Trio powers Hamilton/ Northern Burlington

HAMILTON » It didn’t take long for the merger of Northern Burlington and Hamilton Babe Ruth to pay dividends.

Carson Applegate, C.J. Fredericks and Marco Mannino provided the muscle and Evan Bresnen along with Mike Nielsen took care of the pitching.

The trio showed what makes the merger so effective as Hamilton/Northern Burlington opened the Babe Ruth League District One 13-year old tournament with an 8-2 win over Nottingham on a cloudy Friday at Trenton Babe Ruth.

Hamilton/Northern Burlington will return to Trenton Babe Ruth on Saturday at 10 a.m. to face West Windsor-Plainsboro. Nottingham gets back on the field Sunday in an elimination bracket game.

Applegate (Northern), Fredericks (Northern) and Mannino (Northern) all had two hits and Bresnen (Hamilton) and Nielsen (Hamilton) limited the Hamilton Square Gang to just four hits on the mound.

“We have a lot of talent,’’ said Hamilton/Northern manager Mike Petrowski. “The merger seems to be working and we’re going to continue to be working together.’’

After Hamilton pushed across a run in the second on a single by Connor Wood, Applegate started the third with a booming triple to left and then Fredericks brought him home with a lined single to center. When Mannino added a two-run single it was 4-0 for the Switlik Park Kids.

“I just wanted to sit back and get something for my team,’’ said Applegate, who had a pair of RBI. “We are trying to stay relaxed and have fun. I want to be balanced on the field between hitting and fielding.’’

Applegate had an excellent game in the field at shortstop with five assists and helping H/N turn a double play.

Another Applegate RBI and an error pushed the lead to 6-0 in the fourth.

Nottingham threatened in the home fourth when Ben Helmold singled home Nielsen, who walked. Nottingham loaded the bases, but Nielsen came in to put out the fire and it was 6-1 after four innings.

“That was the game right there,’’ said Petrowski. “It was still a ball game and the bases were loaded. That was a key part of the game.’’

Mannino’s third RBI of the game in the fifth made it 7-1. He drove home a pair in the third with a single and plated another with a single to center.

“I just went up with no pressure and just wanted to hit the ball,’’ said Mannino. “It was a good job by my teammates in front of me getting on base. I have a lot of support from my family and friends and we know what we are capable of. We hope we can go a long way, but we are just trying to take it one game at a time.’’

It’s always good to get the first one and Hamilton/Northern is looking like it wants to win a lot more.

Hamilton/Northern 013 210 1 — 8 Nottingham 000 100 1 — 2 WP: Bresnen. LP: Marino. 3B: H/N - Applegate. RBI: H/N – Mannino 3, Applegate 2, Fredericks, Woods. N: Helmold, Pope.