Tyler Lee of Lower Bucks legs out his second base hit of the game with Grit’s Ryan McCabe on the bag.
By Rich Bevensee
It’s probably bad luck for a pitcher to say he’s going to have a good day before the game begins, but that was the vibe Liam Brett was feeling while warming up for Lower Bucks Minutemen 17U on Tuesday.
Brett carried that vibe for five exceptional innings, then passed the baton to Jacob Schneller, who endured a very different experience on the mound.
Pitching with the bases loaded and no outs and with the Minutemen clinging to a two-run lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, Schneller coerced a double play and a comebacker to clinch a 2-0 pool play victory in the 17U Super Top 25 at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Lower Bucks completed pool play at 1-1 after it later closed the day by bowing to Gothams Authentic 2027, 4-1.
The top four teams in the 12-team bracket were to play in the semifinals at 12:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The championship was to follow at 4:30 p.m. The 12 teams earned a bid to the Super 25 by finishing among the top five teams in one of five showcase events this summer at ‘The Nation.’
The Minutemen did all their scoring in the second inning, and it was Brett, a rising, 6-foot senior at Middletown South, who sparked the rally. He led off with a broken-bat single into right field, and thanks to some Grit miscommunication, Matt Silverman’s fly ball to right center landed for a double, advancing Brett to third.
Tyler Lee singled to left to drive in Brett and Dylan Cloud made it 2-0 with his line drive single to center to plate Silverman.
That was all the offensive support Brett and Schneller would need.
Brett, using a four-seamer, slider and forkball, allowed runners to reach second and third with one out in the third but wiggled out of that with a strikeout and groundout. No other Grit baserunner reached scoring position against Brett, who furnished five scoreless innings and struck out six while surrendering two hits and two walks.
“I felt like today I was going to have a good day,” Brett said. “You just feel it with your arm. If it’s coming out easy, that’s how you know. My location was pretty good. Velo has been down recently but today it felt better than what it has been the past few weeks. My pitching coach has me trying a few new things, like dropping my arm slot, and it definitely worked.”
Schneller took over in the sixth and pitched a 1-2-3 inning before heading into the seventh.
In Grit’s final at bat, Lenox Dolin led off with a single, Ryan McCabe walked and Jay Salera blooped a single into right to load the bases. Just like that Schneller was on the hot seat with no outs.
“I was just locked in on the guy at the plate, throwing strikes,” Schneller said. “It’s kinda hard in that situation, but the key is to not overthink it.”
The next batter, Joey Sauer, hit a comebacker and Schneller began a 1-2-3 double play. Schneller squashed Grit’s comeback hopes when he induced Gavin Forlai into a soft bouncer back to the mound.
Grit’s Antoine Huet smashed a double to left in the third inning.
“I’ve let up a couple walkoffs back when I was younger, so I learned from my mistakes,” said Schneller, a 5-8 righty and rising senior at Pennsbury in Fairless Hills, Pa. “I like the pressure. It’s fun. Not everyone gets that moment so I like to take advantage of it.”
Grit finished 0-2 in pool play, but not before Jake Kubis stole the show with his Frisbee-like slider.
Kubis, a rising 6-1 senior righty at Wayne Hills, entered the game in relief of Grit starter Austin Reiner in the fourth inning and struck out 10 of the 13 batters he faced. In his four scoreless innings, his only imperfection was a base hit allowed to Tyler Lee in the fifth.
“It’s a lot of fun, especially when everything is going for you,” Kubis said. “Baseball can be very challenging sometimes, so having a good day out there is fun.”
Kubis pushes the radar into the mid-70s, but it’s his off-speed selection which frustrates batters, especially that slider. He also throws curveballs and changeups to keep batters guessing.
Kubis said he learned how to throw the slider when he was 12 thanks to Jerry Collado, who pitched in the Colorado Rockies organization, and Chris Nelson from Grit.
“There are times I get hot, and this one being my last summer game, I wanted to come out here and leave it all out there one last time for my guys,” Kubis said. “It’s truly a blessing that I could do this in my last outing.”
For Grit, Reiner pitched three innings and allowed two runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.