By Rich Bevensee
As soon as Zoned RedHawks Elite put the finishing touches on its 14U Silver Bracket semifinal victory over Diamond Jacks White on Field 5, the players rushed down to Field 7 to watch the other semi.
And it wasn’t just any semifinal. The Zoned RedHawks Select team, loaded with familiar faces to the Elite players, was finishing off Titans Lynch to earn a berth in the final.
Suffice it to say both ball clubs were eager and excited to face off in the bracket finals of the Father’s Day Classic Powered by Pure Rush Shades.
Short-hopped pitches were met with laughs and smiles from both teams. Players were goaded by the opposing bench to hustle down to first base instead of trot after a walk. And so it went for these teams which train together three times a week.
In the end, Elite pitching was a little too strong for the Select bunch. Righty Zach Battaglia tossed three scoreless innings, Chase Rutherford and Avery Bell both doubled and drove in a run, and Zoned RedHawks Elite won the All-Zoned duel, 11-3, and the 14U Silver Bracket title on Sunday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Avery Bell, left, and Zach Battaglia led Zoned RedHawks Elite to the 14U Silver Bracket title.
“This was really exciting for us and the kids,” Elite coach Steve Nikorak said. “It’s funny because we practice together every week and we’re constantly scrimmaging and pushing one another. We were following their games while they were following ours and we were hoping it was going to end this way.”
Bell, who launched the hardest hit ball of the night when he found the left-center field gap for a fifth-inning double, said the camaraderie was what made the final enjoyable.
“Honestly this was really fun,” Bell said. “After everything, they’re not going to think anything of it. We’re all family around here. We’re all part of the same team and we’re all going to have to practice together.”
On the baseball side of things, Battaglia allowed just one hit and two walks and struck out two over three scoreless innings for Zoned Elite. He permitted only two baserunners to reach scoring position.
“I threw mostly fastballs with the rainy weather so I just pounded the zone and let my defense help me out,” Battaglia said. “I threw a couple of curveballs but mostly stuck to my fastball because it was hard to grip the ball and get the curve down.”
Zoned Elite and Zoned Select RedHawks gather for photo after 14U Silver Father’s Day Classic final.
Alex Solano came on in relief of Battagia and allowed three runs on one hit, two walks and a hit batsman over two innings. He also struck out two.
For Elite, Rutherford also walked three times and scored twice. Christian Estudillo singled and drove in three runs, and Parker DiPollina singled, doubled and drove in two runs.
For the Select ballclub, Cole Ross, Matthew Stevinson, Mason Mendez and Tyler Baxter handled pitching duties. Stevinson got Zoned Select on the board with a rousing three-run double in the fourth inning.
Stevinson’s three-run double made it 5-3 in the top of the fourth, but Zoned Elite began to pull away in the bottom of the inning with two more runs, when Zach Pizzie scored on a throwing error and Estudillo drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.