By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – New Jersey scored in all but two innings on Monday afternoon as it handed the Niles All-Stars a 10-1 loss at the Senior League World Series in Bangor, Maine.
The loss dropped Niles to 0-2 in the tournament with two games remaining.
The All-Stars were scheduled to take on Lithuania this morning at 10 a.m.
Lithuania, like Niles, is winless in two games.
New Jersey improved to 2-0 and will face Texas East (1-0) on Wednesday. New Jersey will be off on Tuesday.
The East Regional champions scored twice in the first and fifth innings, once in the second and sixth innings and four times in the top half of the seventh to account for its 10 runs.
Niles scored its lone run in the bottom half of the sixth.
Stephen Talbot singled home the first run after back-to-back singles to open the game by Anthony Cirillo and Daniel Klinsky.
Christopher Ballester singled home the other first inning run for New Jersey.
New Jersey made it 3-0 in the second inning as pinch runner Matthew Hohmann scored on an error.
Both teams seemed to settle down until the fifth when New Jersey extended its advance to 5-0 with a pair of runs.
Cirillo doubled with one out and would score on a single by Klinsky.
Klinsky would score moments later on a RBI triple by Ballester.
The East champs added a run in the top of the sixth as Shawn Purves grounded out to score pinch runner Gerald Plescia.
Niles averted the shutout in the bottom half of the sixth as Cody Udell singled and moved to third on a double by Dan Reidenbach.
Justin Stroud then drove in the run with a ground out.
Ballester ended any hopes of a Niles comeback with a two-run double in the top of the seventh.
New Jersey completed the scoring as Plescia and Bryan Gillis both singled home runs.
New Jersey finished with 10 runs on 12 hits.
Winning pitcher Joshua Leahy worked five innings, allowing one run on five hits with a strike out and a walk.
Niles finished with one run on six hits. Taylor Ort took the loss as he worked five innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
Reidenbach was 2-for-3 for Niles, who also got two hits from Kevin Gross.
Udell and Andrew Brawley had the other hits for the Central Region champions.
Ballester was 3-for-4 with four RBIs for New Jersey. Cirillo and Klinsky each finished with two hits.
In other games on Monday, Texas East defeated Lithuania 10-1, Saipan defeated host Brewer and Hawaii defeated Georgia.