Ethan Ertle follows through on two-run triple in the first inning for Slim Chance Bulldogs Black.
By Sean Reilly
Ethan Ertle had quite a morning on Sunday at Diamond Nation.
The third batter for the Slim’s Chance Bulldogs Black 10U from Middletown, Del., he went 2-for-3 with six RBI when the team beat South Jersey-based Knights Baseball, 9-8, in a first round playoff game at the Home Run Classic, Powered By Victus.
That performance included an inside-the-park grand slam for a 7-3 lead in the bottom of the third inning, and a leadoff walk-off two-run double for the win when the game went to a bases-loaded, one-out tiebreaker in the seventh inning.
That triumph sent the Bulldogs into a 10 a.m. semifinal against the Hamilton A’s 10U Elite, a team that beat the Bulldogs, 9-3, in a pool play game on Saturday.
This outcome was different, thanks in large part to Ertle. He hit a two-run triple in the top of the first inning before scoring on a ground out from Jack Brown, and added an RBI double during a five-run third inning that sent the Bulldogs to a 12-6 win in Flemington.
“I’ve been trying to make contact and hit line drives,” Ertle said. “It feels really good to make contact like that.”
The Bulldogs offense also made a winner out of pitcher Cameron Matey, who pitched a complete game aided by his retiring 10 of the last 11 batters beginning with the final out of the fourth inning. The only hit he allowed over the final three frames was a leadoff single in the fifth, but the batter was thrown out trying to stretch the ball hit to left field into a double.
“I kept my head in the game, and pushed through it,” Matey said. “And the plays my teammates were making made me more confident.”
The Bulldogs began the game with a definite carryover from the 8 a.m. win. Wyatt Hawkins led off by beating out a grounder to third. Wyatt Creek followed with a single to right, and an error on the player resulted in runners on second and third for Ertle. His triple on a 0-1 pitch, followed by Brown’s RBI groundout, forged a three-run lead just minutes into the contest.
Hudson Triolo handles grounder at first base for the Hamilton A’s Elite.
The A’s got two runs back in the bottom of the inning, when Hudson Triolo followed Daniel Peralta’s triple with an RBI single before scoring himself as Callan Lindower reached on an error.,
The Bulldogs, however, maintained their lead the rest of the game.
The big third inning extended the Bulldogs advantage to 8-2. The rally included an RBI groundout from Creek, the RBI single from Ertle and two-run single from Landon Kirchenbauer. Harris Crist followed with a run-scoring triple.
The A’s responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame to close to 8-6.
Lindower hit a two-run single, Cole Espinosa singled in a run and Jakson Koester added an RBI double.
A four-run fourth extended the Bulldogs lead to 12-6.
Matey drew a bases-loaded walk with nobody out, and after a double play, Hawkins hit a two-run double and Crew added an RBI single.
Hawkins and Creek both finished 2-for-3 with two RBI. Combined with Ertle, the first three hitters in the Bulldogs lineup were 6-for-8 with five runs and seven RBI.
Rachit Garg ended 3-for-3 for the A’s.
The Bulldogs’ playoff run ended with an 11-7 loss to the Saints 10U in the championship later on Sunday.