Dylan Fusaro squares to bunt for the OOTP Cyclones 13U Prospects.
By Sean Reilly
So many things take place over the course of seven innings to make baseball a truly interesting game.
When it also happens to be the first time any of the players are competing on a large-sized field, the chances of peculiar happenings grow stronger.
Just ask Finn Matz.
Matz was the catcher for the Bucks County Generals 13U Black on Friday evening at Diamond Nation against the Out Of The Park Cyclones 13U Prospects in the opening game of the 13U Slugfest tournament.
It was also the first 13U game of the fall season at ‘The Nation,’ which made it significant since all players “aged up” an age group last week.
The change is most impactful for 13U players, since it means their days of playing on the small fields, with dimensions of 50 feet from mound and 70 feet between the bases, are over. From now on, it’s 60 feet from the mound and 90 feet between the bases, just like the guys they watch in the major leagues.
The adjustments are vast. As a catcher, Matz dealt with it a bunch playing his position.
As a hitter, his first two at-bats were frustrating. That’s because he drilled two balls that two weeks ago would have been well-struck home runs on a smaller field. But now they were outs, since they were caught by the center fielder.
Michael Lombardo of the Generals dives back to first ahead of throw from Ryder Alicea.
Matz had one last chance at the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. His team was behind a run and Ben Sawarynski was a runner on second base.
Matz hit a grounder to shortstop, but a routine throw became a bit harder since it was a longer throw than the fielder was used to making. It went for an error that scored Sawarynski with the tying run in what wound up as a 3-3 draw in Flemington.
“It’s a really hard adjustment seeing home runs turn into fly balls or pop ups to the outfield, seeing most doubles turn into singles, and just running by itself,” Matz said. “The center fielder did the same thing to me twice. But this was still something I was really looking forward to. It feels great to finally get on the bigger field.”
The same things were true in the opposite dugout.
J.B. Mullan of the OOTP Cyclones put in plenty of work to get ready for not only batting from a different perspective, but playing first base as well.
It all paid off, since he went 2-for-2 with a hit by-pitch. He scored one run and drove in another. His defense was just as impressive, since he fielded three ground balls that required him to sync up with a pitcher covering the base. He handled each play flawlessly, including two for third outs — one with a runner on second, the other with the bases loaded.
“It was intense,” he said of the adjustment. “It took a lot of work. You need to cover a lot more ground, and you need a lot of practice. It was good to have it pay off.”
The Cyclones took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Matthew Krail led off with a single to shortstop, moved over to third after a stolen base and wild pitch, and then scored on Mullan’s double to right field.
The Cyclones added another run in the fourth. Krail led off by reaching on a two-base error. Mullan hit a single to center to put runners on the corners, and Krail scored on a wild pitch with one out.
The Generals closed to 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Jared Leyson drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and moved to third on Greyson Orsino’s ground out to third. He scored when Mason Wade hit a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Cyclones answered back in the sixth. Mullan led off and was hit by a pitch. He stole second, and moved to third on a grounder to shortstop which resulted in the second out. He scored on a wild pitch for a 3-1 lead.
Leyson led off the bottom of the sixth for the Generals and was hit by a pitch. He stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored when Orsino followed with a sacrifice fly to right.
Gavin DeMilt locks in on pitch for the Generals 13U Black.
The tie came in the bottom of the seventh. The first batter flew out to right, and Jake Gardyasz singled on a grounder that deflected off the pitcher. Sawarynski entered as a pinch runner, stole second and scored when Matz reached on the error. A double play then ended the game.
Ryder Alicea allowed two hits pitching the first three innings for the Cyclones. Matthew Schmieder allowed one hit pitching the remaining four frames.
Alicea (2-for-3) also joined Mullan as the only other player in the game with multiple hits.
Robbie Brown allowed four hits over the first four innings for the Generals. Leyson yielded two hits over the next two innings, and Jordan Ritter allowed one hit in the seventh.