By Sean Reilly

One of the coolest things that’s occurred over the spring at Diamond Nation is the friendly 9U rivalry that’s developed between Clutch Baseball of Staten Island and the Morris County Cubs of New Jersey.

The teams have met three times this month at ‘The Nation,’ with two of those matchups in championships. 

The latest installment was a Sunday afternoon showdown in the final of the 9U Spring Fever tournament, Powered by Pure Rush. 

The game was as clean and crisp as any contested in any age group over the entire spring at the complex. 

It was scoreless through six innings, before going to the tiebreaker format in the seventh, where the frame begins for each team with the bases loaded and one out. 

The Cubs scored twice in their half, but Clutch Baseball answered with three runs, capped by a two-run single near the left-field line by Vito Delmar, to gain a 3-2 victory.

Delmar also pitched two innings in relief of Aydin Syed to earn the win. And to make it even sweeter, it  all happened the day before Delmar’s birthday, which was celebrated along with his teammates earlier in the day during a break between games. 

“This is really good,” Delmar said. “I was nervous, but I got the hit. It’s a great way to start my birthday.”

Both teams have won multiple championships this spring at Diamond Nation. 

In the case of Clutch Baseball, it beat the Cubs, 3-2, in the final of the Spring Classic on May 4, by scoring twice in the bottom of the sixth. 

They also met in a Spring Fever pool play game on Saturday, in which Clutch Baseball overcame a four-run deficit to win, 7-4. 

It’s no wonder that the teams are exploring the idea of meeting up in a scrimmage to prepare for the summer portion of their 2025 seasons.

That was especially so after Sunday’s classic that featured outstanding pitching and sensational defensive plays by both sides. 

Syed, who was selected tournament MVP, threw the first five innings for Clutch Baseball. He allowed five hits, struck out three and walked two.

Delmar entered in the sixth. Facing the top of the Cubs order, he struck out the side. 

Syed pitched out of a two-out, bases loaded jam in the top of the third by getting a pitcher-to-first grounder, and with a runner on first with one out in the fourth, got out of the inning after consecutive diving catches in the outfield, by Joseph Timpanelli in left and Vincent Lecce in center. 

In the fifth, the Cubs had runners on second and third with one out, before Syed closed out the pitching portion of his afternoon with two strikeouts.

Aydin Syed of Clutch Baseball was named the 9U Spring Fever Most Valuable Player.

The Cubs, meanwhile, got a great pitching outing from their ace, Nick Scudilla, who allowed four hits, struck out six and walked one in a complete-game effort. 

He escaped a second and third situation with one out in the third by getting a strikeout and pitcher-to-first comebacker. He also worked out of a runner on third with nobody out jam in fifth with a strikeout, pop to shortstop and fly out to right field. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Clutch Baseball had runners on first and second with two out when a line drive was sent back toward Scudilla. He was initially unsure where the ball went, but it actually landed in his glove for the out which forced the extra-inning tiebreaker. 

In the top of the seventh, Scudilla was the leadoff bases-loaded batter for the Cubs, and he drew an RBI walk. Grayson Shepulski followed with an RBI single over third base and into left field. 

Clutch Baseball then got one last defensive gem when second baseman Luke Sparacio fielded a hard-hit grounder, stepped on second and threw to first for a double play that ended the Cubs’ rally.

Sparacio was also the bases-loaded leadoff man for Clutch Baseball in the bottom of the inning, and he was hit by a pitch to get his team within a run. 

It also flipped the Clutch Baseball lineup to the top, where Delmar had a one ball count before hitting the single into left field which scored Michael Reitano and Innocenzio Rizzo with the tying and winning runs. 

“That inning was kind of scary at the beginning because they scored those runs,” Delmar said. “But we showed we were a good team. I wasn’t sure if my hit was going to go fair or foul, but it stayed in.” 

When Clutch Baseball beat the Cubs for the title two weeks ago, Syed pitched two scoreless innings of two-hit relief for the win. This time, he was the starter. 

“I was kind of nervous,” he said. “I just had to throw strikes. We practice a lot and we’re hard workers, and that helps us a lot.”