New Orleans Boosters advance to AAABA semifinals with Thursday’s 1-0 win over New Brunswick

JOHNSTOWN, Penn. – Connor Achee and Kaile Levatino combined for a three hit shutout while Giovanni Licciardi’s solo home run lifted the New Orleans Boosters to a 1-0 win Thursday over New Brunswick in the quarterfinal round of the AAABA National Tournament.

The Boosters’ sole run came on a two out blast by Licciardi in the fifth.

Achee pitched seven complete innings and held the Matrix to only two hits behind a stellar defensive performance by the Boosters. Levatino closed the game’s final two innings to earn the save and complete the shutout, eliminating New Brunswick from the tournament.

New Brunswick’s Jake Marciano and Joe Carrea combined to allow only four Booster hits in the contest.

With the win, New Orleans will advance to the tournament’s semifinals, set to face Johnstown-Martella’s Friday in a rematch of Wednesday’s final game of the pool play round. The winner will advance to the tournament’s championship game on Saturday. Games will be live streamed on facebook.com/neworleansboosters and updates on Twitter @nolaboosters.

The New Orleans franchise is defending its 2022 AAABA Title, the franchise’s third straight AAABA crown and eighteenth overall title. This summer marks the 77th anniversary of New Orleans’ first AAABA tournament appearance in 1946.