Nationals win state title

The Washington Nationals won the New York State Senior Babe Ruth championship. Front row: Ryan Paulsen, Jordan Williams, Nate French, Evan Hoagland, Chris Grieve, Kristian Payne and Carl Rehm. Back Row: Manager John Hoagland, coach Ed Rehm, Andrew Rollis, Charlie Farrell, Jonah Taylor, Michael Resetar, scorekeeper Andy Resetar, Colton Zovostoski and coach Marc Lambert  .

 

The Washington County Nationals 18-under Connie Mack team based out of Granville recently won the state Senior Babe Ruth Championship with a win over the Northeast All Stars in Guilderland. The Nationals earned a bid to the tournament by finishing their season at 10-10, going 6-2 over their last 8 games. The win sent the Nationals to the Mid-Atlantic Regionals in Syracuse.

In Monday’s first game, Michael Resetar went the distance against Sorensco, earning a 9-3 win. Nick Welcome doubled in a run and Colton Zovostoski had two singles. Resetar also drove in a run with one of his two hits.

In the second game of the night, Jonah Taylor picked up the win and Nate French the save as the nationals beat the Rotterdam Reds, 6-3. Resetar drove in a pair of runs, and Kris Payne also doubled one in. French entered the game with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth and was able to put out the fire and earn the save.

Tuesday’s single game saw the Nationals win a slugfest against Scotia. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Nationals fell behind 6-2 after the fourth inning. But the fifth inning saw the Nationals score six runs to take the lead.

Scotia tied it in the bottom of the fifth, but the Nats exploded for six runs over the last two innings for the 14-8 victory and the No. 1 seed in the state tournament. Resetar blasted three hits and drove in four, Payne added three doubles and six RBI. Carl Rehm tripled in a run and Evan Hoagland had two hits and scored three runs.

On Wednesday the Nationals played the Northeast All-Stars for the championship. The Nats, playing their sixth game in four days, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third on a Payne two-run double. The NE All-stars took the lead in their half of the third with three runs and added another in the fourth to make it 4-2. But the Nationals took the lead for good in the top of the fifth when Michael Resetar blasted a three-run home run off the scoreboard with two outs to give the Nationals a 5-4 lead. They added one more in the sixth for the 6-4 victory.

Charlie Farrell earned the victory and Andrew Rollis earned the save, pitching two scoreless innings. The win sent the Nationals to Syracuse to compete in Thursday’s opening round of the Mid-Atlantic Regional.

In the first game Thursday morning, Washington County faced Onondaga and came away with a 12-4 defeat. Kris Payne had three hits in the loss and Resetar two.

In the second game of the day, the eighth in five days for the Nationals, Pine Forge, N.J., came away with a 9-1 victory. It was a pitchers’ duel for four innings. Resetar, pitching on two days’ rest went four innings but could go no further. The pitching-depleted Nationals then gave up seven runs in the final two innings. Evan Hoagland drove in the lone run for the Nationals. Jonah Taylor doubled for the Nationals.

“Overall it was a great experience for the guys” said head coach John Hoagland.

“We started out poorly and then finished very strong to earn a bid. I think if we would have had some rest between the state tournament and the regionals, we could have won some games. Onondaga was a better team than us, but despite the score, we were a better team than Pine Forge.”

Next up for the Nationals is a trip to Hershey, Pa., on Aug. 4and 5to play in the Black Monster Brigade, a tournament comprised of teams from New Jersey, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania.

“Anything we do there is icing on the cake,” said Hoagland. “These kids won a state title and nobody can take that away from them.”