RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – It took the full ensemble for Bayonne Friday night in front of a packed house at the Little League World Series.
Starting pitcher Chase Klimkowski struck out six batters. Shortstop Gabe Garcia Jr. ended a mid-game threat with a nifty backhand and throw across the infield. Third baseman A.J. Tapia provided the offensive force with a timely double early on.
Finally, centerfielder Mason Rincon reintroduced himself on the big stage, belting an opposite-field home run to right. It was his second homer in as many games, the previous one having been a walk-off shot in Bayonne’s opening-round win .
“It feels amazing to be able to help the team, to be able to come up in that spot and put the exclamation point,” said Rincon.
Altogether, Bayonne won, 3-1, over the Mid-Atlantic All Stars from West Chester, Pa., marking the first time since 1999 that a New Jersey team started the tournament 2-0.
The victory also pushed Bayonne into a third-round matchup with the Midwest All Stars from Davenport, Iowa at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
“The kids worked their butt off today,” Bayonne manager Justin Smith said. “The kids deserve every second of this right now.”
He added, “I don’t think there was a person in Bayonne not watching this game hoping that these kids keep going. and it is nice to see them all show up. we played a hometown team and I still think we outnumbered them.”
It was one of the team’s most complete efforts amid its unbeaten summer. All three Bayonne batters struck out in the top of the first inning, but runs soon followed. In the second frame, Bayonne catcher Jett Bridges drew a walk, and Tapia followed with a double. Bridges stumbled while rounding third, and was unable to score. He retreated to the bag, but then scored when Connor Oliva drew a walk and ball four was a wild pitch. Right fielder Joey Dwyer then doubled to left, and Tapia scored to give Bayonne a 2-0 lead.
“It feels amazing,” Tapia said. “I had a slump before, but I got my swing back.”
Klimkowski was stellar throughout. One week after giving up four early runs against Connecticut in the Metro Regional championship, he rebounded to strike out two in the first inning and another in the second.
Little League World Series 2026: Bayonne infielder Gabe Garcia Jr. catches a fly ball against Mid-Atlantic champion East Side Little League of West Chester, Pa., on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 in Williamsport, Pa. Ralph Wilson | for NJ.com
In the fourth inning, Mid-Atlantic threatened to storm back. After Tapia failed to field a grounder cleanly, Mid-Atlantic’s Patrick Corliss reached base. Leadoff hitter Ryan Donnelly then stroked a ball through the infield. A wild pitch by Klimkowski allowed both runners to advance a base.
But with runners at second and third and two outs, Garcia Jr., the Bayonne shortstop, backhanded a ground ball and threw out the runner at first to end the inning.
Mid-Atlantic put runners at second and third again in the fifth, too, but Klimkowski struck out another batter to get out of the jam.
“Let’s go!” he shouted as teammates rallied around him by the dugout.
Meanwhile, four busloads of fans wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “ Bayonne vs. Everybody ” made the trip from Hudson County for Friday night’s game; many others drove out. “Let’s go, Bayonne!” chants echoed across the Little League International complex before, during and after the game as they waved white towels, shook maroon pom-poms and held up Fatheads with the players’ faces on them.
When Bayonne turned a 5-4-3 double play to end the top of the third inning, supporters erupted, shouting, “De-fense! De-fense!”
Before the bottom of the sixth, Bayonne fans chanted, “Three! More! Outs!”
Klimkowski, who was four pitches from his limit, started the inning by inducing a soft liner that second baseman Owen Felix caught.
Klimkowski’s night was over because it was his 86th pitch, and he removed his cap to acknowledge his parents, as well as the raucous Bayonne crowd.
“All those people took a bus three and a half hours just to come watch us play one game,” Klimkowski said.
Garcia Jr. got the last two outs, and a New Jersey mix of Bon Jovi and Springsteen ballads played in the stadium.
Afterward, Klimkowski’s right shoulder was wrapped with ice as he and his teammates were driven in a white van from the stadium bowels to the giant World Series bracket in the middle of the complex.
Fans watched the players slap their team’s nameplate into the next round as fans chanted their exit off the N.J. Turnpike.
“Fourteen A!” they kept saying. “All the way!”
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Back by their dormitory up a hill from the stadium, players met with their families on a fenced-in field, where security guards checked each visitor’s credentials.
Smith slipped away for a few minutes to catch up with his, too. He maintained that he was still making the off day’s plans.
“Just keep playing Bayonne baseball,” he said. “One at-bat. One pitch. One play. Inning by inning. That’s how we play.”
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