SJ Sports: BurlCo All Stars Shine

They didn’t come home with the championship, but the Burlington County all-star baseball team went much further than most anticipated in the recent Carpenter Cup all-star baseball tournament at Veterans Stadium.

Burlington County won its first two games in the 16-team single-elimination tournament that attracts high school all-star squads from the tri-state area.

"A lot of our guys didn’t know each other before this tournament," said Burlington County manager Bud Kowal, who holds the same position at Rancocas Valley. "They really came together and played well this tournament."

What made this year’s performance in the 17th annual Carpenter Cup so impressive is that this wasn’t one of the more talented Burlington County entries. The team has never won the title, but has fielded some talented squads, such as the 1993 edition which advanced to the chamiships before losing to Suburban National, 8-4.

This year’s roster consisted of 12 underclassmen, which bodes well for next year. In addition, Burlington County was without one of its top players, Holy Cross third-base pitcher Matt Burdalski, who had a commitment to compete in the North-South football all-star team.

Burdalski was arguably the top pitcher and would have helped the team and to be able to advance to the semifinals without such a weapon shows what type of job the team did.

Burlngton County opened with an 11-10 win over Mercer. Delran righthander Ernie Covington was spectacular in the win, throwing three scoreless innings. (Carpenter Cup rules prohibit pitchers from throwing more than three innings in a single game.)

Palmyra leftfielder Mike Guglielmucci and Shawnee third baseman Bill Gartlan and Cherokee second baseman Matt Zonies each had two hits, while Riverside shortstop Pat Avery and Cinnaminson designated hitter Tony Cardullo were both 1 for 2 with two RBI. Both of Zonies’ hits were triples.

The games are usually nine innings, but Burlington County’s second game against Berks County went just seven. That’s because an earlier game went 18 innings and the tournament organizers had to shorten the length to get all the games in that day.

Trailing 3-2 entering the top of the seventh, Burlington County erupted for six runs to beat Berks, 8-6.

"To be down by a run and then put six runs up in your last at bat shows these guys had a lot of character," Kowal said. "We had so many scrappy players on this team who just don’t give up."

Florence leftfielder Nick Czepiel went 2 for 2 with two RBIs and Cardullo, who caught against Berks, was 2 for 2 with an RBI. Rancocas Valley’s Bob Raditz earned the win in relief.

Burlington County finally met its match when it managed just four hits in a 5-1 loss to Chester County. Rancocas Valley sophomore leftfielder Spencer Harvey, who was just added to the team before the game, went 2 for 2 with an RBI. Florence designated hitter

Cardullo was the hitting star for Burlco, going 3 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Cherokee righthander Bill Wieland allowed two runs in two appearances covering 5 2/3 innings.

"This is something the players will remember the rest of their lives, being able to play at Veterans Stadium," Kowal said. "These guys beat some very good teams and really played well. It was a great experience for everybody."

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Author: Marc Narducci