The Jersey Devils scored 57 runs in four games to claim the 11U Boys of Summer championship.
By Rich Bevensee
The Jersey Devils spent the weekend punishing opponents with a relentless lineup full of hitters just dying to follow up a teammate’s success at the plate with a base hit of their own.
That makes for a heck of a lot of run production as well as some excitement in the dugout.
“It’s a fun experience,” Enzo Carbone said of the Devils offense. “You get to see homer after homer. And it makes us have more confidence. After seeing a home run, you want to go back-to-back. We have a really good offense.”
The Devils stamped their name on this season’s champions list at Diamond Nation in Flemington after their fourth straight offensive explosion of the weekend.
Jojo Costa, Vinny Alteri and Peyton Iascio each went deep for the Cherry Hill-based Devils and led their ballclub to a 13-7 victory over MVP NY of Long Island in the 11U Boys of Summer Powered by Playa Bowls championship game on Sunday at ‘The Nation.’
The Devils hit six homers and scored 57 runs in four games en route to the title.
And consider this fact about the Jersey Devils offense this weekend. The team posted a crooked number on the scoreboard in every single inning in which they batted. That’s relentless.
Enzo Carbone batted .583 and closed out two games on the mound to earn MVP honors for the Devils.
“We’re definitely an offensive team,” Devils coach Tom Hughes said. “As long as we stay within ourselves with all our at bats, we can score a lot of runs any day.”
One of the key moments in the game came after the MVP offense came alive by rallying for five runs in the top of the third inning to take a 5-4 lead.
How did the Devils respond? They scored six runs in the bottom of the third, with Costa providing a two-run homer and Alteri socking a grand slam well over the Field 6 scoreboard in left field.
“We know who we are,” Hughes said. “We know our capabilities on offense, so we know if an inning like that happens we can respond.”
Carbone, who went 1-for-3 with a run scored and pitched 1⅔ innings of scoreless relief in the championship game, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He batted .583 for the weekend with a home run, a double, six RBI and six runs scored. He also pitched 2⅔ innings of relief with no runs allowed on no hits, three walks and three strikeouts.
“The kid did everything,” Hughes said. “He closed out two games for us, hit a home run, and I think he had the second most RBIs in the tournament. He just does everything the right way.”
Also for the Devils this weekend, Costa batted .700 with three homers, eight RBI and eight runs scored. Iascio batted .625 with a homer, three doubles, six RBI and seven runs scored.
In the final, all but one batter in the Devils’ 10-man lineup reached and scored. Costa went 3-for-3 with a homer and two RBI, Alteri had four RBI, Iascio drove in two runs, and Carson Rivas had an RBI double.
The Devils nearly batted around in that important third inning at bat. Jack Fournier laced a one-out single to center and wasn’t on base long, as Costa slugged a two-run shot over the right-center field fence to give the Devils the lead back at 7-6.
Rivas and Keisen Tejada were hit by pitches and Aiden Molnar walked to load the bases for Alteri, whose grand slam moon shot easily cleared the 228-foot fence and scoreboard in left center field.
From left, Peyton Iascio, Vinny Alteri and Jojo Costa slugged HRs to pace the Devils in the final.
In the fourth, the Devils poured more salt in the wound, making sure an MVP comeback was less than likely. Iascio ripped a one-out, solo home run and Rivas had a two-run, grounds rule double for a 13-7 lead.
The Devils opened the game by scoring four runs across the first two innings. Carbone scored on a wild pitch and Iascio had an RBI groundout in the first. Tejada scored on an infield throwing error and Collins added an RBI groundout in the second for a 4-0 lead.
That’s when MVPs offense, which was held hitless to that point by Devils starter Cade Reiger, finally woke up. MVP batted around and scored five runs – four earned – on four hits, one hit batsman and one error.
Vito Composto singled up the middle, Harvey Chen reached on an infield error, and after a Luke Moreno sacrifice bunt, Rob Tabasko braced the right center field fence for a two-run double. Two batters later Jared Mora added another two-run double and Charlie Kirch followed with an RBI single.
After the Devils had taken a 10-5 lead with its big third inning push, the persistent MVP answered with two more runs in the top of the fourth. Caden Tse walked with the bases loaded and Dom Pinto drove in a run with a fielder’s choice.