BBA second baseman Max Schlossman tosses ball to first baseman Owen Oliver for an out.
By Sean Reilly
Most pitchers will be sure to credit their defense after an excellent performance.
But when Aidan Kaminski praised his Bradley Baseball Academia 16U teammates after a victory on Tuesday afternoon, he most definitely meant it.
“They were unbelievable,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without them. Every single guy on this team made a play. There were so many. And it made me pitch more confidently. It lets you attack batters. Without a solid defense, you have to go for the strike out, and you have to go for painting the corners. Sometimes that leads to more walks. And when you have the confidence where I might be down in the count 2-0, I can go with the fastball and maybe get a ground ball and maybe give up a hard hit but still have a chance to get an out.”
Kaminski surrendered two early runs in the top of the first inning, but that was all he allowed in a 6⅓ innings performance as Virginia-based BBA beat Boston Prime 16U Orange, 3-2, at the Diamond Nation Super 16U World Series.
All of the scoring came in the first inning, as BBA’s first three batters scored in its half of the frame.
Kaminski allowed four hits, with seven strikeouts and five walks. Lance Emery entered after a one-out walk in the top of the seventh, but the runner was thrown out stealing by catcher Jacob Edelman. Emery then got a called third strike to end the game
The throw to second by Edelman, where the runner was out by a step, was the last of a bunch of outstanding plays by the BBA defense.
Consider these examples: Boston Prime had the bases loaded and one out with a run in already in the top of the first. Kyle Nahabedian hit a ball that was caught by a diving Emery in center field. It went for a sacrifice fly, but the damage could have been much worse.
In the top of the fifth, Boston Prime used a single by Matheus Avellino and two walks to load the bases with nobody out.
The next batter hit a fly ball to shallow right field that was corralled by drifting second baseman Max Schlossman for the first out.
The biggest play of the game followed: a fly ball that was caught by left fielder Neik Shariati. The runner on third tried to score, but Shariati threw a seed to Edelman at the plate, who applied the tag for an inning-double play.
Leadoff man Aidan Ryan makes contact for BBA 16U.
“That was crazy,” Kaminski said. “You never want to be in that bases-loaded, nobody out situation, but having a defense you can trust is the only way you can get out of it.”
That wasn’t all.
In the sixth inning, Boston Prime had runners on first and third with one out. With the infield playing in, first baseman Owen Oliver moved back to catch a foul pop. The next batter hit a pop that Schlossman ranged to catch at second base.
Boston Prime took its lead when Jimmy DePalo began the game with a double to center, and Avelino (2-for-3, walk) hit an RBI single to right-center. After a walk and hit-by-pitch, a strikeout was followed by Nahabedian’s sacrifice fly. Kaminski struck out the next batter.
In the bottom of the inning, the first three batters for BBA – Aidan Ryan, Emery and Schlossman — walked. Shariati then singled to left field to score a run, and an error on the play brought in another run for a 2-2 score.
With runners on second and third and one out, J.D. Miller hit a sacrifice fly to left field for what turned out to be the game-winning RBI.
“The offense in the first inning, after giving up two runs, was a game-changer,” Kaminski said. “If we don’t get those runs, we don’t win.”
Isaac Shatsoff allowed three hits while pitching the first five innings for Boston Prime.
BBA is now 2-0 in the tournament after opening with a 4-3 win over the Hudson Valley Bulldogs on Monday.
Even though BBA is from Virginia, their coach is a familiar face around ‘The Nation.’
Chris Nee, the BBA skipper, is a Somerville native who played at Immaculata High School and spent plenty of time at Diamond Nation. He’s currently the head coach at the prestigious Potomac School in Virginia.
“This is fantastic to come back to New Jersey,” he said. “I grew up playing down the street at the old complex. I always try to bring our guys up here. There’s such a high quality level of baseball being played at Diamond Nation, and it’s fun to see how well we stack up.”