By Sean Reilly
Collin Denton did more than just use his right arm to pitch the Monmouth Liberty to a championship on Sunday at Diamond Nation.
Denton, a senior at Monmouth Regional in Tinton Falls, and a St. Peter’s University commit, also used his brain when the Liberty beat the Diamond Jacks Gold 16U, 6-3, to capture the 17/18U Fall Brawl, Powered By Cortes & Hay, in Flemington.
Denton, who was named tournament MVP, pitched six of the seven innings, allowing seven hits with 11 strikeouts and three walks, on a day where he did not have total command of his arsenal.
“It was definitely a down day with the fastball velocity,” he said. “Early on, they were hitting two seamers away, so we had to make a change. We went to a lot of four-seam, slider, and we still found a way to get outs.”
Making adjustments has become a part of his growth as a pitcher with a Division 1 future.
“I’ve learned a lot from my catcher and just playing baseball that we have to make adjustments in-game and accommodate for what happens,” he said.
The DJacks Gold, who were playing up in age, acquitted themselves well against the older competition. They even scored twice in the top of the first for a 2-0 lead.
Collin Denton of Monmouth Liberty was named the 17/18U Wood Bat Fall Brawl MVP.
Nico Moore led off the game with a walk and Blake McCagg followed with a single to right field. Third-batter Kevin Kelly drove in both with a double to right-center. Denton settled down by striking out the next three.
The Liberty got both runs back in the bottom of the inning.
William Fahey led off by hitting a single on a grounder into center field. Nico Amecangelo walked, and a double steal resulted in an overthrow past third which scored Fahey. Connor Tongring had an RBI groundout to bring in Amecangelo with the tying run.
The Liberty went ahead in the second inning, with Justin Fuerbacher reaching on a one-out walk before stealing second and moving to third on a passed ball. Gavin Toth then hit an RBI ground out to shortstop.
A three-run fourth enabled the Liberty to expand its lead to 6-2.
Zach Hampton led off with a hit-by-pitch and he advanced to second on a passed ball. After a fly out, he scored as Danny Tsimbinos singled to left field. R.T. Runge hit an RBI double to left, and he scored on a two-out single to center from Fuerbacher.
The DJacks scored their final run in the top of the fifth. Peyton Keller singled to left with one out, and he scored when Jacob Vasil doubled to right field with two out.
Kelly finished 3-for-3 with three doubles for the DJacks.
Fuerbacher was 2-for-2 while Fahey and Tsimbinos were 2-for-3 for the Liberty.
The Liberty have a chance to claim two championships in two days at ‘The Nation,” since they qualified earlier in the fall and will compete in Monday’s one-day Columbus Day Championship.