Little League History To Be Made In Bayville This Week

Starting Tuesday, teams from all around the state will be converging on Ocean County for the Joe Graziano N.J. State Little League Championships and the N.J. State Junior League Championships.

District 18’s Berkeley Little League is the host for the week and has a full slate of events scheduled to make the trip to the state championships memorable as Little League celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Competing in the Joe Graziano State Little League Championships are Somerset Hills (Section 1), Wood-Ridge/Moonachie (Section 2), Toms River (Section 3) and Ocean  City-Upper Township (Section 4).

For the State Junior League Championships, Parsippany-Troy Hills (Section 1), Elizabethport (Section 2), and Toms River East (Section 3) will be joined by either Erial or Franklin Township, the Section 4 finalists, who play a winner-take-all game on Monday.

The festivities begin Tuesday evening, when the four Little League sectional champions will be honored at the Joe Graziano NJ State Little League Championship Division banquet at the Berkeley Little League Volunteer Center.

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno will be on hand to greet the players and their families. The dinner also will pay tribute to the four New Jersey teams that have won the Little League World Series: Hammonton’s Little Big League (1949); Wayne (1970); Lakewood (1975) and Toms River East American (1998). In attendance will be Otha “Art” Crowder, a member of the 1949 Hammonton champions, and Butch Belitrand and Dick Work, who managed the 1975 Lakewood Little League team.

Mark Leiter, a former Major League pitcher and graduate of nearby Central Regional High School, will give the keynote address at the banquet, which is sponsored by Perlmart Family ShopRites and The Cove Waterfront Grill of Bayville.

Tom Swyers, a long-time backer of recreational baseball who has a hot-selling new novel, “Saving Babe Ruth,” also will address the teams. The Oceanaires, a vocal group with a barbershop quartet style, will provide vocal entertainment. 

On Wednesday, July 23, the celebration of baseball and the Jersey Shore - which still is recovering from Hurricane Sandy - continues with Opening Day festivities. Families will have a taste of the boardwalk right next to the baseball complex, as three blocks of Red Bank Avenue are being converted into a midway, with vendors, games and special displays.

TD Bank, the title sponsor of the tournaments, will have a family photo booth available during the midway event, and will be dishing out free Bella’s Italian ices for all the fans who stop by their booth. Community Medical Center, a Barnabas Health facility, and Barnabas Health will be on hand with its Mobile Burn Center, its Fire Safety House and Concussion Awareness program.  Community also is sponsoring an appearance by the N.J. Mobile Hall of Fame.

The Primo Sausage Truck will be making great sausage sandwiches; All-Star Magnets will be making custom  magnets; and  the Berkeley Historical Society will be present. Also on hand will be Buster from the Lakewood BlueClaws; the Gamin Ride Video Gaming Trailer, the Dairy Queen Cone giving out free ice cream cones, and  more.

Both the Little League and Junior League tournaments will kick off that night, with the Idol Time Academy Singing Competition Team  performing the national anthem for both. The Central Regional Junior ROTC will present the colors at the games, and the N.J. Transit Police K-9 unit will put on a demonstration.  Two games will be played in each tournament.

Wednesday night’s games will feature Section 2 champion Wood-Ridge/Moonachie taking on Section 3 champion Toms River at 7 p.m., with Section 1 champion Somerset Hills dueling with Ocean City-Upper Township from Section 4 starting at 8 p.m. in the Joe Graziano State Little League championships.

In the Junior League tournament, which takes place on Leiter Field, named for Mark’s brother, Al Leiter, Section 2 champion Elizabethport and Section 3 champion Toms River East begin at 5 p.m., followed by Section 1’s Parsippany-Troy Hills, which reached Williamsport in 2012 in the Little League division, taking on either Erial or Franklin Township from Section 4. Approximate game time on the second game is 7:45 p.m.

On Thursday, July 24, the Junior League Section Champions will be honored at their championship division barbecue. A scheduled rain day, the Berkeley Little League complex will turn into Laser Tag Central, with a laser tag tournament that’s open to everyone.

That evening is Little League Legacy Night, with a celebration of Little League’s 75th Anniversary, planned for The Cove Waterfront Bar and Grill, which sits on scenic Barnegat Bay in Bayville. Legacy Night also is a fundraiser for a District 18 umpire who was injured in car accident on way to a District 18 All Star game. There will be a 50/50 and raffles.

Friday, July 25, the fun continues with Little League Day at Blackbeard’s Cave in Bayville, with all-day ride bracelets for the amusement park. Round 2 of the tournaments feature two games each in Little League and the Junior League.

Saturday, July 26, opens with baseball, as the elimination games are played, and then it’s off to the boardwalk, as Seaside Heights opens its arms to embrace the league that day. Lucky Leo’s Amusements  is giving the Little Leaguers free game play at its arcade.

Casino Pier is giving all the players (and one guest each) “Ride & Slide” passes good for rides on the Boardwalk and at Breakwater Beach , plus $15 in arcade play at  Casino Pier’s arcades.

Sunday, July 27, is the championship games in both the Little League and Junior League brackets. The BlueClaws have special night planned for the finalists of both tournaments, with tickets to Lakewood’s game that night for the players, who will be recognized at the game for their accomplishments. Families and friends will be able to get additional tickets with a special Little League discount. Modell’s will provide free fan shirts for the players for the occasion.

If necessary, there will be winner-take-all games on Monday, July 28.

In addition to TD Bank, Community Medical Center, ShopRite and The Cove, sponsors include Modell’s; Dairy Queen of Bayville; Blackbeard’s Cave; the Hershey Motel of Seaside Heights, which is giving special discounts for families of the sectional champions; the Seaside Heights BID and the Ocean County Tourism Advisory Council. Media partners are Townsquare Media’s Shore Sports Network and the Asbury Park Press.

The best beaches. The best -- and newly restored -- boardwalks. And the best baseball. Come spend the week in Ocean County to see it for yourself.

For 75 years, Little League has provided communities around the world the opportunity for families to connect and for children to come together in a healthy, safe environment to learn the values of team sports and the fundamentals of baseball and softball.Berkeley Little League and District 18 are proud to host this event.

Those interested in being a part of the championships may go to berkeleylittleleague.com or email BerkeleyLL@comcast.net for sponsorship information.

What: Little League 75th Anniversary & State Championships

When: July 22-28, 2014

Where: Ocean County &  Berkeley Little League, Bayville NJ

Who: The best baseball teams in NJ, their friends, families & fans.

Contact: Bob Everett, President Berkeley Little League. BerkeleyLL@comcast.net 732-330-5900 cell

About Little League®

Little League® Baseball and Softball is the world’s largest organized youth sports program, with 2.4 million players and one million adult volunteers in every U.S. state and more than 80 of other countries. In 2014, Little League is celebrating its 75th Anniversary of developing major league people. For more information, visit LittleLeague.org, or follow the Little League on Facebook (facebook.com/LittleLeagueBaseballAndSoftball) or Twitter (twitter.com/LittleLeague).