Freehold Twp. Seniors are World Series champs

Freehold Township Senior League head coach Mike Brach holds up the World Series trophy after his team won the prestigious title on Saturday in Bangor, Maine, by beating Oxnard, Calif., 10-1 in the tournament final.

BY TIM MORRIS

Staff Writer

World Series champions. It has a nice ring to it, and it’s what you can call the Freehold Township Little League Senior League all-stars — the 2004 Senior Little League World Series champions.

Freehold Township, the U.S. East champion, completed its historic summerlong journey to the world title with a 10-1 victory over U.S. West champion, Oxnard, Calif., in Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, Maine, Saturday night.

"It was 10 times more exciting than I thought it would be," said manager Mike Brach. "I can’t describe the emotion on the field.

"They really wanted to win it," he added. "They kept looking up at the scoreboard to make sure that it was real."

Outfielder Damian Csakai said that the World Series triumph was everything he had expected and more.

"It’s something I’ll never forget," Csakai remarked. "It’s something you expect to do, but never expect it to be a reality.

"From the opening ceremonies, we couldn’t wait to play," he added.

Winning pitcher Brett Brach summed up the team’s feelings, remarking "it’s the best feeling in the world."

Like a summer hurricane brewing off the Atlantic heading toward land, Freehold Township swept through the Little League tournament schedule leaving devastation all along its path. They were the Dream Team, not at all like the one currently playing in Athens.

The team’s overall balance between pitching, hitting and defense was simply unrivaled. Eastern Regional tournament director James Bobbitt told Brach and his coaching staff that Freehold Township was the best team he had ever seen at the Eastern Regional. They would then go out and back it up at the World Series by winning it all, becoming the first team from the region to win the series since Georgetown, Del., in 1981.

A 7 1/2 hour rain delay, which pushed the start back of the championship game back from 1 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., only served to delay the inevitable. Brach was not worried about the impact the wait had on his club.

"When we got to the field and I saw the enthusiasm they had, I felt good about it," he said. "They knew what they were playing for and didn’t want to lose."

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that a focused Freehold Township nine was not going to let slip away.

A five-run bottom of the second inning Saturday night, highlighted by an RBI triple from Mike LaCava and an RBI double from Csakai, staked Brach to the early lead, one that he would not surrender. Brach went the distance on a five-hitter, fanning five.

"My arm was nice and fresh," noted Brach. "I just tried to relax before the game and not get too pumped up. I tried to make it seem like another game, although it was hard.

"I relaxed once I faced the first batter," he added.

With his curveball working, Brach had the Oxnard hitters confused, just as he has batters throughout Freehold Township’s march to the championship.

LaCava stepped in behind the plate in the fourth inning to catch Brach and knew that Freehold Township was in good shape.

"When his curveball is on, no one will beat him," he said.

Two errors opened the door for another five-run Freehold Township inning in the fifth that put the game away. Marc Hubbert and Korey Yngstrom delivered RBI singles in the inning.

Yngstrom was 1-for-2 for the night, but had two RBIs and two runs scored. Shawn Boysen was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, the same as LaCava. Hubbert was 2-for-3 with an RBI and runs scored, and Csakai was 1-for-4, but scored twice and had an RBI.

With the 10-1 lead, it was left to Brach to finish it off in the sixth and seventh innings. He pitched a perfect sixth, got a 6-4-3 double-play in the seventh to pull his team within one out of the World Series, then got the final out on a ground ball to second baseman Joe DiCaro, who flipped the ball to first baseman Ryan Cuneo, and the celebration was on.

If what happened in Bangor, Maine, late Saturday night hadn’t sunk in, it did on Sunday when the all-stars came home to Michael Tighe Park to a crowd of between 100 and 150 family, friends, neighbors and community leaders, who welcomed home their world champions.

"It really kicked in when we got to the park," said Brett Brach. "I didn’t expect that many people."

LaCava echoed those sentiments.

"It was really great," he pointed out. "It sent the biggest chills down your spine. I got flashbacks of winning the game. Everyone was going crazy."

For the summer of 2004, the Freehold Township Senior League stars gave the community something to be crazy and proud of — becoming the first team in the Freehold area to win a Little League World Series championship in any division.

"It was a tremendous, tremendous week," said Mike Brach. "Something the kids will never forget, including myself."

The Freehold Township Senior League World Series champions are: Shawn Boysen, Brett Brach, Damian Csakai, Ryan Cuneo, Joe DiCaro, Jason Elo, Dominick Hayes, Marc Hubbert, Mike LaCava, Jason Nardi, A.J. Rusbarsky and Korey Yngstrom.

Mike Brach is the manager, and Mike LaCava and Joe DiCaro the coaches.