Intensity Baseball’s Jim Gitto delivers to Kareum Skovron-Rasheed of the Tides.
By Rich Bevensee
Brendan Ebert really isn’t trying to look like smart when he’s substituting one player for another during a baseball game. But his Connecticut Tides 15U players know he’s trying to get them all in the game every time out, so they reciprocate by trying to make him look like a genius.
This form of mutual respect was never more evident than on Wednesday morning when Ebert sent four straight pinch-hitters to the plate in the fourth inning of a scoreless game.
All four batters executed their jobs perfectly and the resulting rally led to a 3-0 pool play victory in five innings over Intensity Baseball-Grasso in the 15U Garden State Invitational Powered by Victus at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“When you’re on the bench, you just gotta stay positive and know that Coach is going to put you in at some point and give you a chance,” said Joe Jarzabek, the first pinch-hitter in the fourth inning. “He’s a good coach. I like him. So you stay prepared because he may put you in at any moment. Anything can happen.”
Ryan Champagne, a rising sophomore at Xavier High in Middletown, Conn., threw a three-hit, complete-game shutout for the Tides with no walks, one hit batsman and three strikeouts.
The Tides, hailing from Berlin, Conn., improved to 2-0 later in the day with a 12-4 decision over Dragons AL. On Thursday they were slated to play 5-Star National NY Select and the South Jersey Young Guns.
Intensity, based in Farmingdale, N.J., fell to 0-2 later Wednesday after a 9-2 loss to the Central Jersey Rebels. They were to play RRP Revolution and the South Jersey Young Guns on Thursday.
The Tides were locked in a scoreless game with Intensity going into the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Jarzabek singled into center field. Chris Bowman was the next pinch hitter and he singled sharply to third, where Intensity third baseman Hamilton Anen made a nice play to spear the grounder and keep Jarzabek from scoring.
Pinch-hitter Ty Puzio’s slow infield chopper was enough to score Jarzabek and allow him to reach safely. Anthony Frayler was next and he drove in Bowman with a groundout for a 2-0 Tides lead.
“I enjoy pinch-hitting, honestly,” said Jarzabeck, a rising junior at East Hampton High. “Coach puts you in for a big moment and he does it on purpose. It’s definitely nice to have him as a coach. He has confidence in all his players and doesn’t treat any one guy higher than anyone else. He knows we’re all capable.”
The Tides pinch-hitter Ty Puzio had an infield RBI single in the fourth inning.
Ebert chuckled when asked about coming off as a brilliant strategist thanks to his string of four straight pinch hitters.
“They try to make me look pretty good,” Ebert said. “We always play everybody and everybody deserves an opportunity, and that’s just the way it worked out for us today. We always try to mix and match with pitchers and catchers and defensive alignments and those types of things. It just worked out to be four consecutive guys. But we always get those guys that are here on the field.”
In the top of the fifth, the Tides added an insurance run for Champagne when leadoff hitter Tyler Steinhardt singled up the middle to drive in Mason Fonteyn who drew a two-out walk.
Champagne, who battled intense humidity, allowed just three baserunners to reach scoring position, with Intensity’s best chance to score coming in the bottom of the fifth when Aiden Ciaravino reached third with one out. Champagne stranded him there with a strikeout and groundout.
“Some of the balls were a little wet when I got them back from the umpire,” Champagne said. “It just meant I couldn’t throw too many cutters. Other than that I’ve been getting used to the heat up in Connecticut.”
Champagne, a 6-1, 175-pound righty who pitched five scoreless innings in his previous outing last week, employed his fastball, changeup and cutter to face just four batters over the minimum.
“He filled up the strike zone like he always does,” Ebert said. “He’s been our guy all summer and he showed that again today. His best asset is location. He knows exactly what he wants to do and goes and does it.”
Intensity lefty starter Jim Gitto threw 4⅔ innings and allowed three runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Colin Murphy came on to get the last out of the fifth inning with a strikeout.