Franklin Pichardo of RCS Warpath is greeted by teammates after hitting his first of two HRs.
By Rich Bevensee
While Franklin Pichardo hit the ground running with his bat and throwing arm, it took a little bit longer for Jaden Betz to find the right gear on the mound.
Once both players were in sync, it was just a matter of time before RCS Warpath Baseball 17U assumed control of the ballgame.
Betz overcame a shaky first inning to pitch a one-hit shutout, and Pichardo highlighted a 4-for-4 performance with a walk-off grand slam home run to carry Warpath to a 16-3, four-inning victory over New Jersey Marlins 17U American in the Wood Bat Championship on Sunday morning at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Warpath, representing Russ Canzler Sports in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, is 3-0 this weekend after wins over the Marlins and Morris County Cubs (5-0), and a forfeit victory.
The Marlins were 1-1 and awaiting a later game against the Cubs.
The top five Wood Bat teams advance to the Columbus Day Showcase on Oct. 14 at Diamond Nation.
Pichardo, a 6-1, 205-pound catcher and Maryland commit, began his morning with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to get his team on the board after Warpath spotted the Marlins a 3-0 lead.
Jason Stewart breaks for second base for RCS Warpath.
In the third inning Pichardo sent a rocket over the left field fence for a two-run home run which gave his team a 4-3 lead.
“You know when you’re pretty sure that thing is gone. You know by the sound,” Pichardo said. “When I get up there I’m trying to stay close and hit the ball to the right center field gap. All the time. It works.”
Pichardo batted twice in Warpath’s 10-run fourth. He ripped an RBI single to left field his first time up. He came up again with the bases loaded and two out with his team needing one more run to end the game via the 10-run mercy rule. He promptly blasted a no-doubt-about-it grand slam over the left field netting.
“Power, that’s my tool,” said Pichardo, a senior at Liberty High in Bethlehem, Pa., who racked up his sixth and seventh homers of the fall. He hit four this summer after hitting just one during the high school season this past spring.
“Next year will be different. Trust me,” Pichardo said.
From behind the plate, the strong-armed Pichardo picked off a runner at first without leaving his knees in the top of the fourth.
“He’s a beast,” Warpath coach Jim Tanner said of Pichardo. “He controls the running game. As you can see you can’t take a lead with him back there. And he’s a great teammate. The kids love him. They rally around him. And he understands the game and calls a good game. He’s not just a big stick.”
Betz, a junior righty from Emmaus High in Emmaus, Pa., endured an inauspicious start before righting his ship. He walked five of the first six batters he faced and surrendered three runs without allowing a hit.
“The first inning is usually Jaden’s roughest. I think we gotta’ heat him up a little bit more in the bullpen, but he settled in,” said Tanner, who suggested Betz may have been feeling pressure to impress scouts from Fairleigh Dickinson and Clarion who were at ‘The Nation’ to watch him.
“I don’t think I felt any nerves coming into the game,” Betz said. “I feel like I just lost it. It happens. I had to adjust from there.”
He certainly did. Primarily using his 80-mph fastball, the 6-1 Betz allowed one hit and two walks over the next three innings and he stranded three runners in scoring position while his teammates began to pile on the runs.
“It feels so much better now. I feel great,” Betz said. “It felt like I couldn’t get a ball over the plate. It was frustrating. Coming back in the second inning, I found a way to make adjustments and it felt a lot better. On the mound I tried to get back and over the top more, and keep myself straight to the plate. I may have been rushing. Earlier I felt I was out over my body, instead of staying straight.”
Betz’ trouble began when he loaded the bases with walked batters and Patrick Mackie drove in a run with a groundout. Ryan Dietrich took home on a wild pitch and Justin Fabricator added another RBI groundout for a 3-0 Marlins lead.
From there, Warpath inched back into the ballgame. In the bottom of the first, Pichardo slapped his RBI base hit through the left side.
In the second, leadoff hitter Logan Hearity sent a base hit back up the middle to score Dylan Domzalski, drawing Warpath within a run.
In the third, Pichardo launched the first of his two home runs, a two-run shot to give Warpath a 4-3 lead. Chris Graff added an RBI double to left center and Betz helped his cause with a sacrifice fly for a 6-3 Warpath lead.
Warpath sent 12 batters to the plate in the 10-run fourth. Pichardo singled to score Bobby Ehrmann. Jason Stewart cranked an RBI double. Alex Hisem knocked an opposite-field single into right to score a run. With the bases loaded and Graff at third, Domzalski hit into a fielder’s choice and it appeared Graff would be out at home but a throwing error allowed him to score.
Ehrmann shot a two-run single into center, and Mason Ligenza walked to reload the bases. Then Pichardo crushed his grand slam to end the game.