Elijah Barr of Sandlot hit a monstrous homer to highlight his team’s 11-hit attack.
By Rich Bevensee
There are two players on the Sandlot Baseball Academy-Cwalinski ballclub which have college and pro scouts drooling over their present ability and future potential.
But the truth of the matter is from top to bottom, the entire lineup can really sting the ball – and the opposition.
Nick Mills and Elijah Barr, Sandlot’s two best hitters, belted no-doubt-about-it, eye-popping homers in a 9-1 victory over Team Steel 2026 Scout in the Diamond Nation Super 16 World Series on Wednesday at the Nation in Flemington.
“They’re going to get attention, so I tell them to just play their game,” Cwalinski said.
Sandlot, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, completed its World Series week 4-0 to clinch a top five finish in the 40-team field and earn a spot in the Super 16 Top 25 Showcase Aug. 12-15.
Just as impressive as Sandlot’s two big guns going yard was No. 2 hitter Dom Zangardi also hitting a laser beam homer and the bottom half of the lineup accounting for five of the team’s 11 hits and four of its eight RBIs.
“You can’t sleep on our lineup,” Sandlot coach Frank Cwalinski said. “There’s not a soft spot. That’s the good thing about us. That’s why we put up the runs we put up. Everyone wants the next guy up, which works out great for us.”
Mills socked a towering two-run home run, his second of the summer. Barr went 2-for-3 with his fourth longball of the summer, an estimated 425-foot home run which landed in the adjacent field at the Nation. Zangardi, a rising junior at Dallas High, went 2-for-3 with a solo homer, his first of the summer.
Also for Sandlot, Bobby Ehrmann had two hits including an RBI double. Jordan Andino doubled and drove in two runs, and Johnny Petroski had two hits.
Barr and Mills have generated tremendous interest from scouts yet both are only rising juniors – Barr at Pittston Area High in Yatesville, Pa., and Mills at Mid Valley High in Throop, Pa.
The early attention does not seem to have fazed either player.
“I’m always excited about the attention but I try not to show it,” said Barr, a 6-6, 228-pound right-handed hitter who leads the team in average and homers.
As imposing a figure as Barr is at the plate, he believes his best chance to reach the next level – and that very well could mean the Major League Baseball Draft – could be as a pitcher. Two weeks ago he reached 93 mph on the radar gun in a Perfect Game tournament in Hershey, Pa. He has a five-pitch arsenal – four- and two-seam fastballs, a curveball, changeup and cutter.
On Tuesday Barr pitched four shutout innings against the Connecticut Whalers. He surrendered one hit and struck out eight while his fastball ticked 90.
Cwalinski said the San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays have made visits to watch Barr. And Barr knows others are watching him.
“There’s always one person on the other team talking when you’re playing,” Barr said. “You have to block it out. They’re trying to make you mad and you have to stay calm. Sometimes it gets to you but you can never show it.”
Dom Zangardi hit his first homer of the summer for Sandlot Baseball.
Mills, a 6-foot, 200-pound third baseman with big shoulders and a short, compact swing, seems to have adopted the same approach as Barr:
Keep doing what you’re doing and avoid listening to the outside noise.
“I just push everything aside and try to go with the mentality and confidence of keep doing what I’m doing,” Mills said. “I don’t try to be better than everyone. I just try to do what I can do. I’m very good at pushing things aside so I can be myself and play baseball.”
Cody Quaglia pitched four innings of one-run ball for Sandlot, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out six. Zangardi pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning with two strikeouts.
Before beating Team Steel, Sandlot dispatched FS Prime 2026, 5-3, Hustle Baseball, 8-5, and the Whalers, 7-0.
Team Steel, based in Long Island, N.Y., finished the week 2-1-1. It tied Complete Game Academy, 4-4, defeated Hustle Baseball, 8-1, and FS Prime, 2026 5-1.
For Team Steel, Mike Smar had an RBI double while Lucas Patton and Colton Sissler both singled. Ryan Dalton surrendered five runs in three innings on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts. In two innings of relief Liam McGinness yielded four runs on five hits and two walks.