Aiden Van Nostrand had two hits for the OC Titans against Iron Nine in the Boys of Summer.

By Rich Bevensee

They could not have been more different as pitchers, both in stature and approach. But their methods were indisputable. Back and forth they went, throwing zeroes on the scoreboard and refusing to give an inch. 

Tall, hard-throwing lefty Kellen DeSantis of the OC Titans and junk-balling righty Declan Slattery-Mauss of Iron Nine Baseball carried their teams into the sixth inning of a scoreless game. 

Iron Nine blinked first. When Slattery-Mauss reached his pitch count limit and left the game after five innings, the Titans pounced, scoring two unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth and then hanging on for a 2-1 pool play victory in the Boys of Summer Tournament on Sunday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.

DeSantis threw 97 pitches to earn the complete-game decision but had to muddle through his seventh and final inning before earning a two-hit victory. With the Titans leading 2-0, Iron Nine led off the inning by putting the tying runs on base via an infield throwing error and a walk. 

It was time for Titans coach Ed Lamarr to have a chat with his star pitcher.

“I was going to give him time to figure it out,” Lamarr said. “He’d done well to that point and he deserved the opportunity to get out of it. We had somebody ready but it was his game at that point.”

DeSantis, a 6-1, 140-pound rising sophomore at Long Beach High in Lido Beach, Long Island, N.Y., got a nice double play from his second baseman, Aiden Van Nostrand, retired the final batter and finished the game having allowed one unearned run on two hits and four walks. He struck out seven.

“The curveball was really nice, the changeup was right there as well, and the fastball was running, too,” said DeSantis, who stranded three Iron Nine runners in scoring position before allowing an unearned run in the seventh. 

DeSantis said he tried not to pay much attention to the zeroes on the scoreboard but knew his teammates needed him to stay on top of his game because they were struggling offensively against Slattery-Mauss.

“Seeing that (scoreboard) builds the confidence but I kept the same mindset basically,” he said. 

The Titans (2-1 this weekend, 10-13-3 overall) didn’t exactly struggle against Slattery-Mauss as much as they struggled to push baserunners across. They stranded 10 baserunners and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position before Bryce Boccio drove in Jake Vargas with a sacrifice fly for the game’s first run.

Alessandro Del Virginia of Iron Nine dives back to first on a pickoff attempt.

Those statistics weren’t lost on Slattery-Mauss, who enjoyed a level of satisfaction in sending Titans baserunners back to the bench.

“I wanted to compete the same like he (DeSantis) did, try to match his energy and do what he did,” Slattery-Mauss said. “When runners were on base I told myself I have to slow down and remember I have a defense behind me that I can rely on. Just make my pitches to help them get the out.”

Slattery-Mauss, a 5-5, 130-pound rising sophomore at Whippany Park, used his fastball and a horde of changeups and sliders to frustrate Titans batters. 

“I try to work with the slider and change a lot and work for weak contact,” Slattery-Mauss said. “I like to get ahead with the fastball, paint the corner, and then go to my offspeed.”

Slattery-Mauss, who threw 90 pitches, tossed five scoreless innings despite allowing eight hits and one walk. He struck out four. 

Ian Dickey pitched the sixth for Iron Nine and allowed two unearned runs on two hits and a walk. 

“I thought I had a lot less pitches but it ended up being more,” Slattery-Mauss said. “I was sort of running low but I thought I pitched great and I had to leave it up to my teammates to finish.”

For the Titans, Van Nostrand, Boccio and Tyler Donohue each had two hits off Slattery-Mauss. 

Iron Nine scored its only run in the seventh when Victor Giunta led off by reaching on an infield throwing error, advanced to second when Jaxon Williams walked, and scored from third on the doubleplay. 

Iron Nine fell to 0-3 for the weekend and 13-10 overall.