The Goons made the most of their sixth trip to ‘The Nation’ winning the 11U Summer Finale.
By Rich Bevensee
The North Jersey Goons 11U ballclub suffered disappointment after disappointment at Diamond Nation in Flemington, N.J. this season, to the point where tournament runner-up trophies were beginning to stockpile in coach John McBride’s closet.
Then came a dismal week performance-wise for Anthony Battaglino and it took an awful lot of encouragement from McBride to help him return to his usual enthusiasm.
This weekend at ‘The Nation,’ the Goons finally put an end to all the misfortune. In the midst of charging into the tournament championship game, Battaglino drove in the game-winning run in walk-off fashion in the semifinals.
And in the final against the Loudoun South Eagles of Loudoun County Va., Noah Griffin hit a three-run home run, Shane McBride (the coach’s son) stranded the tying run in scoring position with one final strikeout, and the Goons of Mount Olive earned a dramatic 4-3 victory and the tournament championship of the 11U Summer Finale Powered by Victus on Sunday.
“It feels great that I got the game-winning hit (in the semis),” Battaglino said. “It feels so good for all of us because you can feel confidence that you’re going to keep winning. And that’s what we did.”
Battaglino was right. The Goons rode that incredible 11-9 comeback win over the Steelsharks of Bethlehem, Pa., in the semis – they trailed 7-0 after two innings and were down by a run going into the bottom of the seventh – and never lost their momentum.
“We play 80 to 90 games each season and I can’t recall a time when we got down like that and came back,” John McBride said. “Usually we’re getting on them for getting negative when they get behind, and to see the change in attitude when they’re about to jump to 12U is such a great positive for their maturity. Once we came back from that, everything else was easy from that point on.”
And now McBride doesn’t have to hide the Goons’ latest team trophy in the back of his closet. The Goons were making their sixth visit to ‘The Nation’ this summer and their fourth appearance in a championship game. By going 4-0 through the Summer Finale event, the Goons improved to a thoroughly impressive 45-20-3.
“It did bother me, to tell you the truth,” McBride said. “I always joked with the other coaches, when we come to Diamond Nation, get ready for another second place trophy. I have a closet full of those glass runner-ups. You don’t display them.
“This one was extra sweet because of the deep bracket and the teams were so evenly matched. We knew it was going to be a slugfest just to make the final, and to be able to finish it is amazing.”
Battaglino was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. In addition to his heroic hit in the semifinals – a two out, bases-loaded triple which sent his teammates into a frenzy – Battaglino went 5-for-7 in four games with two triples, four RBI and three runs scored.
“Anthony went 2-for-2 yesterday (against the Bear Ballerz of Lyndhurst in pool play) and got the game-winning hit in the game to get us here, and this is all coming out of the 12 spot,” coach McBride said. “A couple weeks ago he had a very rough tournament. He was down in the dumps. For him to come back and respond this way is unbelievable.”
Shanbe McBride successfully walked the high-wire in the top of the sixth against the Eagles. Trailing 4-2, the Eagles’ Austin Roberts earned a walk and eventually scored on a base hit by No. 12 batter Connor Gondek, cutting the Goons’ lead to a single run. Leadoff hitter Wynston Herr grounded into a fielder’s choice and reached second on a wild pitch with two out.
Anthony Battaglino earned MVP by going 5-for-7 and getting the game-winning hit in the semis.
Shane McBride, who was seen smiling and seemingly not really bothered by the gravity of the situation throughout the final inning, didn’t blink with Herr representing the tying run on second. He got a swinging strikeout to end the game and cement the title.
“Actually I was really nervous,” Shane said. “But I knew that even if they scored a run (to tie) we still had another chance to score in the bottom of the inning. My heart was beating really fast. I just took a deep breath and threw strikes.”
“Shane loves the pressure,” John McBride said. “He begs to go into those situations. Nothing rattles him. He just goes out there with a smile on his face.”
The reason the Goons were in position to claim their first title of the summer came off the bat of Noah Griffin, who launched a three-run shot, his fifth homer of the summer, with two out in the bottom of the second to give the Goons a 3-0 lead.
“It felt like I just swung at air,” Griffin said. “You know when you get a good hit, when you barrel it, it feels like you hit nothing. When I was sprinting around first I saw it go over the fence and I started jogging in relief. I was hoping for a big hit in this game because it would be my first homer here.”
The Eagles cut into the Goons lead by scoring once in the fourth and fifth innings. Mason Greer got the Eagles on the board in the fourth with a sacrifice fly to score Herr. And the Eagles climbed to within one of the Goons in the fifth on a Joey Riccio groundout which scored Riley Hiebert.
The Eagles, making the five-hour trek north from Northern Virginia to appear at Diamond Nation for the first time, reached the championship game by going 1-0-1 in pool play and beating CougsElite of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., 13-5 in the semifinals.
In the semis, Luke Salgado led the offense by driving in four runs while going 2-for-2. Kason Davis went 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBI. Brayden Harrell and Hiebert each had two hits including a double, Hiebert drove in two runs and Herr doubled.