Milltown Little League Falls to Toms River in Game One of NJ Little League Section Three Tournament

MANASQUAN, NJ - The New Jersey Little League's Section Three Tournament got under way for Milltown Little League's 12U District 10 champs on Sunday. Milltown's opening game was delayed one day because of Friday's rain. The team's opponent was Toms River. Toms River defeated the host team, South Wall, in the tournament's opener on Saturday, 7-1. Milltown lost to Toms River, 5-2. The loss pushed Milltown into the bottom bracket in the double elimination tournament.

"Tough loss for Milltown today," said Stephen Spisso, the team's manager.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

Toms River got on the scoreboard in the first inning after an error brought in a run. The lead was short-lived when Milltown tied the game in the bottom of the second on an error by Toms River. Milltown got base runners in the bottom of the third after two singles and a sacrifice bunt. Alex Green's ground out allowed one run to score, giving Milltown a 2-1 lead. In the top of the fourth, Toms River scored three runs on three Milltown errors and added another run in the fifth inning to nail down the victory.

Tadeyn Simpson was the starting pitcher for Milltown. Green led Milltown with one RBI. Derek Boatman had two hits for Milltown.

"Toms River definitely executed better than us," Spisso said. "Too many mental and physical errors. I feel like the long layoff between district and sectional rounds dampened some of the momentum and positive vibes we had after our district win."

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

Milltown returns to the field on Monday night to face South Wall at 7:45 p.m. South Wall defeated Nottingham 5-3 on Sunday afternoon to stay alive. Nottingham is now out of the double elimination tournament after two losses. Monday's game is a must-win for Milltown and South Wall since both teams have one loss.

In the winners bracket, Lincroft plays Toms River at 5:45 p.m. on Monday. Lincroft handed Nottingham its first loss of the tournament on Saturday with a 6-5 victory. The winner of the Milltown/South Wall game moves on to face the winner of the Lincroft/Toms River game.

"We will look to get back on the winning track tomorrow," Spisso said. "Just made our journey a little longer by moving into the lower bracket, but feel like the team can find the fight they had in districts."

Milltown Little League's 12U team won the 2024 District 10 championship on July 7 with a 3-2 victory over Sayreville on a two-run, walk-off homer by Harrison Bergamotto. It was the fourth consecutive 12U District 10 title for the Milltown Little League.

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net