By Rich Bevensee
Lyons and Tigers and sharks, oh my!
The Diamond Jacks 10U ballclub, led by John Lyons, Scott Tiger and Brady “Jaws” Jezorwski, has figured out how to hurdle past the goal of merely reaching a tournament championship game and actually capturing the winner’s trophy.
Over and over again, after their latest triumph, the players repeated the word teamwork, and noted that they never give up on each other. Whatever they’re doing, it’s working, because after losing in the first three of their championship game appearances this spring, the Diamond Jacks have won two titles in a row and don’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.
In the 10U School’s Out Tournament final, Jezorwski’s relief pitching slowed down a potent Bergen Crush Orange lineup, Lyons sparked two important rallies with his bat, and Tiger provided the walk-off base hit as the Diamond Jacks rebounded from a five-run deficit to beat Crush, 7-6, for the title on Sunday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
The Diamond Jacks went 4-0 when they won the 10U Father’s Day Classic last week at the Nation.
“It’s all teamwork,” Lyons said of his team’s effort the last two weeks. “Everyone is working together. No one is giving up on anyone.”
“After losing a championship game you kind of feel depressed but you know you’ll get another chance,” Tiger said. “After winning, you know you’ll be back.”
In the bottom of the sixth inning of the School’s Out title game, with the score tied 6-6, Lyons led off with a seeing eye base hit through the hole on the right side. Jezorwski followed with a single up the middle and both players advanced on a wild pitch.
With the infield playing in, Tiger hit a slow grounder to short and the throw home was too late to get a sliding Lyons who scored the winning run.
“It’s this team now, it’s not this team four weeks ago,” Diamond Jacks coach Jairo Labrador said. “Being in this situation, losing in the championship game a couple times, they had to learn how to win. Now they know not just how to win, but how not to give up. They’re starting to come together as a group. They’re starting to believe.”
Lyons and Tiger were named co-MVPs of the tournament. Lyons went 8-for-10 at the plate with six RBI, while Tiger went 8-for-12 with 11 RBI.
It was a momentous, confidence-building win, for sure, for the Diamond Jacks, which trailed 5-0 through three innings.
“It was actually pretty sad when we were losing and everyone was just sitting on the bench,” Tiger said. “It wasn’t that hard to get into it when John started the rally. It was very exciting to come back. You just have to keep your head in the game and know what to do.”
Bergen Crush, seeded fourth, had come from behind twice in its two previous playoff games on Sunday just to reach the title game. Seeing Crush take a commanding 5-0 lead in the final seemed like the heavy-hitting Bergen County club was through with using the come-from-behind technique.
Scott Tiger and John Lyons of Diamond Jacks 10U were name School’s Out tournament co-MVPs.
But the Diamond Jacks, now 8-0 in their summer season, finally responded with some offense in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs all with two outs.
Michael Botti was hit by a pitch, Lyons drove him in with an RBI double, Jezorwski singled, Tiger drove in two with a single up the middle, and he later scored on a throwing error.
“When the game’s on the line you try not to have butterflies,” Lyons said of his clutch hitting performance in the fourth and sixth innings. “Everyone is counting on you so you do your best at the plate. You gotta be locked in and don’t think about the pressure.”
Crush added an insurance run in the fifth when Ryan Weiss scored on a wild pitch for a 6-4 lead.
The Diamond Jacks did their share of swiping extra bases in the bottom of the inning when Will Crowley and Sebastian Perez both took home on wild pitches to tie the game.
In the top of the sixth, Crush had runners on first and second with one out when the Diamond Jacks catcher Christopher D’Urso threw out a runner trying to take third on a wild pitch. Perez, who came on in relief of Jezorwski, struck out the final batter with the potential go-ahead run at second base.
Jezorwski was terrific in relief of Tiger, striking out five of the eight batters he faced over the fourth, fifth and part of the sixth inning.
“It was pretty tough getting a good grip on the ball and knowing where to throw it,” Jezorwski said. “I was just trying to pound the zone.”
The championship game marked the third straight game that Crush was playing on Sunday. It trailed 5-3 in the fifth inning of the quarterfinals and came back to beat the fifth-seeded Zoned RedHawks, 10-9. Crush trailed top-seeded Morris County Cubs Navy, 10-8, going into the top of the sixth and emerged with an 11-10 win.
“For us to play like this today, it’s big,” Crush coach Greg Reid said. “We play better when we play multiple games in a row. We were down 5-3 in the first game, down 10-8 in the second game. We have a mentality going back to last year that we’re the comeback kids. We’re never out of a game. The boys played together as a team and never gave up on each other.”