Submitted by Mike Desmond
Local Team Previews for all the Teams Competing in the 2025 NJ D18 Little League Division Tournament
The Jersey Shore is home to Little League NJ District 18 Baseball & Softball, a hotbed for Little League Baseball & Softball, known in the Little League Circuit around the Country.
This weekend on Saturday June 14 all the focus is on the 12-Year-Old All Star Tournament, which begins the Opening Round of Pool Play. The winner of the NJ D18 Tournament advances to the NJ Section 3 Tournament which will be hosted at Nottingham Little League beginning July 11. The 12-Year-Old Division is a special age group for Little League All Stars as any team has an opportunity to win their District, Local Section, State, Region and even a chance at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.
“Youth Baseball is at an all-time high in popularity right now, not only at the Jersey Shore but all around the country.” New NJ District 18 Administrator Mike Desmond said. “Club travel baseball, state of the art baseball training and travel baseball tournaments have grown interest incredibly over the past few years, but starting this weekend all eyes are on Little League as we watch the boys and girls of summer play in the highly coveted Little League Baseball Tournament.”
NJ D18 Baseball & Softball – Little League Baseball Division (12s) Pool Play Preview
All Opening Games are Saturday June 14th at 11:00 AM
Manchester at Barnegat Game Preview
Manchester Little League
Longtime Manchester LL Coach and Board Member takes the helm of the Manchester 12s. The Team is led by a strong pitching staff and roster depth with many players who can impact the game from the top to the bottom of the lineup on any given day. Manchester is also host to the MIT Invitational Tournament which is held later in the Summer at Manchester’s Complex.
Barnegat Little League
The southernmost League in NJ District 18 in Barnegat has been on a growth trajectory the past few years, with more and more players signing up to register and participate in the League, which means more and more players to select from for Tournament Teams. The Barnegat 12s Manager is Brian Freund, and has a strong team made up of Shortstop Madden Appice, First Baseman Evan Rule, Starting Catcher Zack Williams, and Utility Player Brian Freund.
Brick at Jackson Holbrook Preview (Game at Holbrook Complex)
Brick
The Brick 12s are managed by lifelong Brick resident Vinny Dattolo and has an experienced coaching staff of Bryan Scott and Jim Kish. Coach Dattolo and Scott had coached the majority of the team over the past 6 years in some capacity and Coach Kish has a legacy at Brick, where he played on the 1990 Brick National Team that won States and played at the East Region Tournament in Bristol, CT and is now helping his son’s team try to accomplish similar goals. Pitcher Jacob Booker is a valued addition to this team as he played in this Tournament last year as an 11 and now joins this team this year.
Jackson-Holbrook Little League
The 2025 Season marks the 1st of the official season of the Jackson Holbrook merger where Jackson Little League and Holbrook Little League both in Jackson combined Leagues before the start of the season and are entering all of their All-Star Tournaments as one League. Pitcher Tyler Ballard played as an 11-Year-Old in the Tournament last year and is expected to be on the mound a lot for the Jackson Holbrook team this year.
Berkeley at Beachwood Preview
Berkeley Little League
Berkeley is another Little League in the southern part of Ocean County that is growing and has a lot of high hopes this Tournament and years to come. Team Manager Dennis McInerney along with players Jax Hunkele, Nick Lanko and Robert Nesley look to make some noise in the Tournament this year.
Beachwood Little League
Beachwood Legue President Dan Davis is at the helm of the Beachwood 12s this year and features 6 returning players; Carter Colangelo, Chase Davis, Anthony Melchionne, Hamilton Ouellette, Brekyn Schweiger and Fisher Zak, who all played up on the 12s last year. The Beachwood Team has one of the youngest teams in the District again with four 11-Year-Olds and one 10-Year-Old.
Toms River East at Toms River Preview (This Game will Be Live Broadcast Online)
Toms River East Little League
The TRELL 12s have an experienced coaching staff with Paddy Matera and Jeff Fraizer. Both Coach Matera and Fraizer have experience representing TRELL in Williamsport. Maera was a assistant coach on the 2021 TRELL team that advanced to the Little League World Series as the 1B Team out of the East Region (Metro) Tournament in Bristol, CT, a year after the covid-19 pandemic where the International Bracket was cancelled. And Jeff Fraizer was a player for TRELL on the 1995 team that advanced to the Little League World Series, just 3 years before TRELL won the World Series with his younger brother Todd as a player on that Team. The TRELL 12s hit a combined 30 home runs in their regular season league this year, which includes player Bradon Iannaccone who won the District Home Run Derby this year on June 7th.
Toms River Little League
This Toms River squad won the 11-Year-Old District Banner last year and went on to also win the NJ Section 3 Championships and advanced all the way to the NJ State Championship Tournament, where they were runners up. Manager Tom King has a strong team again this Tournament Season rounded out with slugger Louie Giancola who was the District Home Run Derby Runner Up this year.
Around the Horn: NJ D18 Tournaments Round Up
New for 2025: All Star Game Live Streaming
New in this year’s Tournament, select game will be broadcast live on the District’s new In-Game Live Stream Platform which could be viewed on the District website at: www.njdistrict18.com
Girls with Game: Little League Girls Softball
The Girls of Summer take the spotlight this Little League All Star Tournament Season, NJ District 18 added Brick Little League as a Girls Softball Program this year and the Girls from Brick will be entering into the mix with Little League Tournament action for the 1st time in over 20 years competing in the 8-9-10 Year Old Girls Softball Tournament along with Jackson-Holbrook and Toms River.
The 8-9-10 Year Old Girls District Tournament begins on Wednesday, June 25th with Toms River vs Jackson-Holbrook at Toms Rivers Mapletree Complex, with the winner facing the new team in Brick the next night also in Toms River. The Championship Games for this Girls 10-Year-Old Tournament is Saturday June 28th and Sunday June 29th, both games at Holbrook’s Bartley Softball Complex.
Later this summer, Toms River Little League will be hosting the 1st Annual 9-10-11 Year Old Girls Softball Invitational NJ State Tournament at their Complex with the Tournament Winner moving on to a Region Invitational in Maryland District 5. This State Tournament is the first of its kind for this Girls age group and begins on July 25th at the Toms River Mapletree Complex.
Little League Girls Softball is growing at the Jersey Shore and in NJ as 5 different Girls age groups will be participating in Tournaments throughout NJ and Ocean County this summer.
For the full 2025 Little League NJ District 18 Tournament Game Schedule, please visit www.njdistrict18.com
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