Jeremy Ramos slides home safely in the Canes’ four-run third inning.
By Rich Bevensee
The Canes Tri-State 17U ballclub was trying to finish off an undefeated week of pool play by inserting a non-pitcher into a high leverage situation.
By his own definition, Blayze Conte is not a pitcher, just a hard thrower. But when he came on to relieve Will Ryan with two on and no outs in the fourth inning and the game clock winding down, he was asked to protect a two-run lead and knew the only thing that mattered was throwing strikes.
Conte began to uncork his 85 mph fastball but he walked the first batter to load the bases. Taking a moment to compose himself, Conte began firing strikes and retired the next three batters in order.
With Conte holding serve and Gabe Reyes adding his second run-producing double of the game in the bottom of the inning, the Canes emerged with an undefeated week of baseball thanks to an 8-3 triumph over Locked In Baseball Expos 2025 Blue in the 17U Garden State Invitational on Thursday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“I’m not really a pitcher. I just go in there and throw the ball,” Conte said. “I’m not really into mechanics. As you can see I was just worried about throwing the ball over the plate.”
Conte, a 6-foot, 210-pound rising senior at St. Mary’s Rutherford, added a 1-2-3 scoreless fifth inning to his pitching chart. The game was halted with one out in the bottom of the fifth when Expos reliever Sam Maksimow was injured on a comebacker and coach Chris Bagley’s bench was depleted.
Conte didn’t have the day at the plate he wanted – he struck out, grounded out and hit into a fielder’s choice – but Canes coach J.P. Vail said that never crossed his mind when he asked Conte to take over on the mound.
“Blayze is always going to make an impact,” Vail said. “If he’s not swinging the bat as well as he’d like to – and he’s one of the best hitters we have – he’s going to make an impact one way or another.”
The Canes managed just three hits off Expos starter Vince Graziano and Maksimow, but leadoff hitter Reyes had two of them and made them count. His two two-run double in the bottom of the third tied the game at 3-3, and he added an RBI double in the fourth which gave his team a 7-3 cushion.
“Gabe’s a grinder,” Vail said. “He’s a guy who seems to fly under the radar but any time we need a hit, there’s a reason he’s at the top of the lineup and he seems to come up clutch every time. He’s got that sixth tool.”
The Canes entered the Invitational with a well-established reputation and an undefeated record (3-0) going into their game against the Expos, but found themselves staring up at an early deficit when the Expos jumped on them for three runs in the top of the first inning.
After a Jeff Diaz sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first made the score 3-1, the Canes bounced back against Graziano with four runs in the third. Reyes stroked a two-run double into left center and Anthony Marisco drove a two-out, two-run single through the middle for a 5-3 Canes lead.
Reyes, a 5-9, 155-pound rising senior from North Rockland High in Thiells, N.Y., said there was never a concern in the Canes dugout about an early deficit.
“We love playing with each other,” Reyes said. “We don’t take anything that seriously.”
“It’s all about energy. We try to bring a good vibe to the field and pick each other up when we’re down,” Vail said. “When we got down in the first, there was no hesitation we were going to come back. As long as the guys bring that kind of energy to the game, the baseball takes care of itself.”
The Canes tacked on two more runs in the fourth. Byron Arias scored from second on an infield error and Reyes smacked another RBI double into left center.
For the Canes, Ryan threw three innings and allowed three runs on three hits with five walks and five strikeouts. He walked two batters in the fourth before handing off to Conte.
Conte walked his first batter to load the bases, putting the tying run in scoring position.
“After I walked a guy, I started throwing balls over the plate and I knew my fielders were going to help me and that’s what happened,” he said.
Though Conte doesn’t rely on mechanics to pitch, he understands the need to be more physical on the mound.
Lucas Durkin eyes a pitch for the LIB Expos.
“I started concentrating and finishing more and my velo started going up and I started hitting more spots,” Conte said. “Usually when I try harder I throw slower. But when I use my body more I actually throw harder. Sometimes my mentality is, throw hard, but it’s not. It’s being loose that helps you throw hard.”
Earlier this week the Canes knocked off the Morris County Cubs, 9-8, Tri-State Arsenal 2025 Scout, 6-4 and Power 5 Baseball, 7-3.
For the Expos, Graziano allowed five runs over three innings on two hits and five walks with two strikeouts. Maksimow yielded three runs on one hit and four walks with two strikeouts.
The Expos jumped on the board in the first inning with three runs on two hits and two walks off Ryan. Nick Dragone’s RBI groundout pushed Sam Berk across for a 1-0 lead. On that play, Canes first baseman Jeremy Ramos made a sensational stab of that grounder to prevent the ball from rolling into the right field corner and scoring another run.
Maksimow and Tino Czarnecki then scored on consecutive wild pitches for a 3-0 Expos lead.
The Expos finished the week 1-2-1. They began with a 2-0 loss to Mid-Atlantic Londino, they tied PA Shockers 2025, 5-5, and defeated Untamed Baseball, 11-0.