By Sean Reilly
An unusual thing happened to the Bucks County Generals 10U Black in the top of the first inning of the Diamond Nation 10U April Fool’s tournament championship.
The opposing team, the Wolfpack Elite, scored two runs, and it resulted in a deficit.
It didn’t last — the Generals scored three times in the bottom of the inning, and it led to a 9-2 title-earning victory on Sunday night in Flemington.
The Generals went 5-0 on the weekend, with an incredible 71-6 run differential. Three of the wins were by shutout.
“Our team was really paying attention the whole time,” said Tucker Chapman, who was named tournament MVP after capping his two days of competition with a 3-for-3 performance that included a two-run home run. “Every team we played was nice and still competing even when they were down. They never gave up and our team played well. We always kept our heads in the game.”
The North Jersey-based Wolfpack Elite, which ended with a 4-1 record and 70-33 run difference, took the lead in the top of the first when Anthony Henderson doubled with two out, and scored on a single by Anthony Wolke. Wolke took second on a throw to the plate and scored on a double by Ethan Delantar.
Bucks County began its rally in the home half of the inning by getting a one-out single to center field from Chapman. Jake Stephenson singled to right field, and the runners moved to second and third following a wild pitch. Marc Geiger’s outfield hit was compounded by an error that scored both and sent Geiger to third. He scored when Weston Misterman singled to center with two out.
The Generals added five more runs in the second inning, and all of it happened with two out.
Henry Kephart launched the rally with a triple near the right-field corner. Leo Ronca hit an RBI single to right field, just beyond the reach of a leaping second baseman.
Ronca moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored after a Lucas Pio single also resulted in a throwing error. Jack Wojcik was up next, and he reached on an error that brought in Pio for a 6-2 lead.
Tucker Chapman of Bucks County Generals 10U was named the 10U April Fool’s MVP.
Chapman followed with the big blow, a two-run blast over the fence in straightaway center.
“It was a fastball high and inside and I turned on it,” he said. “It felt good.”
The last run came in the third inning. Geiger led off with a single and took second on an error. He moved to third on an error and scored as Aiden Torpey grounded out to first.
Misterman allowed five hits (four of them to the first five batters) over a solid four-inning start. He struck out three and walked none. His teammates handled five grounders without committing an error, and relays erased runners at second and third base, both in the first inning.
Wolfpack Elite was paced by leadoff man Anthony Starostiak, who was 2-for-3 with a double.
Aside from Chapman’s 3-for-3 performance, the Generals were also paced by Stephenson, Geiger, Ronca and Pio, who all ended with two hits.
“It’s nice to be MVP,” Chapman said. “It’s really hard to do that at Diamond Nation. I like playing here. I like the turf and the fields are really nice.”