Joe Petrillo, Jr. said that his love for the game of baseball never waned while his playing talents did. The long-time Hoboken resident (he moved to the Mile-Square City from his native Chicago when he was all of eight days old) played only a little baseball at St. Peter's Prep and still decided that he was a fanatic of the national pastime while attending New Jersey City University.
"I still had a passion for the game," Petrillo said. "I knew my skills had diminished, but I wanted to keep my foot in the door."
At the tender age of 21, Petrillo realized his playing days were over, but his coaching career was on the rise. He was about to become the head coach of the Hoboken entry in the Northern New Jersey Dale Murphy (13-year-olds) League, formed by the Amateur American Baseball Congress (AABC).
"The people (at Hoboken Recreation) knew that I used to help my father (Joe, Sr.) out with coaching the Mickey Mantle team (ages 15 and 16)," the younger Petrillo said. "They gave me a shot to coach the Dale Murphy team this year and I was very happy."
Although only 21 years old, just a few years removed from being a teenager himself, the younger Petrillo was thrust into the role of being a head coach, a molder of youth, a leader of plenty.
"With 13-year-olds, I still remember what it was like to be that age," Petrillo said. "It wasn't that long ago for me. I'm still a kid at heart. I think the kids respected me. We had a good chemistry from the beginning. They all knew me. There was no apprehension on their part and I didn't have any worries about coaching them. I just knew it would take a little time for them to jell."
Petrillo started to put the pieces of his team together in April, placing the 13-year-old All-Stars in a highly competitive league called the East Coast Tournament Baseball League, playing basically on Sundays throughout the spring months.
"We played games all around the state," Petrillo said. "We played a lot of Bergen County teams like Tenafly and Montvale. But I figured out then what kids wanted to really play. The kids that showed up all the time and showed to me that they wanted to play were the ones that I could count on through the summer. The kids who gave me their word and were willing to make the sacrifice to play, they were the ones I knew who were going to be there all summer."
Petrillo also had a sign that not only were the Hoboken kids determined to play, but they were also talented.
"I liked the kids we had and I knew from the beginning that they were going to be pretty good," Petrillo said.
Petrillo said that the team had a good mix of diligent kids from Hoboken, as well as three kids from Weehawken, namely Jack Montanile, Kyle Morris and Angel Hernandez.
However, things didn't exactly start out that way for the Hoboken Dale Murphy team. They struggled early on in league play, losing four of their first six games.
"It was actually like a war of attrition," Petrillo explained. "We had to win six of our last eight games just to make the playoffs."
Hoboken finished third in the American Division of the Dale Murphy League, which means it had to win single-elimination contests on the road against River Edge and New Milford on consecutive days to move on to the state tournament.
Last Friday night, the Hoboken kids defeated River Edge, 10-4, to advance to the divisional title game against New Milford. A day later, it was back on the bus, back up to Bergen County and New Milford.
"I actually like it that way, going back-to-back," Petrillo said. "It's a good way to stay hot."
The strategy worked, because Hoboken defeated New Milford, 3-1, in nine innings, thanks to the pitching of Roberto Cuevas, who fired six innings of one-run baseball.
"It was a great game and it was gratifying for us to win on the road," Petrillo said.
Cuevas is just one of three pitchers Hoboken will use in the state tournament this weekend, along with Devon Inhulsen, who will be the starter in Hoboken's first round tourney game against Allendale, and Montanile.
Inhulsen is also a fine hitter. He had three hits and an RBI in the win over New Milford.
Morris mans first base. He's a big kid with a lot of power. John Duval is the team's second baseman. Petrillo believes Duval is "a good listener who is also a hard-nosed player."
Danny Arocho is Hoboken's slick fielding shortstop. Cuevas or Montanile share duties at third base, whenever the other isn't pitching.
The catching duties are also shared by Inhulsen, Montanile, and 12-year-old Nate Arocho, the younger brother of Danny.
Hernandez is one of the outfielders, along with J.J. Milne, Eddie Thorpe and Carlos Padilla.
Josh Santiago and Giovanni Cruzado are key reserves.
Needless to say, this has been a fine debut season for the young head coach and his talented team.
"I know the kids are excited and honestly, so am I," Petrillo said. "None of us have experienced anything like this before. Since this is my first year, I've decided that it's better to be lucky than good. After we beat New Milford, I saw the joy and excitement in the kids' faces. It was a celebration of a lot of hard work and a lot of luck. You don't win championships without a little luck on your side."
Petrillo has no idea what the weekend holds.
"We have to be in it to win it," Petrillo said. "Hopefully, we can win the states and then go on to Michigan for the World Series. I think it's a good thing that two teams from Hudson County are there. We have good baseball in Hudson County and this proves it."
And may the better team prevail. Either way, Hudson County has a reason to be proud, with two participants among the six finalists at the Dale Murphy state championships. That's definitely nothing to sneeze at. - Jim Hague
Pictured above, front row, from left to right, are: Giovanni Cruzado, Josh Santiago, Carlos Padilla, Angel Hernandez, Danny Arocho, Devon Inhulsen, Eddie Thorpe and John Duval. Back row, from left to right, are: Head Coach Joseph Petrillo, Jr., Kyle Morris, batboy Dominick Perkins, Roberto Cuevas, Jack Montanile, J.J. Milne, Nate Arocho, and assistant coaches Massimo Forte and Michael DePinto. Photo courtesy of George Inhulsen.