The Cyclones’ Joe LaRosa takes aim in his team’s 9-0 win.
By Rich Bevensee
There were a few times during the course of Robert Centamore’s scheduled day to pitch when things could have gone sideways for the young right-hander.
It would have been understandable if, right out of the gate, Centamore had shown signs of rust after not pitching for a month. But that didn’t happen.
He could have lost some of his focus after sitting for 30 minutes while his Out Of The Park Cyclones 17U Prospects teammates gave him eight runs of support in the bottom of the third inning. But that didn’t happen, either.
Centamore could have buckled at the first sign of trouble after yielding a pair of one-out base hits in the top of the fourth – which by the way spoiled a no-hit bid. Once again, Centamore didn’t waver.
Centamore displayed maturity through his entire scoreless four-inning stint, and it was his performance which allowed the Cyclones to slide past Game On 13 Fury Elite, 9-0 in five innings, in the 17/18 Fall Fury Powered By Cortes and Hay on Saturday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“The mentality I have is, I’m here to compete,” Centamore said. “All I do is keep trying to do my job and get outs for my team.”
The Cyclones went 2-0 on the day after knocking off Clubhouse 2027 DeMarini, 11-6. They will face Complete Performance Baseball Academy 17/18U on Sunday to close out pool play. The top two teams earn a berth in the final, slated for 2:15 p.m.
Fury Elite bounced back with a 10-0 victory over Complete Performance Baseball Academy 17/18U. Fury finishes pool play Sunday against Clubhouse 2027 DeMarini.
Hard to believe Centamore, a 5-11 righty and a junior at Watchung Hills, was making his first appearance on the bump in more than a month. He allowed two hits and two walks and struck out 10 over his four innings of work. He permitted a walk in the second and again in the third while quieting Fury with his mix of fastballs, curveballs, sliders and changeups.
“Robby is a workhorse,” said Cyclones coach Travis Zilg, himself a Watchung Hills grad. “He’s like a video game – I can call any pitch at any time. The walks go up with the way we call the game, but with that comes the ability to avoid the barrel. On a 2-0 changeup, 1-0 curveballs and full count curveballs, most guys can’t do that. Most guys would have 6-7 walks. So yeah, Robby’s special.”
Landon Pudlak scores the Cyclones’ first run on a double steal.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Cyclones sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs on four hits, four walks and one error. It was a half hour before Centamore threw his last pitch of the third and his first pitch of the fourth.
“The thing I was looking for was his command of the strike zone,” Zilg said. “I’m okay with him giving up hits, rather than him not being able to locate his secondary pitches and losing his command. He got right back into it.”
“That rally motivated me more,” Centamore said. “It was kind of a challenge to get back out there and still battle, even though I’ve been sitting for a long time. Losing momentum was in the back of my head, but I try to stay positive and keep my arm warm, making sure everything is sharp.”
The Fury may have thought it found a few chinks in Centamore’s armor when Emerson Bulis and Evan Rosado clicked for back-to-back, one-out base hits in the top of the fourth, the team’s first hits of the game. But after a mound visit from Zilg, Centamore struck out the next two batters to escape the inning and preserve the shutout.
“I feel like I’m built for those kinds of situations,” Centamore said. “I trust my stuff and trust my ability to get out of it. I was able to shake that off pretty well. I didn’t really care about the hits. I just cared about not letting up any runs and getting three outs.”
Count Cyclones catcher Jacob Jaconski, who’s been catching Centamore since they were 8 years old and also is a junior at Watchung Hills, as one person not surprised to see his pitcher’s perseverance when it counted the most.
“My favorite day of the week is catching Robby,” Jaconski said. “It’s just comfortable. I don’t feel challenged back there because he can put it where he wants it, and even better, he’s gonna win the game. Whenever he goes out there you gotta win because I know he’s gonna give us pretty much a shutout.”
Centamore contributed to the Cyclones’ taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when he doubled, Colin Kassai singled to move Centamore to third, and the duo pulled off a successful double steal.
Zach Linzer kicked off the Cyclones’ eight-run third with a triple to left center and he later scored on an Alex Bolton sacrifice fly.
The floodgates opened for the Cyclones when Kassai lofted a two-out fly ball which was dropped and allowed Joe LaRosa and Landon Pudlak to score for a 4-0 lead. Mike Shipula cracked an RBI double, Max Eder had an RBI single, Jaconski scored on a wild pitch, Eder scored from third on a double steal, and Drew Kipula added an RBI single.
Hard-throwing Kevin Pepe relieved Centamore and pitched a perfect fifth inning with two strikeouts.
Fury lefty Gio Segarra pitched 2⅔ innings and allowed five runs – two earned – on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Mark Mastracchio threw the final 1⅓ innings and permitted four runs on three hits and two walks.