Uncertain of how the final inning would unfold, Jesse Curcio sure did his part in deciding it.

His Cape Coral National Little League Major Brewers were in search of the league tournament championship at Jason Verdow Park Tuesday night, but were deadlocked with the Cardinals 4-4 in the sixth inning.

“I was thinking we might lose, we might win,” Curcio said. “I didn’t know.”

Curcio supplied a lift on the mound in the top of sixth when he relieved starter Jordan Gubelman and struck out the final two batters of the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, he smashed a double to the gap in right-center, allowing Joshua Feliciano to score the winning run in a 5-4 victory.

The Brewers, who defeated the Cardinals 9-7 earlier in the tournament, prevented a third meeting from taking place Wednesday.

During the season at Verdow Park, the two teams forged a rivalry.

“We went 11-1 in the regular season. Our only loss here was to the Cardinals,” Brewers manager Mark Czerwinski said. “We always play close, tight games.”

It was no surprise Gubelman got the start for the Brewers Tuesday night with a chance to clinch the title. He has been a big-game pitcher for the team all season.

He struck out nine batters and worked into the sixth before his pitch count exceeded the limit of 85.

Curcio came in and got the final two batters of the sixth, giving the Brewers the opportunity to win on their last at-bat. Feliciano raced around from first on Curcio’s double and made it safely on a close play at the plate.

“It was a great game,” Cardinals manager and league president John Hulfeld said. “Unfortunately for us it was their night.”

Prior to the finish, both teams had rallied from behind.

In the top of the second, the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead. Alex Polidan singled and Joey Morales tripled to right-center. Polidan scored and an error allowed Morales to come home.

The Cardinals made two costly errors in the third, which opened the door for a four-run outburst by the Brewers. Sean Gavitt’s RBI single and Dylan Czerwinski’s RBI triple highlighted the attack.

Trailing 4-2, the Cardinals fought back in the fifth. Nick Rugel walked to lead off the inning, then Morales, who made several sparkling defensive plays at shortstop, hustled down the first-base line to beat out an infield single. Frank Nater came through with a two-run double, tying the game 4-4.

“I’m proud of my kids. They came back and battled hard,” Hulfeld said. “I feel bad for our 12-year-olds. They gave it their all and I hate to see them not win, but that’s baseball.”

The Brewers wrapped up an impressive run, which included reaching the semifinals of the Lee County Tournament. Their team consists of Mark Brooks, Austin Butts, Jesse Curcio, Dylan Czerwinski, Joshua Feliciano, Brett Fenske, Max Fisher, Sean Gavitt, Jordan Gubelman, Jacob Kluch and Marc Perez.

Mark Czerwinski credited the league’s re-draft held prior to the season both in helping to form his team and create parity throughout the league.

In prior years, CCN kept the returning players on the same team and drafted new players joining the major division. This season, all of the players were re-drafted.

“It made for more competitive balance,” Czerwinski said, “and the amount of success we had can be attributed to the chemistry we made.”

In another tournament game Tuesday night, the Braves turned back the Phillies in the rookie division loser’s bracket final. The Braves’ 7-5 win puts them in Wednesday night’s championship game against the Brewers.



CCN Cardinals 020 020 — 4 5 2

CCN Brewers 004 001 — 5 8 2

W — Jesse Curcio. L — Frank Nater.

2B — Curcio 2 (B), Max Fisher (B), Nater (C). 3B — Dylan Czerwinski (B), Joey Morales (C).