Danny McGuinness of Hudson Valley slides home safely under the tag of Maryland Legends pitcher Wes Barrett.
By Rich Bevensee
Opposing 16U right-handers Nolan Ensall and Dom Spada found themselves at opposite ends of the spectrum on Saturday.
Hudson Valley Select’s Ensall roared out of the gate by taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning and then slowed a bit at the end. Spada of Maryland Legends navigated a rocky first inning and rebounded to throw three brilliant shutout innings thereafter.
The difference in the ballgame was the four-run hole Maryland found itself in after the first inning. Legends bounced back late but Hudson Valley squashed a seventh-inning rally to earn a 6-4 decision in pool play in the 16U Summer Finale at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Hudson Valley (1-0-1) later tied the Briarwood Stanners of Queens and Middle Village, N.Y., 5-5. The Maryland Legends were swept in their Saturday doubleheader after bowing to Sportika 16 National, 5-3.
The 16U playoffs begin Sunday with a quarterfinal game at 1:15 p.m. The semifinals are at 3:15 p.m. and the championship game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
What may be the most intriguing aspect of Ensall’s performance – and his resume in general – is his ability to effectively navigate and control nine different pitches. Ensall, a rising junior at Goshen (N.Y.) Central, throws a fastball, a two-seam, cutter, slider, changeup, splitter, knuckleball, sweeper and screwball. Whew.
Ensall used his entire toolbox to stifle Maryland Legends through four innings, allowing just one walk. His near perfect resume was scuffed for two hits in the fifth inning but he emerged unscathed.
“What I like about catching Nolan is he knows what he’s doing,” said Hudson Valley catcher Greyson Williams, a rising freshman at Kingston (N.Y.) High. “He calls his own pitches and he knows how to control the count with every single pitch. I haven’t caught him a lot but when I have it’s been a pretty unique experience. I like it a lot.”
Maryland trailed 6-0 in the top of the sixth inning when it finally figured out Ensall, scoring four runs on five hits.
Maryland had its chance in the seventh, sending the tying run to the plate twice. Ensall retired the first batter before surrendering a walk to Spada. Mason Devall relieved Ensall and ended the affair with the next two batters, getting Alex Hansen to hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out, and inducing a fly out from Wes Barrett.
Ensall went 6⅓ innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts.
Hudson Valley coach Randy Delanoy, recently hired to be the head coach at Dutchess Community College in Fairview, N.Y., said he enjoys watching Ensall use his baseball IQ to take control of a game.
“He’s not a dominant velo pitcher but he mixes his pitches well and makes his fastball look fast,” said Delanoy, who played his college ball at SUNY Ulster and St. Bonaventure. “He’s more of the work ahead, let me locate my fastball pitcher. He controlled his offspeed well today and he threw a lot of strikes.”
Maryland’s Kaedan Lucas leads off first with Hudson Valley’s Danny McGuinness holding the bag.
Williams said that with the exception of his slider, Ensall threw all of his pitches effectively, and an in-game switch made him that much more difficult to hit.
“He controlled his fastball the best,” Williams said. “Toward the end he switched to a two-seam and he got control of that and really started dealing. He was dominating.”
Spada, a rising right-handed sophomore at Avon Grove in West Grove, Pa., cannot be described as a tough-luck loser after this contest, but his in-game reversal was terrific. After control issues led to four runs surrendered on one hit, three walks and two hit batsmen in the first inning, he corrected any and all problems he was having to the point where he faced just one batter over the minimum over his next three innings.
“Those last three innings? That’s who he is,” Maryland coach Tim Hoskins said. “In the first inning we made an error on the first batter of the game and he got a little wild from there. I think he was trying to place the ball. I went out there and said, ‘Dude, just throw the ball. Stop trying to be perfect. You can’t be perfect as a pitcher.’ He was trying to aim it. You could see him trying to spot everything and control it himself instead of letting them hit.”
Hudson Valley began its four-run splurge in the first inning with Ensall’s RBI single. With the bases loaded, Nash Byrne was hit by a pitch, Giani Martino walked, and John Harrington was also hit by a pitch.
The Hudson Valley lead grew to 6-0 in the fifth when Harrington scored on a passed ball and Danny McGuiness scored on a wild pitch.
Maryland began its comeback in the top of the sixth when Wes Barrett singled, Cameron Glace doubled and leadoff hitter Chase Sims knocked them both in with a double to right center. Jameson Ore and Brady McGuirk added RBI singles to cut Hudson Valley’s lead to 6-4.
Barrett relieved Spada in the fifth and gave up two runs on no hits, one walk and one hit batsman and he struck out four in four innings.