Erial Little League Ready for Final Four

So far in Little League tournament play, has been playing in tournaments that have stretched over two weeks or more, allowing them to recover and prepare before each game they played.

Now, entering the New Jersey state tournament for the first time, Erial will face its toughest challenge yet, as they will battle with three of New Jersey's best Little League teams all within a span of five days for the right to become New Jersey state champions and represent the state in the Mid-Atlantic regional tournament in Bristol, CT.

So far, Erial has proven to be up for every challenge they have faced. The team will enter its first-round game with Paramus tonight on a seven-game winning streak. Erial has outscored opponents 83-19 in those seven games, with the smallest win deficit being five runs in the 7-2 win over Cherry Hill Atlantic for the Section 4 championship Sunday night.

However, the state tournament is an entirely different challenge, as Erial will be joined by three teams that are also red-hot entering the weekend.

Paramus is on a four-game winning streak. The fact that Paramus is also a team from North Jersey complicates things as the Erial coaching staff doesn't know a whole lot about the teams they will be facing going forward.

“We really don't know too much about them,” said manager Carl Foltz at Erial's practice Tuesday evening. “We know they're going to be a good team. It's not like your facing somebody that slid through the Districts.”

Paramus enters the state tournament with just one loss since Little League all-star play began in late June. That loss came in the first round of the Section 1 tournament, when they were shut out by Mendham Little League. Paramus rebounded to battle through the losers bracket, winning four straight games and defeating Mendham twice to win Section 1.

Ultimately, the tournament may come down to pitching and Erial is ready in that aspect of the game. Erial has thrown seven different pitchers so far in tournament play and can go even deeper than that if necessary.

“The plan is to pitch as best we can and keep our number of pitches to a minimum as best we can,” Foltz said.

Keeping pitch counts low will be essential with the tournament being played over five days. Any pitcher who throws more than 65 pitches in a game will not be able to pitch again in the tournament. This could effect teams that rely on one or two pitchers.

Erial will be going with on the mound in its opening game on tonight. With the exception of one rough start in Erial's loss to Audubon in District 14 play, Holland has been exceptional. He enters this weekend with a 4-1 record in five starts. He boasts a 2.44 earned run average and leads the the pitching staff with 26 strikeouts so far.

Even if Erial has to go deep into its pitching staff, the team will have given most of its arms plenty of rest. , and Holland threw all but 1/3 of an inning of the Section 4 tournament. , and Drew Liszewski, all of whom pitched in the District tournament, were not used in the Section 4 tournament and may be called upon to pitch this weekend.

The journey will be easier for the team that wins both winners bracket games. That team will get a day off on Sunday before the championship, while teams in the losers bracket could be playing up to five days in a row, something that will complicate their pitching usage.

However, manager Foltz doesn't see this as an issue for his team, considering they battled through the losers bracket in the District 14 tournament.

“You always want to win the first game,” said Foltz, “but with the team and the pitching that we have, I still like our chances, even if we come out of the losers bracket.”

Erial's first-round game against Paramus is scheduled for 5 p.m. tonigt. They will be followed by the other first-round game between Livingston American and Holbrook at 8 p.m.

The entire New Jersey state tournament will be held at Monroe Township Little League, located on Church Street in Williamstown. Fans attending this weekend's games can park at Williamstown Middle School, located a couple blocks away on Clayton Avenue.

Check back here at Gloucester Township Patch for coverage of the New Jersey State Tournament throughout the weekend.