Jack Lemonie delivers pitch for BC Cyclones 16U Red.
By Sean Reilly
There are multiple ways to apply knowledge gained during the course of a baseball game.
Izzy Rodriguez illustrated that point on Saturday morning at Diamond Nation, and it helped his BC Cyclones 16U Red team win its opener at the 16U Fall Fury, Powered By Cortes & Hay.
Rodriguez was called in from the bullpen to pitch the final inning against 9ers Baseball Club 16U, tasked with protecting a three-run lead.
By applying some intel he gleaned from his three at-bats during the contest, Rodriguez got the job done.
“It’s hard to close games,” Rodriguez said. “I knew the umpire wouldn’t call the inside pitch to a righty. So you had to make adjustments, which is kind of a game in itself. My at-bats helped me pitching, by determining the zone and whether he would call the pitch inside or the pitch away.”
With the 1:50 game clock already expired, Rodriguez recorded the final two outs in the top of the sixth with two runners on base, as the BC Cyclones notched an 8-5 win in Flemington.
The day got even better for the North Jersey-based Cyclones, as leadoff man Lucas Suarez went 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI and Yeixel Richardson scattered five hits over 5.2 innings in a 10-0 win over Complete Performance Baseball Academy. The two teams will play again on Sunday afternoon in the playoff semifinals.
In the Cyclones’ opener, the Shore-based 9ers opened with a splash as Nick Fornaro led off with a single, stole second and scored on a double to center field by Nick Plevier, as the outfielder tried unsuccessfully to make a shoestring catch.
John Fowler dives back toward first base ahead of pickoff throw for 9ers Baseball Club 16U.
In the bottom of the inning, the first four batters for the Cyclones had full counts. The leadoff man popped out to first base, but Rodriguez, Josbaldy Santos and Eric Lora walked. Bryce Bradley then drew an RBI walk on a 3-1 pitch. The next two batters were retired to keep the game tied.
Janel Rodriguez led off the bottom of the second for the Cyclones with a walk. George Theodorakos singled to the right side of the infield, and a throwing error sent Rodriguez to third. He scored the go-ahead run on a balk.
The Cyclones then pulled away with a six-run third, with the first six batters all scoring.
The inning began with singles by Rodriguez and Santos, and Lora drawing a walk that loaded the bases. Bradley then walked again for a 3-1 lead.
Derek Sanchez hit a ball to the outfield that resulted in an error. Two runs scored, and runners were left on second and third. Taishi Yamamoto walked to load the bases.
With the infield playing in, Rodriguez took advantage by hitting a ball that dropped into shallow right field to drive in two runs. After a pitching change, Theodorakos hit an RBI groundout to second base and Breidy Marine hit a sacrifice fly to right for an 8-1 lead.
The 9ers tried to come back, getting an RBI groundout from James Jensen in the fourth before scoring three more in the fifth to draw within 8-5.
The fifth inning rally was highlighted by an RBI single to center by John Fowler with two out, and then a two-run single to center by Jensen.
In the top of the sixth, the 9ers used a single and hit-by-pitch to put runners on first and second with one out, but Rodriguez got a strikeout before ending the game by inducing a grounder that resulted in a force out at second.
Fowler, who went 2-for-3 for the 9ers, was the only player on either side to finish with multiple hits.