FTB Falcons Scout third baseman Jalen David makes long throw across the diamond for an out.
By Sean Reilly
Andrew Smith had a goal for his summer season.
The right-handed pitcher obviously wanted to perform well, but he also sought to improve his game, preferably by adding an additional pitch to his repertoire.
“I’ve been pitching a lot and learning a lot,” he said. “I started to learn a cutter, which is good. I have a fastball and a slider, a slurve almost. I use a cutter now, and that helps, because I can give a hitter three speeds instead of two. I’m trying to learn from every game.”
His new pitch, along with the other two, were on display on Tuesday afternoon at Diamond Nation, when his FTB Falcons Scout team faced the OOTP Cyclones 17U Prospects at the 17U Super Top 25 Showcase, Powered by Construction Risk Partners, in Flemington.
The result was a rare seven-inning complete-game shutout. He pitched a two-hitter, with five strikeouts and one walk, as the FTB Falcons won, 4-0.
Cole Guy was the hitting star for the New York team, going 2-for-3 with three RBI.
The 14-team field consists of teams that qualified on the basis of their play in tournaments earlier this season at ‘The Nation.’
The FTB Falcons had another game immediately after, and defeated PS2 Academy, 6-2, to qualify for the four-team playoffs on Wednesday.
Andrew Smith allowed two hits over seven innings to earn the shutout win for FTB Falcons Scout.
The FTB Falcons scored once in the first inning and three times in the third while beating the OOTP Cyclones.
The FTB Falcons opened the bottom of the first with a single to left field by Ernesto Ortiz, who finished 2-for-3. He stole second, and scored on a two-out single to center by Guy.
Ortiz also led off in the third, and singled to third base. He stole second before Abel Ortiz walked. After an out, Guy hit a two-run triple to left-center. Joseph Banks walked, and Miguel Reich hit a fly ball that the right-fielder lost in the sun. The resulting single scored Guy for the 4-0 score.
Smith, meanwhile, was in control on the mound. He allowed a two-out single to Colin Kassai in the fourth and a leadoff single to Joe LaRosa in the seventh. LaRosa also drew the Green Brook, N.J. team’s only walk in his prior at-bat.
“Everything was firing,” said Smith, whose performance came in front of a number of interested college coaches. “I was using the off-speed well and getting people out early in counts. When you do that, good things can happen.”