By Sean Reilly
Many players visit Diamond Nation dozens of times over the years, achieve success, gain lasting memories and have an all-around good time playing a sport that they love.
Nevertheless, given the high level of talent that’s always on display, only a small percentage are fortunate enough to ever earn a tournament Most Valuable Player award.
And then there’s someone like Cam Henderson.
Henderson made his first-ever visit to ‘The Nation’ over the weekend to play with his Bucks County Clippers team in the 11U Grand Slam, Powered by Kessler Rehab.
He not only went home with a first-place medal, but a tournament MVP award as well, after the Clippers gained an impressive 12-7 victory over the powerful Diamond Jacks Super 11U in the final on Sunday afternoon in Flemington.
Henderson was 1-for-2 with a walk, along with two RBI in the win. He was also the starting pitcher, and allowed two hits and two earned runs over his three-inning stint that ended with the Clippers ahead, 10-3.
The Clippers ended the tournament 4-0 with a 37-18 run differential. The championship run began with a 7-1 pool win over the same DJacks team on Friday night.
The 11U fall season is an opportunity for players to learn, since the distance between bases gets extended and other new rules come into play. Most of those involve baserunning, which also introduces things like balks and pickoff plays for the defense. There’s a lot to absorb, but the Clippers have clearly thrived with a 9-2 overall record thus far.
Henderson went 3-for-8 in the tournament, and also pitched the first three innings in the Friday win over the DJacks, allowing one run on three hits.
“It feels really good,” Henderson said. “I’ve been playing good, getting hits and pitching well. This is my first time here, and it’s really nice. We got to play on nice fields, and it’s a great feeling to get the MVP. Our team had a lot of energy the entire time. We were trying to win every inning.”
The DJacks certainly won’t disagree, even after taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the second after Lucas Julian walked with one out, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a ground out and then scored when Jordan Fleischer singled into left field.
The Clippers, however, erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the second.
Alesso Fernandez led off with a walk, and after a strikeout, Matt Adams walked and Colton Grant singled to center to load the bases. Bryce Murray tied the game with an RBI single to right, and after another strikeout, Kellan Fetch walked on a full count to score Adams for a 2-1 lead.
Cam Henderson of the Bucks County Clippers was named 11U Gold Grand Slam MVP.
Lucas Telson, the 12th man in the batting order, hit a hard two-run single to left and took second on a throw. Leadoff man Levi Moyer hit a one-run single to right and Henderson added an RBI single to left for a 6-1 lead.
Andrew Davidson was up next, and walked on a full count. The fourth ball also went for a run-scoring wild pitch. Meanwhile, Davidson continued on a straight path toward second. As the DJacks then focused on getting him as he jogged toward second, Henderson made a successful dash home for the eighth run of the inning.
The DJacks got two runs back in the third. Chris D’Urso reached on a leadoff walk and later scored on a ground out from John Lyons. Michael Botti walked, and would later score on a wild pitch.
The Clippers extended the lead to 10-3 in the bottom of the third. Drew Ketterer led off with a walk, and Fernandez doubled him to third. Chase Roller hit an RBI single to left, and with runners now on first and third, a double steal scored Fernandez.
The DJacks scored once in the fourth, with Evan Pfitzenmayer hitting a one-out double to right-center before scoring when Sebastian Perez singled to right with two out.
The Clippers, who scored in 13 of 18 innings throughout the tournament, scored twice more in the fourth.
Fetch led off with a walk, and beat a throw to second when Telson was safe on a fielder’s choice grounder to third. Moyer hit a single to left to load the bases. Henderson hit an RBI fielder’s choice to center field when Moyer was forced out at second. Telson scored on a wild pitch for a 12-4 lead.
The game was likely to end in the fifth, either by the mercy rule or the expiration of the 1:50 play clock. The DJacks avoided the mercy ending, but the clock did expire during a three-run comeback bid.
Lyons walked with one out and Brady Jezorwski singled to center before Scott Tiger hit an RBI grounds rule double to right center. Julian followed with a two-run double to center. Clippers third baseman Fernandez then made the best defensive play of the game by stopping a smash from Pfitzenmayer and throwing him out at first while the runner was forced to remain at second. A strikeout then ended the game.
Moyer went 2-for-2 with a walk, Davidson walked in all three at-bats and Grant was 2-for-2 for a Clippers team that had seven players reach at least twice.
Catcher Jezorwski was 2-for-3 for the DJacks. And while the Clippers began the first inning with walks to its first two batters, both were thrown out stealing by Jezorwski.