Johnston Stays Alive In Regionals

Johnston's stayed alive in the Junior Little League Eastern Regional tournament with a 14-7 victory over Burlington, CT, on August 9 in Freehold Township, NJ.

Joe Bongiovanni (2-for-5, 2 RBI) led off Johnston's first inning rally with a 2-RBI double, and Marc Conte (1-for-4) brought Bingiovanni around to establish a 3-0 lead.

Johnston starter Zach Coro (4.2 IP, 7 hits, 3 walks), held Burlington to three runs while the local squad's offense added six scores in the fifth and sixth innings.

Burlington (2-2) committed six errors over the first six innings, allowing James Picchi, Gian Martellini, Korey Fijal (twice), and Conte to reach base.

On the offensive side, Burlington knocked Johnston reliever Michael Caparco for four of its seven runs late in the contest, but Johnston put the game away with a 5-run rally in the top of the seventh to make the final score 14-7.

With the win, Johnston (2-1) survived to play another day, awaiting the winner of this afternoon's New York-Massachusetts game, which started at 1 p.m.

Johnston faces the possibility of a rematch against the Pennridge, PA, team that handed the Rhode Island State champions their first loss, an — and the prospect of a double-header tomorrow.

If Pennridge loses to undefeated Delaware and Johnston wins its next round at 4 p.m. tomorrow, the local squad would play Pennridge at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, according to the tournament bracket posted online.

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Information for this report was gathered from Gamechanger, a site hosted by the Freehold Township Little League.