Garrett Garlits charges around third en route to scoring for the Diamond Jacks.

By Rich Bevensee

Not only do coaches of young ball players have to be solid technicians to help their charges understand the basic elements of the game, they have to be expert motivators as well, since emotions can have such a huge impact on their level of play.

Easley De La Cruz watched his 5-Star National Metro 12U squad spot Diamond Jacks Super 12U six runs and then hang around long enough to claw back into the game.

“Sometimes young kids get overwhelmed when they see a big number, but I told them we have to stick to the process, one batter at a time, and that’s what they did,” De La Cruz said. 

When Detto Annoscia doubled down the third base line in the bottom of the fourth inning, it drove in Ethan McGlarkner from second with the tying run and helped 5-Star salvage a 6-6 tie with the Diamond Jacks in Fall Harvest pool play on Saturday afternoon at Diamond Nation in Flemington. 

5-Star (0-1-1) trailed 6-0 after the Diamond Jacks (1-0-1) scored four runs in the top of the third. But 5-Star righty reliever Sebastian Garcia held the Diamond Jacks to one hit and one walk while pitching two scoreless innings. 

“We jumped out to a 6-0 lead against a team we’ve beaten before and we kind of went through the motions after that,” Diamond Jacks coach Jairo Labrador said. “We definitely let off the gas. There were plays on defense that should have been made, and our offensive approach was affected by our defense. We’re usually a sound defensive team and today we weren’t as sound as we’re used to.”

In the bottom of the third, Annoscia swatted a two-run home run over the left field fence to get 5-Star on the board. 

5-Star literally doubled down in the bottom of the fourth. A two-run double by Ryan Simmons and consecutive RBI doubles by McGlarkner and Annoscia at the top of the order tied the game.

De La Cruz said he probably didn’t need to say anything to his players because he was confident they would stage a comeback. 

“These kids are gamers. They like to win,” De La Cruz said. “Me being here, I’m just guiding them.”

“Give them credit, they found some barrels, and when you let a team hang around, momentum makes you find barrels,” Labrador said. “You could just tell their swings were confident.”

Diamond Jacks righty Luka Manfredi, the team’s third pitcher of the game who came on in relief in fourth, helped his team preserve a tie by twice stranding the potential winning run in scoring position.

Detto Annoscia homered, doubled and drove in three runs for 5-Star.

Manfredi’s first batter was Annoscia, who had the game-tying, two-out double. Manfredi stranded Annoscia there with a fly out.

With the 1-hour, 50-minute game clock winding down in the bottom of the fifth, 5-Star was threatening to steal a victory when Royce Bosolet doubled to right and stole third with one out. Manfredi got a strikeout and fly out to strand Bosolet and end the game.

“For Luka to come on with a runner on third and shut the door, that was big because the tie still gets us a shot at the championship,” Labrador said. 

The Diamond Jacks claimed a 6-0 lead with two runs in the second and a four-spot in the third.

Diamond Jacks starter Billy Sautter helped his cause with a two-run double in the second to open the scoring. 

In the third, No. 12 hitter Chase Samuelson doubled and scored on a wild pitch, and leadoff hitter Noah Komline (who provided terrific defense at shortstop) scored on a wild pitch soon after Samuelson did. 

Nicholas Penna kept the rally going with an opposite-field, RBI double to left, and Garrett Garlits added an RBI single to cap the rally. 

After allowing two runs on three hits through 2⅔ innings, Sautter was lifted for Alex Wheeler in the bottom of the third when the lefty was struck on the knee by a Bosolet line drive. 

Wheeler lasted an inning and yielded four runs on three hits and one walk with one strikeout. Manfredi pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings while allowing three hits and no walks.

5-Star starter Dom Suriano allowed six runs (five earned) on four hits and four walks through three innings.