Titans’ Aidan Devane is met at home plate after his towering two-run HR in the first inning.
By Rich Bevensee
Sure, it may be fun for the casual baseball fan to watch Conor Deitz sling his 86-mile per hour fastball and send batters trudging back to the dugout. But the folks having the most fun watching that show may be the guys who wear the same uniform.
Deitz, a 6-1 southpaw with Body Armor Titans 2028 Quattrini, was doing his best to put on a show for his teammates and the dozen or so very attentive college scouts in attendance on Tuesday afternoon.
“We all love watching what he does best,” Titans coach Travis Quattrini said. “The guys know what’s coming every time he steps on the mound.”
Deitz struck out six in four shutout innings while the Titans pounced on Diamond Jacks Super 16U in the first inning en route to a 9-0 victory in the 16U Blue Chip Prospects event at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Deitz, a rising junior at Shoreham-Wading River in Shoreham, Long Island is uncommitted but has received interest from Boston College, Penn State and Coastal Carolina, among others.
The Titans improved to 2-0 in the showcase event with games remaining against Richmond County Baseball Club Ghost Nationals (2-0) and MVP East End Black (1-1). The Diamond Jacks are 1-1 with games remaining against the Bandits Baseball Club (0-2) and Northeast Pride ‘28 National (1-0).
Deitz gave up a base hit in each of his four innings of work, walked one batter, and two Diamond Jacks reached scoring position. None of those Diamond Jacks reached home plate, thanks to Deitz’ exceptional command of his four-seam fastball as well as his curveball and changeup.
“If I go 1-2-3 in the beginning of the game I know I’m in my groove,” Deitz said. “It’s like a certain feeling, the way I get the batters out without really needing to use all your stuff.”
“He has a certain presence on the mound,” Quattrini said. “He has the ability to throw three pitches for strikes whenever he wants, and he’s been dominant all summer for us.”
Other than Deitz, the postgame chatter was about Aidan Devane’s monstrous first inning home run which clanged off the top corner of the center field scoreboard, an estimated 415-foot shot from the Titans’ leadoff hitter.
It was Devane’s second plate at bat in the first inning, as he led off the game with a walk and the Titans batted around to take a 7-0 lead. With a runner on, Devane turned on an 0-1 pitch and sent the baseball where very few batters his age have reached in the celebrated history of Diamond Nation.
“I knew I got it good but I didn’t know it was going to go out,” said Devane, who muscled his fourth homer of the season but his first since the beginning of summer. “I looked up when I rounded first base, I heard it and I saw it. I didn’t think it was going to go that far. My approach is definitely not to hit a home run every at bat, it’s to hit a line drive, but it’s nice to know I can still hit one over.”
Matt Filiaci doubled in the second inning for the Diamond Jacks Super 16U.
Devane is a 6-3, 170-pound rising junior at Sayville on Long Island.
“He’s got some juice,” Quattrini said. “He’s an impressive player. Not many players can do what he does from the left side. The way he runs, he’s got some bat speed, he’s a big kid at 6-3 and he’s probably got two more inches coming. He’s got an impressive future.”
Also for the Titans, Mason Laneve stroked a two-run single, Alex Annunziato walked with the bases loaded, and Coleson Hoffman and Alex Pagano rapped back-to-back, two-run doubles in that first inning outburst before Devane’s titanic blast.
Blake Tyburczy pitched a scoreless inning in relief for the Titans, giving up two hits before striking out two to end the game.
The only Diamond Jacks who figured out Deitz were Owen Rivenbark and Matt Filiaci, who both doubled, while Luca Catanzarite and Owen Ehrenkranz each had a base hit. Ethan Strawn and Anthony Whelan singled off Tyburczy.
Brogan Perreault, a rising junior at Liberty in Bethlehem, Pa., pitched 4⅔ innings of scoreless relief for the Diamond Jacks. After Devane’s homer, Perreault entered and got a strikeout and groundout to end the Titans’ rally. Over the next four innings he allowed just two hits and one hit batsman with four strikeouts.
COMMITMENTS
Filiaci and Jack Spitaleri made news for the Diamond Jacks in the last few days when both players committed to play baseball for Division 1 schools. Filiaci, a rising junior at Seton Hall Prep, is headed for Penn State. Spitaleri, a rising junior at Glen Rock, has committed to Virginia.
Filiaci, a lefty pitcher with a power bat, said Boston College and Maryland were among his top three choices but his mind was made up after visiting the Penn State campus on July 31.
“I met with the coaching staff, took a tour around campus and absolutely loved the campus, loved the coaching staff and the state-of-the-art facilities,” Filiaci said. “I talked with my family and thought that was the spot.”
Filiaci said Penn State will almost certainly want him to be a pitcher-only. Filiaci loves to hit, though, so he’s got a few more swings left before training to be a college pitcher.
“It feels great to have the decision made,” Filiaci said. “Before the season all three were right there. I’ve been hitting great since I committed because it feels like I’m playing for fun now.”
Spitaleri was one of the Diamond Jacks’ leading hitters, batting 10-for-23, when the team went 9-1 and reached the championship game at the Prep Baseball 16U National Championship last month at LakePoint in Emerson, Georgia.
Spitaleri said he was considering Division 1 schools Boston College, Penn State, George Washington, Coastal Carolina and East Carolina before choosing Virginia.
“I’m ready to start a new chapter,” Spitaleri said. “Hopefully I’ll do something great there. It feels good to get the process off my back.”
Spitaleri said it was due to his faith in Diamond Jacks coach Walt Cleary that he felt comfortable enough with Virginia – even ahead of his scheduled visit Aug. 11-12 – to make the commitment to UVA without seeing the campus or meeting the baseball coaching staff in person.
“Virginia’s been my dream school for a long time,” Spitaleri said. “Coach Walt told me how much I’d love the school and the coaching staff. Coach has done so much for me that I trust him with pretty much everything he says.”
Spitaleri, a gap-to-gap lefty hitter with power, said he spoke with Virginia head coach Chris Pollard by phone and was further convinced that the Charlottesville school was the right choice.
“When I spoke with Coach Pollard I felt really comfortable,” Spitaleri said. “And whenever you feel that good, it makes you play batter, so just going off the phone call I was very comfortable. We talked about my future at Virginia. They’ve produced so many great left-handed hitters, and not just that, but left handed hitters from New Jersey. I’m ready to be the next one.”