Sean McGrath
Scouting Director, New Jersey

Brooklawn Post 72 has been the epitome of winning baseball, especially in the American Legion world. They have won back-to-back American Legion World Series and they have their eyes set on the same prize this summer. They clinched a trip to Regional play late last night. However, they did not win the state tournament without being tested. They went largely unscathed through the state tournament until the championship round where they needed to be beaten twice by Flemington Post 159.

Game one proved to be Flemington’s game as they rode Mike Novello to a 9-1 victory. Novello was brilliant in the win, limiting the daunted Brookers lineup to just one run. The Hunterdon Central product did a nice job mixing three solid pitches in the zone without giving the Brooklawn lineup free base opportunities. Dante Scafidi, a LHP bound for Rutgers University, pitched well through five innings before Flemington finally got to him.

Game two proved to be a different story as both team’s brought back their game one starters for the final game. Flemington turned to right-hander Pat Clare; Brooklawn turned to right-hander and Florida State commit, Tyler Mondile. The edge seemed to flip-flop back to the side of Brooklawn Post 72 once it was evident that Mondile would be on the mound. The wiry strong 6-foot-1 ace is currently ranked as the #2 prospect in PBR New Jersey’s 2016 player rankings.

Mondile did not disappoint, coming out of the gates electric in the first at 91-94 miles-per-hour and settling in at 89-92 for the rest of his outing. The electricity seemed to transfer from his right arm to the Brookers’ bats as they would explode offensively for nine runs and win the state championship by the final score of 9-6.

The right-hander did it all in this game; giving up only two hits and two runs over 6.1 innings pitched, making diving catches in the RF, and providing the offense with doubles, RBIs, and a very healthy on-base percentage. The clear-cut MVP of the final day, Brooklawn will lean on the rising senior throughout Regionals and beyond.

New Jersey American Legion All-Tournament Team

P- Andrew Miller (Gloucester Twp)
P- Lucas Rollins (Brooklawn)
P- Mike Novello (Flemington)
C- (tie) Anthony Peroni (Hamilton)/Andrew Meiners (Flemington)
1B- Anthony Harrold (Brooklawn)
2B- Sean Breen (Brooklawn)
SS- Matt Tola (Hamilton)
3B- Louis Priolo (Gibbsboro)
OF- Henry Hawkins (Flemington)
OF- Shane Fontana (Flemington)
OF- Cameron Cane (Hopewell)
UTIL- Tyler Mondile (Brooklawn)
UTIL- John Wilson (Flemington)