Flemington ends Brooklawn’s reign as state champs
EWING >> Behind the offensive leadership of Finals Most Valuable Player Austin Arndt and Mark Saponara, plus the pitching of Matt Busher and Matt Brennan, the Flemington Post 159 baseball team won the New Jersey American Legion state title by defeating six-time defending champion Brooklawn Post 72, 7-1, Friday night at Fred Walters Field in Frank Moody Park.
Arndt, who was the winning pitcher in the semifinal round when Post 159 came back from a six-run deficit to defeat Gloucester Township Post 281, 9-8, went 2-for-4, scored three times and knocked in another run in the championship game. His RBI single and run scored in the fourth inning helped Flemington open a 3-0 lead on Brooklawn before also scoring in the eighth and ninth innings to help manager Steve Farsiou’s club seal their second state crown.
Saponara, who had the highest batting average for Post 159 at .444, went 2-for-3 in the championship game and scored a run. He finished with eight hits in the Final 8, while Arndt had seven. They had two hits on the night along with teammates Kellen Hardy and Henry Hawkins to give Flemington (32-4) its first berth in the Mid-Atlantic Regional since 2009.
Farsiou’s club, which will meet the Pennsylvania champion at approximately 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3 in the opening round of the regional in Leesburg, Va., was also the last New Jersey team to win the Legion state title before Post 72 went on its six-year run, which led to two National Championships.
With Bob Girgenti on the mound, manager Dennis Barth’s team kept the game scoreless for two innings and close through seven before Post 159’s scrappy scoring attack refused to let down.
Busher scattered seven hits over his six-plus innings of work, but did not allow a run, stranding five runners in scoring position during that time.
Brennan came on in the seventh after Busher walked the first two batters and got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam unscathed.
Pete Farlow and Matt Yanick had two hits apiece for Brooklawn, which finished another fine season with a 366-1 record.
With only one New Jersey team advancing to national regional play, however, Post 72 will now have to wait until next summer to make another run at a World Series. F: Fontana, B: Yanick; Hawkins, Arndt, B: Wilson. Busher; Girgenti; Brennan. F (32-4), B (36-6-1). F: Maguire, Hardy,