William Diaz launches his birthday homer for Team Patriots.
By Rich Bevensee
It may not rankle Mr. and Mrs. Diaz at all to hear their son William say that he gave himself possibly his best birthday present ever.
After just missing a home run in his first at bat – he reached the center field warning track and settled for a double – Diaz celebrated his 12th birthday by hammering a three-run home run which bounced off the top of the scoreboard in left center field on Field 2 at Diamond Nation.
Without question, it was a prodigious clout.
With his mom shouting, “Happy Birthday William” as he rounded the bases, Diaz’ homer was the definitive shot in an offensive onslaught for Team Patriots, which scored its runs in bulk en route to a 14-6, five-inning victory over Team Guardians in the 11/12U bracket in the All-Ripken Games on Wednesday in Flemington.
“I thought I was going to have a good day. I didn’t think I was going to go 2-for-2 with a homer and a double,” Diaz said. “I just wanted to show up and play. Definitely one of my best days playing baseball. And maybe my best birthday present.”
The win moved Team Patriots to 2-0 and atop the 11/12U standings. They face Team United and Team Victory in two more pool play games on Thursday with hopes of earning a berth in the championship game, slated for 12:30 p.m.
Team Guardians (0-3) fell to Team United 14-10 in a later contest on Wednesday. Team Guardians finishes pool play against Team Freedom on Thursday.
Diaz said his best birthday present he could remember was an XBox 1 he received when he was 8 years old. The homer may have trumped that gift.
Diaz said it was his first homer of the summer. He played for Grit in the spring.
“Playing in the All-Ripken tournament has been a cool experience. I like it a lot,” Diaz said.
Another offensive standout for Team Patriots was Nick Penna, who doubled twice and drove in two runs. Penna, who stars for the Diamond Jacks 11U squad, also pitched the first two innings.
“This has been a pretty cool tournament,” Penna said. “I get to play with my friends, I have a lot of friends on other teams, and I get to play with better players. At the start I was a little nervous, but after the first day in the cage I was fine.”
Also for Team Patriots, Samson Pitko went 2 -or-3 with an RBI. Dash Henry pitched two innings after Penna and Zach Carlotto pitched the fifth.
Defensively, Chris Yang and Kwame Asante-Abedi were standouts for Team Patriots, and they packed their highlights into the top of the fourth inning.
Asante-Abedi made a great sliding catch of a dying liner in center field off the bat of Kyle Parks for the first out. From right field, Yang threw out Elijah Wakefield at first base trying for a single, and Yang made a running catch of a Lucas Agosto liner for the third out.
Christian Anderson, who plays for Titans Baseball, was the only Team Guardians hitter to record multiple hits. Anderson went 2-for-3 with a grounds-rule, RBI double.
Samson Pitko reaches third after his RBI single for Team Patriots.
“I was very excited about this tournament,” Anderson said. “My mom told me she got an email and that I was selected for it, and I was really happy and shocked at the same time. I wasn’t really nervous. I was excited for the opportunity to do it. I was excited to play and have fun and be on a really, really good team.”
Anderson was one of four Team Guardians pitchers. Luca Burris pitched two-thirds of an inning, Owen Bobersky pitched one-third of an inning, Austin Gade went one inning and Anderson threw the final three frames.
Nicholas Lavaia recorded the second extra base hit of the game for Team Guardians when he sliced a ball through the hole at short and the ball skipped to the right center field wall for an RBI double. Lavaia, who plays summer ball for Grit, walked in his first at bat.
“I was excited to be here,” Lavaia said. “I was on the bus coming from school and my mom texted me the picture of the email, and I said I wanted to do it. The drills are fun and the baseball is fun. I was a bit nervous to see if I was as good as other players but now I know I am.”
The defensive highlight for Team Guardians was a smooth 6-4-3 double play in the bottom of the third inning, when shortstop Chris Alonzo flipped to second baseman Tyler Hayward for the first out and Hayward fired to first baseman Wakefield to finish off the play.