Mason Roman ropes an RBI single to center to fuel a 10-run second inning for Whitehouse Post 284.
By Rich Bevensee
Matty Dalfonzo is the sole remaining link between the team which made history for Whitehouse Post 284 this summer and the team which must now learn how to play up to Whitehouse standards.
Dalfanzo thinks he’s up to the challenge.
“This is my third fall with the team and I’ve never been that leader,” Dalfonzo said. “I do like the idea of being a leader. I know the system better than anybody. I bought into this team and I have what it takes to pass it down.”
Dalfonzo, a senior at Hunterdon Central, was reflecting on his new job immediately after his Whitehouse team trounced the Top Corner Sports Blackhawks, 15-4, on Opening Night of the Diamond Nation High School Fall League, Tuesday in Flemington.
Dalfonzo, who went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and three runs scored from his No. 2 slot in the order, said he wasn’t sure if it was his responsibility to tell his new teammates that just because Whitehouse reached the American Legion World Series for the first time in program history meant that the new roster will enjoy the same measure of success.
That explanation may be veteran coach Steve Farsiou’s job. Farsiou has been at the Whitehouse helm since 2008 and has amassed a 611-90-2 record in that time. (Whitehouse Post 159 dissolved in 2018 and the team became Whitehouse Post 284.)
“I can already tell that these guys want to play,” Farsiou said.
“We had a bunch of years where we couldn’t coach them hard. They’d get offended and I was like, ‘I’m trying to get you better.’ Some years the guys would put the uniform on and think, ‘All right, I’m going to be this great player.’ But these guys are different. We’ll find out. They seem to be a really good group. We’ve become nationally known and I hope the kids see that and understand they have to work harder.”
In all the years Farsiou has helmed Whitehouse, he said this summer’s group may have been the most cohesive.
Beginning with the district tournament, Whitehouse ran off 10 straight victories to reach the World Series in Shelby, N.C. Some of those wins came via the mercy rule and some of them required a major come-from-behind effort.
Through all of it, the team showed a measure of resilience that reflected how much they cared about each other, Farsiou said.
“There was a sense of calm throughout the entire process,” Farsiou said. “It was weird. At state, Brooklawn, which has had success against us, had to beat us twice. We went down, 2-0, and everyone was like, ‘Here we go.’ At regionals we were down 6-0 to Delaware. Same thing. You didn’t even have to say anything, the guys just responded.”
“All the bats were pretty hot, we had so many good pitchers and so much depth, so everyone was locked in,” said Mike Novotny, a recent Gov. Livingston graduate and former Diamond Jack who is now a freshman playing for Division 1 UMass. “We definitely had a lot of resilience. “Everyone knew that we could string it together. Everyone had the same mindset. I think it goes back to everyone being so close.”
The march to the World Series began with a 3-0 run through the district tournament in Whitehouse. Post 284 defeated Hightstown Post 148 (12-2), Phillipsburg (9-4) and Lawrence Post 414 (21-3) to earn a berth in the state tournament at Kean University in Union.
At state, Whitehouse knocked off North Hamilton, 3-1, and then defeated Brooklawn Red Post in back-to-back contests in the double elimination tournament, 6-4 and 15-3, to keep marching to the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Worcester, Mass.
Whitehouse continued its undefeated playoff run in Worcester, knocking off Pittston, Pa., 11-3, and Kingston/Saugerties, N.Y., 11-0, to reach the semifinals. Whitehouse survived two terrific battles with Dover, Del., 9-8 and 13-8, to capture the championship and earn the program’s first ever berth in the American Legion World Series.
“It was something special,” Dalfonzo said. “I’ve been on the team for two years and this year was different. Everyone bought in, all through the lineup. Everyone was doing what we needed to do to win. And we came through in the clutch a lot of times. We felt like after we won the state tournament there was no stopping us. It was honestly something I’ve never experienced with a team before. I have never had so much confidence in one team in my whole life.”
Andrew Stojanoski leads off first base for the TCS Blackhawks.
Unfortunately for Whitehouse, the team would make the trip to nationals without three starters – Novotny and fellow Gov. Livingston graduate Mike Basile (Lehigh), and Immaculata graduate Jackson Lewis (Scranton). Basile was battling back issues and Lewis had an ankle injury.
Novotny was a different story. He underwent brain surgery in March – surgeons removed a piece of his skull from the back of his head – to relieve pressure due to a congenital condition called Chiari malformation.
He missed most of the high school season, and then, remarkably, he returned in time to play in the NJSIAA Group 2 state semifinals and state final in June.
In mid-August Novotny was experiencing more of the same symptoms that he experienced before the surgery – dizziness, stiffness, lack of clarity – so he sat out the regional final and stayed home during the World Series. Before he left the team, Novotny had a three-run home run in his last game to fuel the comeback against Delaware.
“I was getting minor symptoms again and I wanted to be ready for fall ball (at UMass), just trying to be cautious and lay low,” Novotny said. “With all that we accomplished this summer and knowing how good we were, it was tough watching them on TV. But Jackson was on the bench during the World Series giving me updates.”
In North Carolina, Whitehouse bowed in its first game to Tupelo, Miss., 10-4. Kellan Komline, another former Diamond Jack and a Bridgewater-Raritan graduate now at Babson, hit a game-winning solo homer in the sixth inning to lift Whitehouse past Fairfield, Cal., 3-2.
Whitehouse was knocked out of the tournament in its next game, 4-2, by Carpet Land Post 500 of Lincoln, Neb., the eventual national champion. Nebraska defeated Portland, Ore., 9-6, in the final.
“My teammates here at school were talking about American Legion ball and how it’s some of the most fun, competitive baseball you’ll ever play,” Novotny said. “Coming from a successful program at GL, the Whitehouse team had the same vibe. We went into games knowing we could win.”
Farsiou had a pretty good feeling about this team well before it began its tournament run, when Whitehouse went 5-1 and captured the tournament title at the Firecracker Sports Fourth of July Showcase in Providence, R.I.
“We go every year, and when we left there I thought this was a team which could go far,” Farsiou said.
Time will tell if the new edition of Whitehouse players will enjoy the same level of success as those who played in 2026, but one thing is for sure. Dalfonzo, Farsiou and former Hunterdon Central star and current assistant coach Luke Longo will make sure the tradition of hard work will continue.
“I think Matty will bring a level of leadership that shows what it means to play for us,” Farsiou said.
Dalfonzo said that for him, the best way he can send a message is by example.
“What I’ve learned is to run everywhere,” Dalfonzo said. “My game is speed. That’s what I thrive on. So if I’m running everywhere. I’m gonna bring the energy and it’s just gonna follow.”
In the Fall League game against the Blackhawks, Dalfonzo had plenty of teammates who provided offensive support.
Luke Schenkel went 2-for-2 with a triple, a walk and two RBI.
Nico West was 2-for-2 with a double, two walks and an RBI. Jackson Crimaldi singled, walked and drove in three runs. Brett Ott had a two-run double, Brady Sponzo added a two-run single and both Mason Roman and Joey Tedesco each had an RBI single.