By Sean Reilly
The Diamond Jacks Super 14U have had an excellent spring season, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t dealt with some adversity along the way.
Most notably, the DJacks entered the Best Show On Turf tournament at Diamond Nation having reached championship games the prior two weeks, before falling short in both.
On Sunday, Aiden Messina and his DJacks teammates decided that enough was enough.
Trailing by three runs entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the DJacks scored nine times in that frame and went on to record an 11-6 victory over Lynx Northeast Marucci 14U for the championship in Flemington.
The Super 14U went 5-0 over the weekend, capped by three playoff wins on Sunday. They are now 27-6 on the year.
“We had tough losses the last two weekends and it felt really good to get one,” said Aiden Messina, who was selected the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after a monster three-game day on Sunday in which he totaled three home runs and 11 RBI.
Lynx Northeast, from Bergen County, was up 5-2 entering the bottom of the fifth.
That’s when the DJacks erupted, as the first 10 batters reached, accounting for all nine of the runs which vaulted the team to the championship.
Alan Pena, the sixth man in the lineup, began the rally by drawing a full-count walk. Marco Gulyas then had a 0-2 count before hitting an RBI double to center field. Tyler Izbicki hit a first-pitch double to left. Tyler LaGanga had a 0-1 count before his double to left tied the game.
Logan Koziupa was up next, and dropped down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in an error that scored LaGanga with the go-ahead run, while sending Koziupa to second. Tripp Fabiano and Aaron Erb drew walks to load the bases.
Daniel Chu was up next, and after working the count full, hit a one-run single to right for a 7-5 lead.
Following a pitching change, Messina drew an RBI walk on the ninth pitch of his full-count at-bat to keep the line moving for cleanup man Joe Lopresti. Another run scored as Erb raced home on a passed ball. Lopresti then hit a two-run triple to right.
The inning ended suddenly after a pop out to first followed by a line-drive double play, but the damage was clearly done.
Aiden Messina of the Diamond Jacks Super 14U was named MVP of the 14U Best Show On Turf.
“That was a really good inning,” Messina said. “A bunch of guys contributed with big hits and everyone kept it going on for the next guy.”
Lynx Northeast built its lead starting with a two-run top of the first that featured two-out RBI singles from Eman Lai and Noel Vazquez.
The lead expanded to 3-0 in the second when Matthew Carvelli led off with a home run to left field.
The Diamond Jacks got two of those runs back in the bottom of the frame. Tyler Izbicki led off with a single to center and advanced on a wild pitch before LaGanga followed with a home run to left field on a 2-0 offering.
Lynx Northeast extended its lead in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly from Jo Kayama, and expanded the margin to 5-2 in the top of the fifth as Drew DeLibero walked with one out and later scored on an error.
After Kayama had an RBI ground out for Lynx Northeast in the top of the sixth, the play clock expired shortly after the DJacks came to bat in the bottom of the inning.
Vazquez ended 2-for-2 with a walk for Lynx Northeast, which totaled six hits overall against a group of four Diamond Jacks pitchers.
Tyler Izbicki and LaGanga both went 2-for-2 for the Diamond Jacks, who reached the final on Sunday by defeating the Morris County Cubs 14U Navy, 8-0, in the quarterfinals and Grit 14U Orange, 14-0, in the semifinals.
Messina was 1-for-2 with a three-run home run against the Cubs, and was 3-for-3 with a two-run home run, a three-run homer and seven RBI against Grit.
“I’m always just trying to be consistent, and trying to see the ball all the way through the barrel,” he said. “I was definitely satisfied with the weekend.”
LaGanga’s home run was his first on the big field this year and Tripp Fabiano hit his first home run of the season in the top of the third inning.