Jack Edwards, center, is greeted by Trey Lyerly and coach Anthony Feltre after pitching finishing three shutout innings.
By Rich Bevensee
In Jonathan Feltre’s defense, he pitched a total of one-third of an inning in four games for the Zoned RedHawks 18U ballclub when he entered Wednesday night’s game in relief of ace Jack Edwards, who had just polished off three shutout innings.
Feltre walked four batters to allow the game’s first run. It was a relief appearance he’d rather forget, but neither Feltre nor his coach allowed the moment to swallow him for the rest of the game.
“It’s a fall game and he hasn’t pitched much this fall,” said Zoned coach Anthony Feltre, the pitcher’s uncle. “But I wanted to give him a little time to see if he could work out of it, because you’re gonna have that in high school. You’re gonna have to work out of some jams.”
Feltre limited the damage to just that one run and returned to the dugout determined to crush the next fastball he saw. One inning later he got his chance.
Feltre hammered a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth and it was all the offense Zoned needed in an otherwise well-pitched game on both sides, as the RedHawks emerged with a 3-1 win over Bucks County Phillies Scout in the Diamond Nation High School Fall League on Wednesday in Flemington.
The victory allowed Zoned (5-0) to remain one of three undefeated teams in the league, along with Out of The Park Cyclones 18U (6-0) and Whitehouse American Legion Post 284 (5-0).
Bucks County (6-4) saw its two-game winning streak halted and was held to its lowest output of the season by four Zoned pitchers who collectively allowed just one hit, a third-inning double by Pierce Perry.
Feltre, a 6-1 junior righthander at Hillsborough, certainly rode the complete wave of emotions bridging the fourth and fifth innings. He retired the next batter after the bases-loaded walk and admitted that allowing a run in a tight game would bother him even after cooling off in the dugout.
“I was definitely still thinking about it in the dugout,” Feltre said. “I’m definitely the kid where it’s gonna linger a little bit. But I was able to survive it, put it in my back pocket and enjoy the rest of the game.”
Feltre and his teammates would enjoy what came next.
Phillies lefty Julian Schenck, a senior at Pennsbury in Fairless Hills, Pa., carried a one-hit shutout into the fifth when Zoned cleanup hitter Kyle Malchiodi ripped a leadoff double into the left field corner.
Kyle Malchiodi rips a double down the line in the fifth inning for Zoned RedHawks 18U.
Justin Gregov followed with a bunt and reached on a throwing error, and Bucks County manager Steve Perry felt compelled to go to his bullpen. Feltre was up next, and he blasted Jackson Tasker’s second pitch, a 1-0 inside fastball, over the left field fence for his first home run of the fall.
“I was looking for a fastball, belt high and I wanted to crush it,” Feltre said. “It was middle in, just perfect, right where I wanted it. I’m probably not going to hit a lot of go-ahead three-run home runs in my life so yeah, I enjoyed it.”
Perry expressed no regret about pulling Schenck after 54 pitches. Schenck, using a fastball, slider and curveball, allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
“In the fall we really don’t look to push kids too much past 50 pitches. That’s the mark that we go with,” Perry said. “He was pitching really well and I kept asking if he was comfortable. I thought the error, psychologically, might have been the right time to get him out of there and go to a new arm. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”
Anthony Feltre was not surprised how his nephew bounced back from a rough inning on the mound.
“On the bench I told him, ‘It happens. Just get ready and you’re gonna get up again and make something happen,’’’ Feltre said. “We all believe in everybody and that makes a big difference.”
Feltre, a Montclair State commit for pitching, was solid on the hill for Hillsborough last spring, posting a 2.26 ERA in 31 innings. Inasmuch as Feltre has demonstrated power at the plate, it may come as a surprise to some that he did not get a single at bat for the Raiders, something he believes will change next season.
And just maybe, he said, Montclair State will allow him to be a two-way player.
“I play first and third and we (Hillsborough) had a deep corner infield last season,” Feltre said. “But I think I am definitely gonna get more playing time this year. I love hitting and I would love that opportunity to do both at the next level. But I’ll do whatever they ask. It would be hard (to give up hitting) but some things are better left in the past.”
Edwards, a junior righty at Hunterdon Central, struck out six in his three innings for Zoned and yielded one hit and one walk.
After Feltre’s appearance in the fourth, he was followed by Zoned relievers Aarav Raju and Trey Ryerly. Raju, a Watchung Hills junior righty, pitched a scoreless fifth inning with one walk. Ryerly, a Piscataway Magnet sophomore, was nearly perfect for two innings, allowing one walk and striking out four.
Feltre was the only Zoned batter Tasker could not retire. Tasker, a Pennsbury senior, set down the next six batters he faced with four strikeouts.