Holbrook Little League will open the tournament on Thursday afternoon.
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- The quest for a 10-day stay at the Little League World Series will begin on Thursday afternoon for Holbrook, and all signs around the team are indicating that a successful run could be in the works.
Holbrook, which has a loaded top of the order and a lineup filled with athletes that can play all over the field, will have a tough challenge in the first game: facing 18-0 Fairfield American Little League of Fairfield, Conn, the New England region champion.
But if Holbrook can find a way to pull out a win in that game, the Jackson-based team would be in the driver's seat going forward. Two days off would follow that win before an 11 a.m. game on Sunday against the Southwest/Great Lakes winner.
"I think they're very confident," Holbrook manager Rob Grano said. "This year, they all grew up as 12's. In the past, we've had times where we'd had leads and if you looked at our team, you would think we were losing by 10 runs. We'd laugh about it. This year, we've had games where we're down at the start 3-0 or 4-1 and they come into the huddle and their eyes are forward."
Holbrook's success begins with the top of its lineup with Garrett Drew, Tai Mann, Chris Cartnick and R.J. Vashey. All four of those hitters have the ability to knock the ball to all parts of the field and certainly enough power to clear the fence.
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Behind them, J.R. Osmond is another dependable bat before the quick swings of Chris Andrews and Charlie Meglio that could give any opposing pitcher a serious problem.
If Holbrook's bats get hot this week, this team could be in Williamsport for some time, which could mean a bid for N.J.'s first Little League World Series champion since the famous Toms River team did so in 1998.
"They can all hit and they can all field," Grano said. "Our depth beyond those top six help. We've had games where our top six don't hit and our bottom has hit home runs. In the state championship, we had three home runs from the eight and nine hitters. I'm sure the other teams are like that, too. Everything's great until you have to face the other team's monster."
Brian Deakyne may be reached at bdeakyne@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianDeakyne.