The two local teams that traveled to Florida to participate in Major League Baseball’s Reviving Baseball in the Inner-Cities (RBI) World Series met different fates last weekend.
The Jersey City team that played in the RBI Baseball World Series in Jupiter, Fla. didn’t have much success at all, losing all three of its games in the tournament.
The Jersey City squad lost 11-7 to Philadelphia in the opening round, lost 9-7 to Tampa in the second round, and fell 8-5 to Houston in the qualifying round.
In the opening game, Darryl Velez had three RBI and Johan Farias had two RBI, but Jersey City’s chances were hurt by five costly errors, leading to nine unearned runs.
In the second game, Angel Colon had a solo homer and Miguel Aviles had two hits, two runs scored, and an RBI, but the locals were once again plagued by shoddy fielding.
In the final game of the tourney, Michael Martucci had two hits, including a double, and had an RBI in defeat.
While the tournament ended in disappointment for the Jersey City squad, nothing will ever take away the experience that these young men enjoyed, playing in Yankee Stadium and getting a chance to move on to the World Series in Florida.
It was definitely a chance of a lifetime…
The Hoboken Shockers girls’ softball team had a little bit of a better fate and was still participating in the RBI Softball World Series in West Palm Beach, Fla. at press time.
The locals dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 decision to Cleveland in the opening round game, before bouncing back to topple Puerto Rico, 9-6, in the second game on Tuesday.
In the opener, Erica Colon fired a three-hitter and didn’t allow a base runner after the second inning. But the two runs that Cleveland scored in the first inning were good enough to get the victory.
Justine Mateo doubled and scored Hoboken’s lone run in the first inning.
On Tuesday, the Shockers bounced back to gain the victory. Angelique Nieves had two hits and three RBI and Mateo continued her fine play, also driving in three runs, giving Yanitza Santiago enough support to gain the victory on the mound.
The Hoboken team was set to return to action Wednesday evening for the next round of the tourney. We’ll have more on their exploits in next week’s EXTRA INNINGS.
Thanks to Steve Arocho from Major League Baseball for supplying the information about the two local teams in the RBI World Series. We apologize for making a mistake in what RBI stood for last week…
EXTRA INNINGS focuses on the best stories that come from local baseball and softball leagues throughout the area.
If you have any noteworthy information to contribute to the EXTRA INNINGS, feel free to contact Jim Hague by voice mail at 201-798-7800, ext. 751, by general mail at 1400 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ 07030, or via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com.
Please include a telephone contact name and number, in order to secure further information for a possible story. Next week will be the final edition of EXTRA INNINGS for the summer, so feel free to contact us with any information about your local baseball or softball teams…–Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com