The 9ers’ Tyler Garbooshian is tagged out at home by Wow Factor catcher Gabriel Whitney.
By Rich Bevensee
It’s not the spotlight Brady Jackson craves. He yearns to be involved in the clutch moments of a baseball game, to be the man getting the job done. It’s only natural that the spotlight is brightest in those moments.
Soon after another Jackson – 9ers 17U Prime right-hander Jackson Redmond – escaped a jam in the bottom of the sixth to preserve a tie, Brady Jackson took his turn on the hot seat.
With two out in the top of the seventh inning and two men on, Jackson roped a double to left to score both runners and ultimately propel his team to a 3-2 pool play victory over Wow Factor Northeast 17U National in the Super Top 25 Showcase on Tuesday evening at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“Getting the job done made me feel amazing,” Jackson said. “I know if we lost that game or we tied, we’re not coming back (for the playoffs). I don’t want anyone in that box besides me.”
Later on Tuesday, the 9ers slipped past the Out Of The Park Cyclones Prospects, 2-1, and clinched a spot in the 17U four-team playoff as one of four teams to finish pool play at 2-0.
In the semifinals on Wednesday, third-seeded Hamilton A’s Nation will face second-seeded Amaro Sports at 12:15 p.m., and the fourth-seeded 9ers will take on the top-seeded PA Rebels 2026 at 2:15 p.m. The championship game is slated for 4:30 p.m.
Brady Jackson, a rising senior at St. Augustine Prep in Richland, N.J. and an Old Dominion commit, had his fingerprints all over this game.
“He’s a game changer,” Hamman said of Jackson. “He brings a different energy level to the team.”
In the bottom of the third inning, Jackson, the 9ers shortstop, made a diving stab of a Gabriel Whitney ground ball in the hole, got to his feet and threw him out while preventing a run from scoring.
In the top of the sixth with the 9ers trailing, 1-0, Jackson led off the inning with a walk, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and stole home on a passed ball to score the tying run.
In the next inning, Jared Matejicka and Mason Patience earned back-to-back walks before Jackson came to the plate with two outs.
“I love Brady, he’s a competitor,” Redmond said. “In that last inning he was ready to go. He was getting fired up and I knew he was going to get a pitch and he was going to drive it. He said, ‘I’m going up there and getting this one.’”
Jackson took a fastball from Wow Factor lefty Sean Walsh before sitting on a curveball and slapping it into the left field corner for a game-winning, two-run double.
9ers pitcher Jackson Redmond is greeted by coach Cory Hamman after escaping a sixth-inning jam.
“Before my last at bat I was in the dugout and I told Jackson, ‘I’m gonna get a hit right here. Game’s over.’ I went up there with that mentality and I got it done,” Jackson said. “I was sitting fastball because it wasn’t fast, so I can adjust pretty easily. I was a little out in front but I got my barrel to it good and hit it pretty hard.”
Redmond, a rising 6-5 Freehold Township senior and a Seton Hall commit, struck out 10 in a complete game effort with 99 pitches. He allowed two runs on seven hits and no walks by mixing his fastball with sliders and changeups.
Redmond stranded four runners in scoring position, and escaped a bases-loaded, two out jam in the fourth with a strikeout.
Redmond’s biggest moment came in the bottom of the sixth when Wow Factor leadoff man Robert Hubbard hit a one-out, stand-up double in a 1-1 game. After Redmond got a fly out and a strikeout looking to end the inning, he pumped both fists on the mound, then came to the dugout steps where coach Cory Hamman greeted him.
“How do you feel?” Hamman asked Redmond.
“I feel great!” Redmond shouted.
Although Redmond’s pitch count was high at that point, Hamman said there was no doubt about leaving him in the game. Redmond’s emphatic answer clinched the decision.
“He’s a gamer,” Hamman said. “He’s a guy who throws strikes and you always know what you’re gonna get out of him. He’s done for the rest of the summer – we knew he’s got about four weeks off – so taking him out of the game would have been hard.”
Redmond’s fastball certainly was an indication he wasn’t tiring. He threw his first one at 82 mph and his fastball in the seventh clicked at 79.
“All summer I’ve been going deep into games,” Redmond said. “I would say I have the most innings on the team, so I was ready to just go out there and do the job. I don’t really get tired so I was ready to throw hard.”
Wow Factor created a little drama in the bottom of the seventh when Junzen Sarza led off with a double and scored later on a Chris Kim sacrifice fly, cutting the 9ers lead to one run.
That’s where the drama ended. 9ers third baseman Jake Wagner made an acrobatic catch in foul territory for the second out and Redmond struck out the final batter.
Wow Factor starter Michael Newman, a 6-1 righthander and rising senior at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Maryland, threw four shutout innings and allowed three hits and no walks and struck out one.
Michael Kang pitched 1⅓ innings and surrendered a run on one hit and two walks. Robert Hubbard pitched two-thirds of an inning and did not permit a run while giving up two walks and striking out one. Walsh pitched the final inning and yielded two runs on two hits and one walk with one strikeout.