Matthew Porcaro takes off on steal of second for the Morris County Cubs 13U Navy.
By Sean Reilly
The Locked In Baseball Expos Blue 13U came to Diamond Nation on Friday a red-hot team, having not lost a game in nearly a month.
The streak continued with a doubleheader sweep on the opening night of the 13U Best Show on Turf tournament, starting with an 11-7 triumph over the Morris County Cubs 13U Navy, and followed by a 12-5 victory over the BuxMont Hitmen from Pennsylvania.
The Expos are now 17-4 on the season, with a 13-game winning streak since a 9-6 loss to the same Cubs team at the Spring Swing tournament at ‘The Nation’ on May 2.
On Friday, one of the standouts for the Expos was Charlie Bealer, who was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI against the Cubs, followed by a 3-for-4 performance against the Hitmen, with two doubles, two runs and two RBI.
The discerning Expos batters benefited from 12 walks against the Cubs, and received nine more free passes against the Hitmen.
But for Bealer, his night was about putting the ball in play. In fact, he was also deprived of a sacrifice fly and additional RBI against the Cubs, because a fly ball to center field with runners on first and third was dropped, allowing the ultimate go-ahead run to score.
Instead, that play in the bottom of the fifth inning also led to three additional runs and an expired 1:50 play clock to give his team the victory.
“I just had to go up and hit,” he said of his night, in which the Expos forced the issue by scoring in eight of their combined 10 innings in the two games. “I like being in those situations.”
His first chance came in the first inning of what became a back-and-forth game against the Cubs.
The Cubs had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Leo Reiser with two out.
In the bottom of the frame, Bealer came up with the bases loaded and two out. He hit a first-pitch single to center field to score Aidan Finizio and Pat Collins, who both reached on walks, for a 2-1 lead.
“I’ve been having a pretty good year,” Bealer said. “That hit was important to put some runs on the board at the beginning of the game.”
It was the first of several ties and lead changes during the game.
Mike Mossa follows through on hard double past first base for the Locked In Baseball Expos Blue 13U.
The Cubs scored twice in the fourth for a 3-3 tie. Reiser led off with a standup triple to center, and scored when Nate Bowness doubled to the gap in left-center. After a fly out, Nate Klacik hit an RBI single to center.
The Expos countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning for a 5-3 lead. Dean Olivo led off with a walk and Bealer followed with a single to right. They both later scored on what could have been an inning-ending ground ball double play with the bases loaded, but instead resulted in a force at second and error on the throw to first.
The Cubs scored four times in the top of the fifth for a 7-5 lead, highlighted by a two-run double to right-center by Troy Ruiz and RBI single to shallow right by Owen Varua for a 6-5 advantage with one out.
The Expos countered with their six runs in the bottom of the inning that also ended with the expiration of the clock.
Finizio, the leadoff man who ended 1-for-1 with two walks and three runs, led off with a walk and Mike Mossa walked. Henry Cox hit a double to right-center to score Finizio and send Mossa to third. After a strikeout, Dean Olivo hit a grounder to short. The throw to get Mossa at the plate was off, allowing him to score for a 7-7 tie.
Bealer was up next, and his fly to center was dropped, with Cox scoring for an 8-7 lead. The last three runs scored on bases-loaded walks.
In their second game, the Expos were in a 3-3 tie against the Hitmen before erupting for eight runs in the top of the fourth.
Matt Carman walked with one out and scored when Finizio doubled to right. Finizio took third on a throw, and continued home on an error for a 5-3 score. The next two runs scored on errors before Olivo hit an RBI single and Bealer doubled in a run for a 9-3 advantage.
The Cubs ended their night in positive fashion with an 11-10 victory over the Diamond Jacks Super 13U that ended a 19-game win streak by the DJacks.
The Cubs were down 10-5 before drawing closer with three runs in the bottom of the fifth and then winning with three more in the bottom of the sixth and final inning.
Ruiz came to bat with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, and hit a two-run double to center for a 10-10 tie. Johnny Cangelosi then delivered a single near second base to score Joseph Giarusso, who had reached on a walk, with the winning run.
The Expos, Cubs and Diamond Jacks will all have a chance to finish first in the pool pending results on Saturday.