By Sean Reilly
When it comes to playing baseball, Michael Appalucci knows what kind of weather he prefers.
“I like the heat a lot better than the cold,” he said.
It’s a good thing, since capturing a championship with his South Jersey Young Guns 14U teammates on Sunday would mean having to win three times on the first steamy weather day of the year.
Not only that, he would be the starting pitcher in the last game of the day, in the peak afternoon sun on an 86 degree day at Diamond Nation.
Appalucci thrived throughout, and so did the other Young Guns, who captured the 14U Spring Fever tournament title with an impressive 11-2, five-inning triumph over the Diamond Jacks Super 14U.
After surrendering a run in the top of the first, the Young Guns seized control by scoring twice in the bottom of the inning and then adding seven more in the second for a 9-1 lead.
It was a lot different than the last meeting between the teams, when the Young Guns trailed 8-1 at one point and later scored five times in the bottom of the seventh for a 10-9 victory in the semifinals of the King of the Diamond tournament in late March.
Appalucci was selected tournament’s Most Valuable Player after going 9-for-13 with eight doubles and one triple, with nine runs and nine RBI.
In the championship, he was 2-for-2 with two doubles and a hit by pitch, with one run and one RBI. He also earned the win after pitching four innings, allowing two runs on five hits, with five strikeouts and two walks.
The weather was around 10 degrees warmer than any other day so far this year, so everyone had to adjust to the conditions.
“The first day of the year like this is definitely a shock,” Appalucci said. “It came fast, but we just had to stay hydrated.”
His job was made easier by the fact that his team led almost from the start, and that he was in command of his pitches.
“I threw strikes, attacked the zone and lived on the edges,” he said. “And my defense worked behind me.”
The Young Guns, who are 20-6 on the season, ended the tournament with a 5-0 record with a 57-10 run differential. The pitching was solid, with two games won by shutout and with just two runs allowed in two of the others.
Michael Appalucci of the South Jersey Youngs Guns was named 14U Spring Fever MVP.
The Diamond Jacks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Joe Lopresti hit a two-out double to right field and Aiden Messina followed with a standup triple to center.
The Young Guns, who wound up scoring in 17 of 25 innings during the weekend, including the first inning in four of the five contests, went ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the inning.
After the first batter grounded out, Appalucci hit a grounds rule double to left center, and Chris Cameron took two pitches for balls before hitting a home run to right field.
Appalucci allowed a leadoff walk in the second, but the next batter grounded into a double play to negate the chances of a DJacks rally. The Young Guns would turn another infield double play later in the game..
In the bottom of the inning, the Young Guns blew the game open.
After the first batter grounded out, CJ Morales was hit by a pitch, Aiden Siitonen walked and Miller Shipp was hit, too, loading the bases.
Austin Degener had a 1-1 count before hitting a two-run double to right, and with the lineup flipped to the top, Brett Obermeier reached on an error that scored Shipp and sent Degener to third. Obermeier ended the play on second, and Appalucci was hit by a pitch to reload the bases.
After a pitching change, Cameron hit a grounder that resulted in a force out at second, with Degener scoring for a 6-1 lead.
After Cameron stole second, a pickoff attempt at second led to Obermeier stealing home. Cameron continued on to third after a throw, and scored on a wild pitch.
Jude McGlinchey, the batter when all that happened, ultimately walked. After Jack Ercolani was hit by a pitch, Gabe Depoder hit a ball that landed near the right-field line for an RBI double and seven-run lead.
After the DJacks got an RBI triple from Ryan Sharma in the third, the Young Guns added two more runs in the bottom of the third for an 11-2 lead.
The inning began with singles by Siitonen and Shipp, and Degener sacrificed the runners to second and third. Obermeier hit a sacrifice fly to center, and Appalucci followed with an RBI double.
“I was attacking the first fast ball,” Appalucci said of his offensive display. “It was good to get the lead against them this time. It made it more relaxing and it helped my pitching. My fastball, two-seam and curveball were all working. It was all in all a good weekend.”