and two outs, Waterford made a defensive miscue on a bunt that led extended the inning. Before anyone could blink, Blackwood had posted seven more runs and was well on its way to a 10-0 mercy-rule win in four innings.

Blackwood will take on East Greenwich tonight in Linwood, at 6 p.m.

“At this level, if anyone makes mistakes, it’s going to cost you,” Blackwood manager Ben Zanghi said. “We were fortunate enough that they made a couple of mistakes and we were able to capitalize on it.”

Boy, did they ever capitalize.

Jake McDonnell came through with a two-RBI double and Jared Colbert and Dylan Maria each followed with RBI doubles of their own. Then Blackwood put on a power show as Marc-Anthony Rodriguez and Mason Collins connected on back-to-back homers to break the game wide open.

Rodriguez has been a one-boy wrecking crew this summer, sending so many balls over the fence that tournament organizers will be phoning in orders for a new supply. The 11-year-old slugger now has five during Blackwood’s run.

“I just look for a hit, I don’t look for any home runs,” Rodriguez said. “I just try my best to hit the ball. I have good people around me that can hit the ball and field.”

Rodriguez was hardly alone as Blackwood got contributions up and down the lineup.

“It was our usual suspects, our three-four-five hitters,” said Zanghi. “Dylan Maria keeps hitting those doubles and triples; Marc-Anthony, that’s his fifth home run in as many games; Mason Collins, now we got him going. That’s huge when the middle of the lineup is hitting like that.”

TJ Cavallaro hit a sacrifice fly that scored Bobby Mullan in the third and Collins produced an RBI groundout which plated Maria in the fourth to push the mercy-rule into effect.

With all of the offensive fireworks it is easy to forget just how dominant the pitching was for Blackwood. Maria started the game on the mound and allowed one hit. He was removed after Blackwood posted eight runs in the second inning so that he could be saved to start tonight, according to Zanghi.

McDonnell went the next three, not allowing a single hit, and picking up the win. McDonell also had to battle the elements when he first took over the pitching duties as heavy rains began to pour down in the bottom of the second inning. The action was stopped for about 10 minutes, but the field held up well and action was able to immediately resume.

Blackwood is hoping Tuesday’s performance was just a taste of what is to come this tournament. The team does not want to get ahead of itself, but Zanghi feels the talent is there for a successful tournament.

“If we play ball like we can play, I think we can compete against anybody,” Zanghi said. “We have a tough opponent (today) in East Greenwich, so we will se how we match up.”