Cubs Take Title at Disney Tournament

Hosted by Disney, the International Salute to Baseball Tournament is a competitive, international event attended by a wide array of young teams. One motivator they all share, however, is an unmistakable desire to tout a globe-shaped trophy after the final championship innings.

Cubs Bring Home The Globe

A team of teenagers from Morris County made the trip down to Florida to compete in this rigorous, challenging tournament… and they took home first prize.

The Morris County Cubs, a 15-year-old and under squad with players from Long Valley, Roxbury, Mt. Olive, Randolph, Mendham and New Providence, became the team to earn the distinction for their age division, defeating a worthy opponent in the Mattingly Baseball Club from Westchester, NY.

“We’ve been in the hunt for a long time,” said team parent, Dave Kennedy. “It’s great to get this kind of exposure for the kids, playing against quality talent from up and down the east coast.”

The worthy first-place finish at Disney came as the team’s third tournament victory of the year. They’ve already won at a Delaware tournament versus athletes from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky and a “Beat the Heat” tournament held in Flemington, NJ.

The Squad and Organization

This Cubs team is a 15U squad that is competing in an older age bracket (16U), and won the international tournament playing one-up against some athletes who may even be 17, with a May cutoff date.

“(But the bottom line is), it’s the coaches that really bring these kids forward,” said Kennedy. “Some of the kids are playing varsity at a young age, by way of playing this better competition (with the Cubs) and it’s (a great way) to get better.”

He also added that the outside, professional and non-biased coaching that the athletes receive is a great way to “eliminate parents from becoming overzealous.”

Headed by Pete Zoccolillo and Mike Dzurilla, the organization was started in 2007. Coaches on the staff include a diverse set of college and professionally experienced baseball players, and training season for the kids begins in fall, heads through winter, and tournament season picks up after the high school season ends.

“We just want to bring out the talent we know all of these players have,” said one of the head coaches, Pete Zoccolillo, also head coach at Morris Catholic High School. “These guys were playing against older kids, but they’re just good players. They’re not intimidated, and the (Disney) trip was amazing for everyone involved.”  

This was the Morris County Cubs’ second season competing at Disney, taking home the 14U championship last year. After that victory, fundraising efforts, including a golf outing, were underway for this year’s team to head back.

Head coach Zoccolillo (having played Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers), along with Mike Dzurilla (who played with the affiliates for the Cubs, Cardinals and Phillies), help bring top-of-the-line training to the kids, and even some Division I and II scouts to the games of the older age groups.

Zoccolillo and Dzurilla were drafted together by the Chicago Cubs in 1999, became roommates and are now brothers-in-law.

“We try to develop these athletes into possible college players,” said Dzurilla. “With our backgrounds, we have a good idea of what scouts are looking for, so we’re trying to bring that knowledge to the young kids.”

A Lively Inning

The walk-off hit to seal the tournament came during a bombshell inning for the Cubs, who were trailing 3-0 going into the seventh and final inning.

According to Dzurilla, Mattingly Club had a lefty pitcher on the hill that was shutting them down the entire game. Going into the seventh and final inning, the Cubs had two base hits. But in their extravagant seventh, they managed to get four hits and obtain the trophy.

The first batter reached on an error, the next walked. After a base hit by Connor MacEwen, the bases were loaded and the pitcher was removed from the game.

“I think he got tired toward the end,” said Dzurilla. “So they brought in a righty, who threw pretty good, but we did a good job with him.”

After another base hit, the score was 3-1, and there were no outs. The number 10 hitter, Kyle Melahn, then tagged one to the left-centerfield gap, tying the game at three.

Eventually, with the bases loaded, Nick Matera came to the plate and poked one to right-centerfield to win the game.

“It was one of the best games I’ve ever watched,” said Dzurilla. “It was unbelievable; we all piled up on first base. There’s not many words to describe it other than amazing.”

After receiving their trophy in a gallant ceremony held in the grandstands of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, the team headed home, and will partake in another tournament this weekend at Diamond Nation in Flemington.