By Sean Reilly
Breakers Boys Baseball teams are familiar visitors to Diamond Nation, but this weekend marked the first time the Pennsylvania-based organization sent its 10U squad to participate in a tournament.
The voyage was a happy one, as the Breakers capped a perfect weekend by defeating Sandlot Baseball Academy 10U-Kwiatkowski, 12-4, to capture the 10U Williams Harley Davidson Tournament championship in Flemington.
The victory capped a 4-0 weekend for Breakers Boys Baseball, which outscored its opponents, 49-15, over the course of the two-day event.
“It’s the first time with this team,” said Breaker Boys Baseball Coach Marc Sandri. “We hit very well, our pitching was on. We had a lot of good arms. In this last game, we were also disciplined because the ump was a little tight. We’re a very aggressive in the box hitting team, but the discipline paid off.”
Dax Maurer, who was 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and two runs scored from the cleanup spot, was also sharp over three innings of one-run relief. He was named tournament’s MVP.
“This was a lot of fun,” Maurer said of the weekend experience. “I came in and pitched and it felt good. I just tried to do my thing and put it over the plate.”
Sandlot Baseball Academy, based out of Scranton, Pa., ended the weekend with a 2-2 record. It scored twice in the top of first inning after Shane Goldberg led off with a triple and scored on a one-out double from Jake Kwiatkowski. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout to second by Ralph Steeves.
Breakers Boys Baseball came out swinging in the home half of the first. It scored four times with two out, with Maurer, Landon Clemas, Kellan O’Brien and Mason Kalyan supplying consecutive hits to account for the runs.
Sandlot Baseball Academy closed to 4-3 by scoring on a wild pitch in the top of the second inning, and its starting pitcher, Zach Sadavage, pitched 1-2-3 innings in the second and third to keep it a one-run game. His team then got a RBI single from Chase Evans with one out in the fourth to even it at 4-4.
Beginning in the fourth, Breaker Boys Baseball shifted its approach, being more patient at the plate. Anthony Amato led off that frame with a ground rule double to right center. After a pitching change, Maurer grounded out to shortstop, with the runner advancing to third. Clemas, who finished 3-for-3 with four RBI, singled in the go-ahead run, and O’Brien (2-for-3) and Kalyan (3-for-3) followed with hits for a 7-4 advantage.
Breaker Boys Baseball then ended the game by scoring five times in the bottom of the fifth for the 12-4 final. Max Fleagle had an RBI hit, Bryson Nagle followed with a sacrifice fly, Clemas doubled in two runs and Kalyan ended the game via the eight-run mercy rule with a two-out single to center.