Robert Romeo is the first to admit he didn’t necessarily see this coming. While he felt the North Arlington Little League 12U team he coaches had the talent to be competitive, they were also the youngest team in the field combined with the way this group had struggled at this stage in the past.
Instead, this group, composed predominantly of players who are young for the 12U level became champions.
North Arlington ripped off seven consecutive victories, the last a decisive 14-4 win over Saddle Brook this past Tuesday to become the District 5 champions. It is the second time in three years North Arlington’s 12U “Williamsport” team has won the district title after going 58 years without winning.
Only six of the 12 players on the roster are 12-years-old, a rarity amongst its peers.
“We have some good pitching and we knew that we could be competitive with anybody, but they still exceeded every expectation I had of them,” Romeo saiad. “The pitching was great and just from top to bottom, a complete team effort (on offense). Guys coming up with hits in big spots from 1 through 12. They were great and it was awesome to see.”
Leading the way from the mound has been a dynamic one-two duo in Anthony Henderson and Dylan Egan.
“They both throw very hard and they’re both very consistent,” said Romeo. “They’ve shown consistency over the past two weeks throwing strikes, getting their offspeed pitches over and I think that was a key in winning those big games.”
Two pitchers alone isn’t enough to win a title and Tuesday’s final was a reminder of that as his son Luigi Romeo and James Lawler pitched on that night and provided key innings on multiple occasions as did Nicholas Reed.
Reed and Henderson have shared the catcher position. Jase Stadnicki has been stellar defensively at first base while getting several big hits from the cleanup spot.
Alexander Cabrera has been the main second baseman with Lawler also seeing time there. The left side of the infield was a constant rotation depending on who was pitching. Luigi Romeo was the main third baseman with Egan and Lawler also playing there. Shortstop has been manned by Henderson along with Lawler and Egan.
Reed was the center fielder when he wasn’t catching with Alijah Cabrera also getting a lot of innings in center. In left and right field have been Cabrera, Caleb Perez, Robert Bredamus, Luke Stadnicki and Carlo Carselda. Stadnicki, the lone 10-year-old on the roster, has been one of the top hitters of the tournament.
North Arlington looks to keep this run going during the Sectional Tournament, which begins on Saturday at Bloomfield.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)