Jared Volpe ripped an RBI double for the Garden State Naturals.
By Rich Bevensee
There is something innate about pitchers who are successful in responding to pressure, focusing on the batter and keeping damage to a minimum when runners are circling the bases.
Sometimes the answer is as simple as a shrug, because the response to pressure can’t be put into words.
“I just trust my guys and gotta’ throw strikes and have faith in them to make plays behind me,” said Garden State Naturals righthander Connor Hayeck, who pitched out of trouble in two of the four innings he worked on Wednesday morning.
Thanks in part to Hayeck’s success, the Naturals hung on for a 4-3 victory over 3Up3Down White in the 16U Northeast Championship at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Naturals teammate Jonny Maro, another righty, wiggled out of a major jam in the bottom of the seventh when 3Up3Down’s Jayce Oliver roped a one-out triple into the right-center field gap.
Maro got Daniel Shuta to fly to shallow center without Oliver tagging up, and he got Tyler Copestakes to pop out.
“I’m trying not to miss my spot and keep throwing strikes,” Maro said. “I’ve been in that situation multiple times. I always stay composed.”
Jesse Willi singled, drove in a run and scored for 3Up3Down White.
The Naturals improved to 2-0-1 in pool play with one game remaining, against Blue Knights Baseball Club on Thursday. Garden State defeated USA Prime Northeast Gold, 5-1, and tied the Out Of The Park Cyclones Prospects, 5-5.
The loss dropped 3Up3Down to 1-2. They lost to the Cyclones, 7-2, and defeated the Blue Knights, 3-1.
The Naturals jumped to a 3-0 lead through the first two innings while Hayeck avoided a minor scare in the first. Matthew Woram doubled but was thrown out at third on a grounder, and Jesse Willi’s courtesy runner, Woram, was left stranded at second.
Garden State built its 3-0 lead with a Jared Volpe RBI double and a Maro RBI single in the first, and a Luke Jones RBI triple in the second.
Hayeck, a rising 6-foot, 180 pound junior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High, retired the side in order in the second and third innings, but was back in danger in the fourth, allowing a pair of runs on a Zander Westwood RBI single and a Chase Reilly sacrifice fly. But Hayeck stranded another 3Up3Down runner at second with a groundout.
Walter Christian entered to pitch for the Naturals in the fifth and allowed one run on one hit and three walks in 1⅔ innings. With the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the sixth, Maro came on to relieve and got a groundout. Christian and Maro are both rising seniors at St. Joseph of Metuchen.
The Garden State pitchers may have an edge on most club teams because of the Naturals’ coaching staff, which includes former major leaguers Ralph Citarella and Rob Lukachyk.
“We got out to an early lead and held on,” Naturals coach Jerry Riporti said. “The three guys, Connor, Walter and Jonny all did a good job. Walter’s new to the mound so it’s always a bit of an adventure with him. So it was a good team win today. And we have Ralph Citarella and Rob Lukachyk, both former Major Leaguers, as pitching coaches. Without them on the staff, where would I be?”
A key moment for the Naturals came in the top of the sixth when Jagger Golden laid down a textbook sacrifice bunt to advance Jones to third and Mike D’Antuono to second with no out. Hayeck then grounded out to short to drive in the all-important insurance run for a 4-2 lead.
3Up3Down got back to within a run in the bottom half when Ethan Ramos reached on a throwing error, advanced to third on a Brady Majeski single, and eventually scored on a one-out groundout by Willi.
Citarella played for the Cardinals in 1983 and ‘84 and the White Sox in 1987. Lukachyk played for the Montreal Expos in 1996.