Berks County committed eight of the 13 errors. Righthander Jeff Maglowski of Holy Name was the hard-luck loser. The junior allowed six runs in two innings, but all were unearned. Berks had commited a total of five errors in its first three wins.
"The defense was certainly the difference," said Berks County coach Ed Williamson of Governor Mifflin. "That was very unlike our team. I don't think the players were tight. Plus, give credit to them. They were a good hitting team and put a lot of pressure on us."
The top offensive performers for Ocean-Monmouth were Jackson Memorial shortstop Adam Recla and Monmouth Regional designated hitter Justin Griffin.
Recla was 3 for 3 with two RBIs, while Griffin was 2 for 2 with two runs scored. Berks catcher Dave Miller of Governor Mifflin was his team's only player with more than one hit, going 2 for 2 and scoring twice.
Ocean-Monmouth's Marc Fink of Jackson, the 14th-round draft choice of the Milwaukee Brewers and the tournament's most feared hitter, went 0 for 3 last night. He drove in one run, giving him eight RBIs in the tournament.
Ocean-Monmouth took the lead for good on a two-run single by Chris Romaglino of Christian Brothers Academy in the bottom of the fifth. That gave Ocean-Monmouth a 6-5 lead and the winners put the game away with three unearned runs on no hits in the next inning.
Jeff Burstein, a senior from Toms River South, earned the win with three hitless and scoreless innings. In three Carpenter Cup appearances, Burstein pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits.
Despite the disappointing title-game performance, Williamson saw a lot of positives in Berks County's trip to the finals. Prior to this year, Berks hadn't won a game in the tournament.
"It's important that we advanced this far and showed the kind of baseball we play in Berks County," he said. "We have a lot of good young players and this should serve well in the future."
