Nate Kayser leads off for the Revolution, as Alexander Sequeira guards the base for the Honor.
By Sean Reilly
Hudson Carras did several things on Wednesday afternoon at Diamond Nation.
Most notably, he got to pitch, play catcher and also serve as an offensive catalyst for his Revolution team at the 11U All-Ripken Games.
Making it even better was that he did so while making new friends in a fun environment at a venue where he likes to compete.
And, as the capper to it all, he got to experience a win, as the Revolution defeated the Honor, 11-5, during the first day of a game competition during the four-day All-Ripken event in Flemington.
Carras, who visited ‘The Nation’ earlier this year with his hometown Burnt Hills (N.Y.) Spartans team, allowed one run on the mound. And as the cleanup batter in the 14-man Revolution lineup, he hit a sacrifice fly as part of a two-run first inning, and also produced an RBI single in his at-bat in the fourth inning.
Everett Copeland delivers pitch for the Honor during 11U All-Ripken Games.
“It’s great to be here at Diamond Nation and I’m very thankful for the opportunity that I’m getting,” he said. “My teammates did great, and we were able to get a win. I also like playing here. It’s a very clean complex, and I like the turf fields.”
After Carras pitched a scoreless top of the first, the Revolution scored twice in the bottom half of the inning.
Nate Kayser led off with a single to left and stole second. He scored on a base hit to left by Liam Sager, and Sager would score the second run on a sacrifice fly from Carras.
The Honor got one run back in the second inning after Alexander Sequeira reached on a one-out walk and later scored on a single from Everett Copeland.
The Revolution countered with five runs in the bottom of the second for a 7-1 lead.
The inning began with a double by John Lynch, who moved to third on a single from Cameron Townsend.
Anthony Mesopotanese was safe on a fielder’s choice that forced out Townsend and also scored Lynch. After another force out, E.J. Ralph hit a RBI double to deep center. Sean Walker McCarthy walked, and the runners moved up on a wild pitch. Luca Messina hit an RBI single to shortstop and Dylan Shrewsbury followed with an RBI grounds rule double to center.
The Honor scored once in the third, with Sean Duncan reaching on a one-out error, and after a single by Max Erdel, scoring on a double to right center by Chris Hooper.
The Revolution began the bottom of the third with a single to left by Sager, followed by a hit by Nicholas Popowski that went past shortstop and into the gap in left-center for an RBI double. Popowski scored on a single by Carras for a 9-2 lead.
The Honor started the fourth with a walk to Kwame Boachie-Agyeman, who later scored on a wild pitch. Jack DeRosa added a single, and he scored on a hit by Sequeira.
Liam Sager, who went 2-for-3, scores for the Revolution on sacrifice fly from Hudson Carras.
The Revolution added an RBI single from Connor Flesta with two out in the fourth. He advanced to second on an error, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.
The Honor closed out the scoring when Erdel singled with one out and scored on a triple by Jakub Neumann with two out.
The Revolution totaled 14 hits, with 12 of the 14 batters supplying at least one. Sager was 2-for-3, while Shrewsbury was 2-for-2.
Erdel went 2-for-2 for the Honor.
“This is a great opportunity to meet new people, and my teammates are great guys,” said Carras. “It’s a lot of fun, and winning this game made it even better.”