Parker Brown is greeted by Cyclones teammates after hitting a two-run HR in the fourth inning.
By Rich Bevensee
One principle we hear a lot from club baseball coaches here at Diamond Nation in Flemington is that summer ball is a time for development, fixing mistakes and ironing out flaws.
The Out Of The Park Cyclones 16U Prospects squad won its third game in as many days on Wednesday precisely because three of its players who led the team to victory have been successfully working to fine tune their games.
Avery Sampson tossed a two-hit shutout, Cody Alicea and Parker Brown slugged home runs, and the Cyclones whizzed past Philly Bandits Black, 12-0, in four innings at the Diamond Nation 16U World Series.
There is no playoff for this tournament. The top five teams will qualify for the Showcase Series event at ‘The Nation’ in mid-August.
The Cyclones (5-6) of Green Brook went 3-1 in the Series this week. They also defeated Complete Performance Baseball Academy 16U Blue, 14-0, and Zoned RedHawks 16U Elite 6-4. They lost to the Locked In Baseball Expos 16U Blue, 10-9.
The Bandits, based in Horsham, a northern suburb of Philadelphia, split their Series week 2-2. They defeated the PBI Eagles of Ramsey, 13-0, and Complete Performance, 11-1. Philly lost to Zoned, 13-2.
Alicea, a rising sophomore at Union Catholic, was the first to make a statement in the game. The 6-1, 180-pound third baseman hammered an 0-2 slider over the fence in left-center field for a two-run home run, his first longball since last fall.
“It was a slider that was a little high,” Alicea said. “I saw the mistake and just swung. I saw it go high and knew I got the barrel on it.”
In the spring Alicea was a “pitcher only” on varsity, throwing 13⅓ innings in relief. He had just four at bats but said he hopes that changes next spring because he’s always honing his swing and wants to offer a consistent bat and be a regular in the lineup in his second varsity campaign.
“I missed hitting a lot,” Alicea said. “I would beg to hit for JV and I would be in relief every game. But I didn’t say anything. I felt I should just work for my spot.”
Brown, a 6-2, 205-pound rising junior at North Hunterdon, clubbed his second homer in three days, a two-run shot to right to fuel the team’s 10-run third inning. His first homer of the year came on Monday against Complete Performance.
“I didn’t think that one was going to go out,” Brown said. “I thought I was going to pop out, honestly. I didn’t know it was a home run until the umpire gave the signal.”
The longball hitting this week has been a breakthrough of sorts for Brown, who struggled at the plate for the North Hunterdon varsity team this past spring.
“I didn’t do too hot for North,” Brown said. “I had to fix a couple things with my mechanics. My arms kept dropping down and my legs kept bending down so I was under the ball. My dad (Pete Brown) told me to keep my elbow and my hands up more, and that’s helped a lot. I feel a lot more comfortable. I’m just swinging now. It feels a lot better.”
Sampson, a 6-1, 170-pound rising junior at Newark Academy, was definitely effective if not just shy of brilliant for four innings. He did not allow a base hit until the fourth and final inning and he faced two batters over the minimum. He gave up two hits and two walks and struck out one.
Ramon Contreras hits a three-run triple in the fourth inning for the Cyclones.
Sampson was also the benefactor of some sharp fielding. The Cyclones, errorless on batted balls, completed a pair of double plays while Sampson picked off a runner at second.
“I give it an A-minus. It was a good start,” Sampson said. “I was learning on my four-seam to be honest. I was a little bit down on velo today so I needed to throw strikes to generate outs in the field. I got a lot of ground balls with it, two double plays. It worked.”
Sampson, working with a four-seam and two-seam fastball, curveball and changeup, was pleased to have limited the walks this time out. In his previous outing, last week against Spartans Baseball, he surrendered three walks in three innings while still yielding only one run.
“I pitched okay last week – I only gave up one run – but I walked a lot of guys,” Sampson said. “My mechanics felt a little bit off. It was about staying closed really. I was flying out with all of my pitches, so generating power and working to the plate were my main focuses today.”
The Cyclones struck first with two runs in the top of the third inning. Aaron Adair, running for Ramon Contreras who was hit by a pitch, scored on a Kevin Gillespie groundout. Brady Simo doubled and scored on an error following a Sampson ground ball for a 2-0 lead.
The Cyclones rocked the Bandits for 10 runs in the fourth inning after sending 13 batters to the plate. Alicea launched a two-run home run, No. 11 batter Contreras sliced a three-run triple into the right field corner. Simo hit his second double to drive in Ryan Feaster. Sampson doubled to left to drive in two runs, and Brown followed with his two-run homer.
For the Bandits, Shane Logan allowed eight runs on five hits and five walks with one strikeout. Evan Leonard permitted two runs on three hits and one walk. Matthew DePhillips and Will Newbert also had base hits for Philly.