Keystone State Bombers 13U National went 5-0 to claim the Mother’s Day Classic crown.
By Rich Bevensee
Give credit to Taven Zang. He sacrificed his ego and dialed down one of his most effective tools to do what’s best for his team.
Recognizing that Ascent Athlete was hunting his mid- to upper-70s fastball in the first inning, Zang changed gears and resorted to his offspeed menu.
The tactic worked. Zang surrendered one run on four hits and led top-seeded Keystone State Bombers National to a 9-1, five-inning victory over third-seeded Ascent in the 13U Mother’s Day Classic championship game at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“In the first inning they were hitting his fastball,” Keystone coach Mike Kapczynski said, “and Taven said, ‘Coach let me do something different.’ It was his idea. I love when the kids have the ideas.”
Zang wasn’t exactly getting pounded in the first inning, but Ascent batters sniffed out his fastball and were rifling off foul balls. He struck out two, gave up a hard double to Andrew Zosh, then got another strikeout.
So, even after three strikeouts, Zang wasn’t pleased, and he discussed it with Kapczynski in the dugout.
“I told him we should start throwing more offspeed because they’re hitting the crap out of the ball right now,” said Zang, who threw a healthy dose of curveballs and sliders to replace his fastball. “We talked about throwing more offspeed pitches outside, locating it better for groundouts, instead of them sitting fastball and letting them hit it into the gaps. It’s not that hard if you know how to locate your stuff.”
Zang threw 72 pitches over five innings and struck out three and walked one in the complete game effort.
Zang said he enjoys the strategy of watching batters and adjusting on the fly, and that he’s not above going away from what normally is a healthy fastball.
Keystone State Bombers 13U National celebrate its Mother’s Day Classic title with their moms.
“He didn’t have his fastball today and he competed,” Kapczynski said. “He can throw 75 mph and he was sitting 68-69 so he decided to pitch differently. He threw all of his offspeed stuff and kept them off balance all game. It’s great to see a 13-year old do that.”
The Bombers won their eighth straight and improved to 15-3-1. Two weeks ago they went 3-0 in a Perfect Game Super 25 qualifier in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, to automatically qualify for the PG National Tournament June 25-28 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The key to the recent surge, Kapczynski said, is a better approach at the plate.
“These boys are doing all the right things right now,” Kapczynski said. “What we’re doing better is putting the ball in play to the right side. Taking these curveballs that used to be our Kryptonite, taking these offspeed pitches to right field and they’re just taking it and excelling with it.”
Ben Gannon, named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, agreed that a sharper approach at the plate has allowed the Bombers to be more competitive at the highest levels.
“That was something we’ve really focused on, hitting to the opposite field, and it’s helped a lot,” Gannon said. “It’s pretty hard – you naturally want to pull it – but you have to stay with it.”
Ben Gannon went 8-for-12 with 13 RBI to earn MVP honors for Keystone State Bombers 13U National.
Gannon had an RBI single in the final and finished 8-for-12 over his team’s unbeaten five-game weekend. He hit a grand slam against the NE Huskies in the team’s final pool game, he also doubled and tripled and led the team with 13 RBI.
“Ben’s a complete player,” Kapczynski said. “He’s a pitcher, a catcher and an outfielder and we asked him to do all three in this tournament.”
Keystone State jumped on top quickly when Beckett Horton had an RBI single and later scored on a two-out throwing error for a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Zang surrendered his only run in the second when Brandon Mercer doubled and scored on an Evan Menchen groundout.
The Bombers made it 4-1 in the third when Gannon had an RBI single and Luke Scala scored on a wild pitch.
The Bombers blew it open in the fourth with a four-run surge. R.J. Provanzo provided a sacrifice fly, Scala and Horton earned back-to-back bases loaded walks, and Isaac Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch.
Keystone State closed out the scoring in the fifth when Gryfin Mahler singled home a run to bring about the mercy rule.