Middletown South Forced to Drop Out of Last Dance Tournament Due to COVID-19

By Rich Chrampanis

MIDDLETOWN – Middletown South was able to get its last dance on the diamond, but it ended earlier than it should have. The Eagles baseball team went 3-0 in pool play and earned one of 32 spots in the statewide single-elimination portion in the Last Dance Baseball World Series but was forced to withdraw due to players testing positive for COVID-19.

The Eagles and Point Pleasant Boro both pulled out of the tournament Sunday after confirming positive tests. The tournament was able to make an adjustment to get 32 teams to begin single-elimination play Tuesday across the state.

Dave Esposito, the father of Eagles catcher Anthony Esposito acted as head coach for the Middletown South baseball team in the Last Dance.

“On Friday morning I was made aware of kids in the community that tested positive and were in contact with players on our team,” Esposito said. “At that point, those kids had to be tested. I felt the best thing to do was have all the kids tested and if everyone was negative we could still continue to play. After receiving some positive results on our team, we reached out to the tournament director, who said we could continue to play with the kids that tested negative. (Sunday) morning I received a call telling me the CDC came back and said we would need to sit out five days and then have a negative test to play. At that point, the director had to remove us. The Last Dance World Series saw 333 games played over three days as 222 teams played baseball across the state. The 32 region winners began the single-elimination portion of the tournament Tuesday. Middletown South went 3-0 to win the Wall-Ocean Regional, highlighted by a walk-off grand slam by Anthony Esposito in the bottom of the seventh to beat Matawan in what proved to be the Eagles final game.

“I thought we had a real chance to advance far in this tournament but unfortunately, we will never know,” Dave Esposito said. “Just being able to get on the field for three games is a blessing after losing the entire season. I hope the kids will at least remember the excitement especially in our final game and remember that for a lifetime.”

What stings more for the Eagles is that they were scheduled to play rival Middletown North in the round of 32 at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood. The Lions pulled off upset wins over Freehold Township, Marlboro and CBA to win the Lincroft-Tinton Falls Regional. That game never happened and Middletown South will have to savor its three victories which ultimately became the short but sweet 2020 season.

A Point Pleasant Boro player tested positive Saturday. Coach David Drew’s team was 3-0 in the Barnegat-Bayville Region, scoring wins over Point Pleasant Beach, Barnegat, and Donovan Catholic.

“The Panther Baseball community would like to thank the Last Dance tournament directors Mike Murry and John Kroeger for putting on a great event and for giving these seniors one last opportunity to play,” Drew said. “We’d also like to thank Barnegat High School Head Baseball Coach Dan McCoy and Athletic Director John Germano and their staff for hosting. Although we ended the tournament the way we did, we are proud to say that we put the players and their families first. Winning will never be as important as family and that is what we are in Point Pleasant. Good luck to all the remaining teams and above all stay safe!”

Four teams have had to leave the tournament due to the coronavirus. Red Bank Regional was supposed to play in the Red Bank-Belmar Regional hosted by Red Bank Catholic but was forced to pull out due to a player’s sister testing positive for COVID-19 just hours before their opening game against Neptune. Manasquan also had to exit the tournament before it began and schedules were adjusted. Wall took Manasquan’s place in the four-team pool hosted by CBA.

The article originally appeared in the July 23 – 29, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.