Ethan Perkell scores an insurance run for Wladyka in the top of the sixth inning.
By Rich Bevensee
Topher Arnold took a couple of huge deep breaths as he toed the rubber and looked in at his catcher for the first time. Everything that was going on around him – tying runs on base with one out in the sixth and final inning – didn’t seem to phase the young righthander.
Well, maybe it bothered him just a little. Brought in to protect his team’s two-run lead, Arnold balked in a run as the tying run moved to second base.
But that balk was just a hiccup for Arnold, who paid off coach Gino Mirabella’s confidence in him with a two-out save to preserve Wladyka Baseball American’s 5-4 pool play victory over Double Major Black in the 13U Youth World Series on Saturday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“I tried to relax, take a deep breath and shut them out,” Arnold said. “Yeah it’s hard to do but I block out the noise and stress and just pitch. Yeah man, thankfully it happened and it all worked out. I like being in that position because you get the spotlight and when you come through it’s good.”
The narrow victory was a reversal of fortune for Wladyka, which earlier in the day lost a one-run ballgame to Antonelli Baseball National, 3-2. Wladyka faces the Hornets on Sunday to finish pool play.
Every team in Wladyka’s four-team pool was 1-1 through Saturday, so a victory over the Hornets could earn a playoff berth. That pool includes Double Major and Antonelli.
The reason Arnold was pitching with a two-run lead when he came on in relief of Christian Wallace was because of Wallace’s textbook sacrifice bunt in the top of the inning. Ethan Perkel led off the inning with a single, he advanced to second on that sac bunt, and a Dylan Perez single gave Wladyka runners at first and third.
Reed Appaluccio hit a short roller to short and a sliding Perkel beat the throw home from Double Major shortstop Gabe Garcia for the all-important insurance run.
“It’s the little things that help you win,” Mirabella said. “I usually give the player of the game a ball or something, but I had trouble deciding who was my player of the game because there were a lot of little things which happened for us to win, like Christian’s bunt.
“I’m proud of these kids. They played well in the first game and came up short but they got the job done here. It’s a tough group.”
Gabe Garcia doubled twice and singled for Double Major Black.
Wladyka owned a 4-0 lead through its half of the third inning but saw Double Major come back to narrow the gap to 4-3 thanks to a John Espin RBI double and a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the third.
Wladyka spoiled a major scoring opportunity for Double Major in the bottom of the fifth. Double Major got two runners on against Wladyka starter Justin Bonk before Wallace came on in relief with one out. He got a strikeout for the second out, walked Mason Vindman to load the bases, then induced a popup to end the threat.
After Wallace’s sac bunt set the stage for the insurance run in the top of the sixth, it was Arnold’s turn to take the spotlight in the bottom of the inning.
Mirabella, the pitching coach at Fairleigh Dickinson in Florham Park and a Union County Baseball Hall of Famer, said he tried to place himself in Arnold’s shoes when offering him advice before he took the ball.
“I would say just try to throw strikes, and don’t blow this,” Mirabella said. “I brought him in with a two-run lead, first and third, one out. Just do your job, throw strikes and let the defense do their job. You don’t have to strike everybody out.
“I told him I’m going to let Christian start the inning but if he’s in trouble I’m gonna’ bring you in, so he was in the bullpen and I knew he was ready. I don’t know what he was thinking, but I knew he was ready and he wanted the ball.”
Wladyka built its 4-0 lead thanks to a Menken RBI single and three unearned runs.
In the top of the first Menken singled up the middle to drive in Arnold who reached on a long double. Two more runs crossed on an error on Perkel’s infield grounder.
The lead grew to 4-0 in the third when Wallace’s grounder was mishandled, allowing another run to score.