Manny Nunez singles home the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh for Centercourt.
By Rich Bevensee
Manny Nunez’ best asset in his baseball tool belt may be his selective memory.
When Nunez came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning with the winning run on third base on Sunday evening, he wasn’t thinking about his previous at bat, when he struck out an inning earlier as a pinch-hitter.
Nunez was thinking about his game-winning RBI for his Elizabeth High team last spring. That is how he prepared himself on Sunday for his second chance at the plate, his shot at redemption.
Facing PA Shockers 2027 lefty Gavin Wisnoski for a second time, Nunez laced the first pitch he saw into left field to drive in Landon James with the winning run as Centercourt Baseball 17/18-Cohen earned a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over the Hamilton A’s in the Wood Bat Championship Powered By Victus at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“I was looking forward to it. I love moments like that,” Nunez said. “I love the pressure and the competition. And when you get the hit, it’s like a weight lifted. You feel like The Man.”
It was the second time in Nunez’ career that he came through with a game-winning hit. On April 24, his Elizabeth team was tied with St. Thomas Aquinas in the bottom of the seventh. Aquinas chose to intentionally walk the batter before Nunez to load the bases and pitch to him. He responded by knocking in the winning run with a single to left to propel Elizabeth to a 13-12 win.
“I wasn’t nervous today because I did it in high school. I was having flashbacks,” Nunez said.
Centercourt finished pool play 3-0 in the 60-team field, one of 12 teams to conclude the weekend undefeated. Centercourt, which outscored its opponents, 18-6, did not make the cut as one of the top five teams to qualify for the Columbus Day Showdown, Oct. 16 at the Nation.
Earlier this weekend Centercourt defeated Hamilton A’s 2025, 9-1. After the Shockers game, Centercourt completed a Sunday doubleheader sweep with a 6-3 win over Complete Performance Baseball Academy 17U Blue.
The Shockers closed 1-2. They defeated Complete Performance 7-0, but on Sunday they lost two nail biters, to Centercourt and to the Hamilton A’s, 1-0.
Another hero for Centercourt was second baseman Ian Acevedo, who halted his team’s scoring drought with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. That made the score 2-1 and set the stage for Centercourt’s seventh-inning drama.
“He’s our table setter,” Centercourt coach Lou Aponte said. “He sets the table and everyone follows.”
Acevedo, who transferred to Elizabeth for his senior year, was trying to inspire his teammates two innings earlier when he slid head first into first base for an infield hit. It was only the second base hit for Centercourt to that point.
Two innings later with Centercourt trailing 2-0, Acevedo came up with one out and runners on first and third and drilled a Wisnoski fastball into center to drive in Eddie Cardoza and bring his team within a run.
“I feel like everyone on the team is hyped up but we just need that one hit or that one runner on base hit to get us going,” Acevedo said. “I got the RBI single to get us on the board, and the rest of the team did the job by getting on base and scoring.”
Even with the Shockers leading 2-0 through five innings, the game was a thrilling pitcher’s duel in which all four pitchers escaped prolonged innings by pitching well with men on base.
Centercourt starter Jimmy Kehoe pitched 2⅓ innings and departed after allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits and five walks with four strikeouts.
Centercourt’s Ian Acevedo slides head first to beat out an infield hit.
Trevor Wallace came on in relief of Kehoe and pitched 4⅔ scoreless innings, despite giving up seven hits and one walk.
Shockers starter Trent Lutz, a hard-throwing 6-4 righty, was staked to a 2-0 lead through his four scoreless innings of work. He gave up just two hits and no walks and he struck out five.
Finn Bachman gave the Shockers a 1-0 lead in the top of the second with a line drive RBI single into center. In the third, the Shockers made it 2-0 when Connor Murray reached on an outfield error and scored on a two-out single by Brett Pollack. Pollack reached across the plate to send an opposite-field flare into shallow right.
Wisnoski relieved Lutz and pitched a scoreless fifth before allowing an RBI single to Acevedo in the sixth. Lutz pitched three innings and permitted three runs on four hits and five walks with two strikeouts.
Centercourt’s seventh inning drama began when Aidan English and James coaxed walks to lead off the frame. Ethan Cifarelli, who slapped a pinch-hit single two innings earlier, rapped a double to right center to drive in English and tie the score.
Centercourt stifled a normally potent Shockers offense by throwing out three baserunners at the plate.
In the third, Centercourt first baseman Adrian Tavara threw out Cole Wosnicki at home on a bases-loaded force play. In the fourth, Wisnoski tried to score on a Wallace wild pitch but Centercourt catcher Cardoza flipped to Wallace in time for the tag.
And in the top of the seventh, English, Centercourt’s left fielder, fielded a base hit by Jason Kreider and fired home to nail Wisnoski trying to score from second for the inning’s final out.