Erial 11-Year-Olds Win State Title

You think you know pressure?

Try being Erial’s Jarrett Browning.

Two innings after lining out to end his team’s hopes of tying things up with East Randolph in the Little League 11-year-old state title game at Cherry Hill American, Browning stepped to the plate with one out, the bases loaded and the chance to redeem himself.

Did he ever.

The lefty sliced an opposite-field double that hugged the foul line, scoring teammates A.J. Tropiano and Nicky Mermanesh—and thanks to some interference at second, ended up plating Kameron Jenkins and leaving Browning at third.

Two batters later, Browning stormed home on a wild pitch and touched home under East Randolph pitcher Tyler Berg to put Erial up for good, 5-2, in what would eventually be a 5-3 ballgame.

While Browning’s fourth-inning heroics were the highlight reel of the evening, there was no shortage of strong play from an Erial team trying to avenge a Sunday night loss in a must-win game.

Lefty Zach Grace drove in the team’s other run on a double in the bottom of the first.

Pitcher Tyler Napoli was a wizard in the third and fourth innings, needing just 14 pitches to record six outs, and Grace, coming on as a reliever, helped Erial escape a second-and-third, no-out jam in the fifth, allowing only one runner to score.