J.J. Longobardi celebrates as he scores the winning run in the bottom of the sixth for the Wolfpack.
By Rich Bevensee
Anthony Wolke absolutely loves facing pressure situations at the plate, and judging by recent examples, he’s getting pretty good at it.
Just last week he drove in the tying run with two outs in the final inning for his Wolfpack Elite 12U ballclub in a game they went on to win.
His coach, Dave Frech, also loves Wolke in those tough spots, which is why when Wolke walked to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with the tying and winning runs on base on Saturday, Ferch wasn’t worried one bit.
With the Wolfpack trailing by a run in the bottom of the sixth, Wolke drilled a single to left field to drive in two runs and deliver an 8-7 walkoff victory over the Cheshire Reds in the Memorial Day Classic on Saturday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“I like the pressure. I like how it gets nerve wracking and it’s a hard situation,” Wolke said. “But I’m not bothered by it because my teammates are cheering me on.”
The Wolfpack had Diamond Jacks Super 12U, the Central Perk Pirates and CT Tides Carolina left on its pool play schedule this weekend.
The Reds (1-1) settled for a split of their Saturday doubleheader, having beaten the CT Tides, 13-3, in an earlier contest. The Reds will face the Diamond Jacks and Central Perk on Sunday.
Anthony Wolke delivers the game-winning, two-run single for the Wolfpack.
The Wolfpack showed no quit Saturday. They spent the second half of the game playing catch-up after the Reds surged for six runs in the top of the third to take a 6-3 lead. And the Wolfpack trailed, 7-5, going into their final at bat.
“They’re just a bunch of tough kids,” Frech said. “They (the Reds) put up a six-spot in the third inning and we’re trying to keep our kids in the game. They fought to the end so I’m very proud of them.”
In the bottom of the sixth, the Wolfpack’s No. 12 hitter, Gabe Cabanas, led off with a single. Joey Ganguzza walked and Longobardi reached on an error to load the bases. Anthony Henderson drove in Cabanas from third with a sacrifice fly.
Then it was Wolke’s turn to shine. He was down 0-2 in the count before fouling off two pitches. On a 1-2 pitch, Wolke delivered with a single to left, and a jubilant Ganguzza and Longobardi charged home with the winning runs.
“It’s hard to describe what the feeling is like when you get a hit like that,” Wolke said. “Before the at bat I prayed and took a deep breath up there and I told myself, you got this, you can do this.”
“Anthony is one of our best hitters,” Frech said. “I love him in that spot.”
The Wolfpack took command early with a 3-0 lead after two innings. Wolke had an RBI groundout and Alex Skibola had an RBI single in the first, and David Bird Frech added an RBI groundout in the second.
Ryder Keiling had an RBI single in the fifth inning for the Cheshire Reds.
The Reds roared back with six runs in the third. Ryan Mellillo got the Reds on the scoreboard with a two-run double and Gavin DeGrazia scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.
Melillo then scored on an infield error to give the Reds their first lead. Dylan Rykoski added an RBI single and later scored on an error to give the Reds a 6-3 lead.
The Wolfpack began its comeback in the fourth when Longobardi scored on an error and Jackson Neu singled in a run to bring the Wolfpack to within a run at 6-5. But the Reds tacked on an insurance run in the fifth on Ryder Keiling’s RBI single.
“Our kids knew not to quit,” Frech said. “They’ve been flat for a good portion of the year and now they’re picking it up so I’m happy where they’re playing now.”