By Sean Reilly
J.J. Villanueva was the 12th man in a 12-batter lineup for the Diamond Jacks Super 12U in the championship game of the 12U August Showdown on Sunday afternoon at Diamond Nation.
As he was waiting his first turn to hit, his team happened to be having offensive success against its opponent, Grit Silver 12U.
When the time ultimately came, the DJacks had already scored four runs, and had runners on first and third with one out in the top of the second.
Villanueva was ready to pounce, and he delivered an RBI double, which helped pave the way for five more runs to score in the inning.
When Villanueva came to the plate again, this time with the bases loaded and one out in the third again, he was again eager to deliver.
The outcome of that at-bat was a grand slam, which was the ultimate blow in a 15-1 championship victory for the DJacks in Flemington.
“On the double, I was thinking gap-to-gap, and I was feeling that I could do it because we had been hitting,” Villanueva said. “There wasn’t pressure on me, because the team had been doing it and we were up.”
His 2-for-2, five RBI performance was part of a nine-hit showing by the DJacks, who ended the tournament 5-0 with a 46-13 run differential. The team is now 46-10 in 2025.
The DJacks scored twice in the first inning, and nine times in the second before Villanueva hit his grand slam in third to complete the three-inning win.
The DJacks got a solo home run to left-center from Henry Schaubman with one out in the first, and Nick Penna homered to straightaway center with two out in the frame.
Grit 12U Silver scored its run in the bottom of the first. Trevor Fontana led off and was hit by a pitch and came around to score when Ryan Bruno reached on an error.
The DJacks blew the game open after the huge second inning, in which 13 batters came to the plate.
Chase Samuelson led off with a walk, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored as Brycen Davis singled to left. After a groundout, Max Bussin walked, and Richie Adamczyk reached on an error to score a run and leave runners on first and third.
J.J. Villanueva was 2-for-2 with an RBI double and grand slam for the DJacks Super 12U.
It was then Villanueva’s turn, and his double to left brought in Bussin for a 5-1 advantage.
Leadoff man Noah Komline hit an RBI single to center, and Schaubman walked to load the bases. After a strikeout, Penna and Luka Manfredi drew bases-loaded walks for an 8-1 score. Alex Wheeler then hit a ball which fell between the right and center fielders for a three-run triple.
In the third inning, two walks and a single from Cooper Ralston resulted in Villanueva batting with the bases loaded and one out.
With a 2-2 count, he sent a pitch over the fence in left field for a grand slam.
“There was no pressure there,” he said. “I felt it going right off the bat.”
Penna pitched all three innings for the DJacks, allowing two hits. Aside from Villanueva, Komline (2-for-3) also finished with multiple hits.
The win was the third of the day for the DJacks, who began Sunday with a 9-2 pool play win over NY Prospects 12U before defeating the Connecticut Wolfpack 12U Black, 11-2, in the playoff semifinals.
While the coaches selected the entire team for the MVP award, top hitters over the weekend included Komline (5-for-12) and Manfredi (5-for-7).