Joshua Devers of Warehouse Mariachis Purple goes first to third on a single by George Gutierrez.
By Sean Reilly
George Gutierrez has had a solid fall season for the Warehouse Mariachis 15U Purple, and it continued on Friday night at Diamond Nation.
So has the rest of his team, and their efforts were rewarded with two opening-night victories at the 15U Fall Brawl in Flemington.
The Warehouse Mariachis Purple, based in Highland Park, scored twice in the bottom of the first while building a five-run lead in a 9-4 victory over the Zoned RedHawks 15U.
Warehouse followed that with a four-run top of the first in what became a 9-3 triumph over Iron Nine 15U to complete a sweep that pushed their overall fall record to 7-2.
Gutierrez was among the catalysts in both wins.
Batting second in each game, he singled and scored in the first inning against the RedHawks, part of a 2-for-3, two run performance.
He also walked and scored in the first inning against Iron Nine.
“It’s been a good season,” he said of the fall campaign. “My hitting has been pretty good and the team has been doing well. I’ve been looking to get stronger.”
In the opener against the RedHawks, Joshua Devers led off the bottom of the first by walking on a 3-1 pitch. Gutierrez followed with a first-pitch single to right. Devers advanced to third, and Gutierrez took second on a throw.
After the next batter struck out, Brian Montalbano was safe on an error that scored both.
Warehouse extended the lead to 5-0 with a three-run third.
Lukas Horvath led off with a walk and stole second before the next batter struck out. Gutierrez then singled to center, with Horvath holding at third. Gutierrez stole second before Diego Suarez followed with a two-run single to center.
Suarez was out trying to take second after a well-executed cutoff play by the RedHawks. But Montalbano followed with a single to center, and courtesy runner Angel Guido stole two bases before scoring on a wild pitch.
The RedHawks got three runs back in the top of the fourth. After walks to the first two batters, Jack Sternadori hit an RBI single to center with one out. Another walk loaded the bases before Alex Solano and Tim Hansen drew run-scoring walks.
Joseph Cozine rounds first on his double for Zoned RedHawks 15U.
Warehouse then made a pitching change, with left-hander Colin Maher, an eighth-grader playing up in age for the tournament, taking over. He struck out the next two batters to stop the rally.
The RedHawks did score once in the fourth to get within 5-4 after Joshua Balda walked with one out, Ryan Shimp followed with a double to left and Cozine (2-for-3) hit an RBI single to right with two out.
Warehouse countered with one run in the bottom of the inning. Jaden Phillips led off with a single to left. He stole second, reached third on a passed ball and scored when Harrison Green doubled to left.
The final three runs came in the bottom of the fifth.
Suarez led off with a single and Montalbano walked. After an out, Suarez scored on a balk and Phillips hit an RBI single past third and into left field. He stole second and scored on Anthony Caracciolo’s single to left.
Gutierrez, Suarez and Phillips all went 2-for-3 in the win.
Phillips was also 2-for-2 with four RBI in the nightcap win over Iron Nine, including a two-run single for a 3-0 lead with two out in the first. He also hit a two-run double that extended the lead to 6-0 in the third.