Bo Williams of Oppo Tacos is forced out at home by Piedmont Bulls catcher Ross Molinaro.
By Rich Bevensee
Big-time moments need big-time players. Piemont Bulls 13U coach Pete Metrinka can’t think of anyone who fits that description more than Thomas Emig.
With the go-ahead runs in scoring position in the fifth inning and the Bulls already having squandered an early six-run lead against Diamond Nation newcomer Oppo Tacos AG, Metrinka had seen enough. He signaled for Emig to take the mound and put an end to the threat.
Emig, a hard-throwing righty, retired the next two batters to end the inning, then retired the side in order in the sixth to preserve an 8-7 pool play victory in the Northeast Championship on a steamy Wednesday afternoon at ‘The Nation’ in Flemington.
“I was thinking, just throw strikes. Can’t do anything better than that,” Emig said. “I was happy to be on the mound. I feel confident when I’m out there.”
The Bulls, from Hockessin, Delaware, improved to 2-0, having beaten USA Prime Northeast HBA Gold, 11-3, on Tuesday. The Bulls have a doubleheader on Thursday, facing NY Longhorns Perhauz and the Nor-Gwyn Hawks.
Oppo Taco, based in Elkton, Maryland and training in Avon Grove, Pennsylvania, fell to 1-1. They beat the Nor-Gwyn Hawks, 8-5, on Tuesday. On Thursday they will face Total Skills and NJ Rising Rebels.
The Bulls charged to a 6-0 lead during their first at bat, with three of those runs coming via errors, two coming on a Miles Horowitz double and one on a Reid Ewing RBI single.
But that was the last time the Bulls would post a crooked number in any inning while the Oppo Tacos chipped away.
One play which rocked the Bulls dugout occurred in the bottom of the second when their second baseman and right fielder collided trying to catch a ball off the bat of George Argiroudis. Both players left the game.
“First and foremost you’re dealing with middle school kids so you’re trying to keep the mentality of a middle school child in mind,” Metrinko said. “We started off strong, but we’re trying to teach them every out, every pitch matters. One reason why we started to ease off is we had an injury. That immediately takes the wind out of your sails. It impacts the mindset of every player.”
The Oppo Tacos scored two in the second to make it a 6-2 game. In the third they scored three more to cut their deficit to 7-5. The Bulls tacked on what became an important run in the top of the fifth to extend their lead to 8-5. Vincent Strand reached second on an error with one out and scored on an infield throwing error on Ewing’s grounder.
Reid Ewing of the Piedmont Bulls gets a good look at a third inning pitch.
In the bottom of the fifth, Ellio Domenick walked with the bases loaded to force in a run, and Nolan Simon scored on a passed ball to inch the Tacos to within a run at 8-7. With runners on second and third and one out, Emig took the ball from teammate Evan Marando and went to work.
“One thing that separates Thomas from most 13 year olds is his mindset,” Metrinko said. “He is the kid who always wants the ball and always wants to be in the batter’s box. It all starts with that mindset. Thomas says, ‘I got you coach. I got the team.’ He’s been like that since he’s been on this team.”
The Bulls saw the game as an opportunity for revenge. The teams met for the first time this year at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Del., and the Oppo Tacos grabbed a 4-1 decision.
“We should have won that one. I don’t know what happened,” Emig said. “Everyone knew we were going to win this game, we know what we can do.”
For the Oppo Tacos, Domenick, Trace Hitt and Lucas Stroud each had RBI singles, all of them in the bottom of the third when their team crawled to within 7-5.
“They don’t quit – it’s something they have shown all the time. They don’t want to go home early,” Oppo Tacos coach Jason Bove said.