Generals’ Logan Waynick his against Locked In Expos pitcher Brandon Stokoe.
By Luis Torres
Luke Dickerson wasn’t trying to do much when he stepped back into the batter’s box behind in the count 1-2.
The game was tied as Bucks County Generals 14U Black had runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. Dickerson had a chance to be the hero for his team, which had trailed by four runs at one point in the contest.
Dickerson waited for the 1-2 pitch, swinging and hitting a chopper toward the pitcher. The ball bounced high, hitting the top of the glove of Locked In Expos’ relief pitcher and trickling toward and squeezing past second base, scoring the go-ahead run.
It wasn’t pretty, but Dickerson pulled through in the clutch as part of an eight-run frame, helping Bucks County Generals 14U Black to an 11-4 comeback win over Locked In Expos in 14U Diamond Nation World Series play on Thursday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
With the win, the Generals finished as one of the pool winners for the week, with a whopping run differential of plus-50.
“Well, I was just trying to get the runners from second and third home,” Dickerson said. “I was just trying to get a run in. I was really happy because I haven’t been that good today, and I came back and was able to get the go-ahead hit.”
Bucks County Generals reliever Peter Pasquarella delivers a pitch.
Bucks County General hadn’t had many issues in pool play leading into the game against Locked In Expos, outscoring teams 44-1 during its first three games. But coach Sean Udris’ team found itself trailing 4-0 after the top of the first inning, thanks to four hits by the Expos.
The General also faced a pitcher in Brandon Stokoe whose fastball was sitting 78-80 miles per hour and topped at 81 miles per-hour, according to the radar gun at Diamond Nation.
Slowly though, Udris’ team chipped away, cutting the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the third inning after a sacrifice fly from Charlie Wetzel and an RBI single by John Trefz.
“Their starting pitcher was really good,” Udris said. “He threw consistently hard. It’s been a while since we’ve seen velo like that, probably two weeks since we did, so it was really good to see us compete and really drive that pitch count up.”
Stokoe tossed five innings for Locked In Expos, scattering five hits, walking four, striking out five and allowing two earned runs. He mixed in his electric fastball with a breaking ball that befuddled hitters.
Bucks County Generals relief pitcher Peter Pasquarella entered the game in the fourth inning with his team still trailing 4-2. The right-handed pitcher tossed four scoreless innings, retiring 15 of the 16 batters he faced with three strikeouts. The only blemish on his pitching line was a single he allowed in the top of the seventh.
His effort on the mound kept Locked In Expos from adding to its lead, and the lineup took over in the bottom of the sixth inning, sending 11 hitters to the plate as part of the eight-run outburst, including Dickerson’s go-ahead hit, to come away with the win.
“At the end of the day, it was a team effort,” Udris said. “Dickerson did a great job. He executed the plan. We got runners on second and third, Pasquarella scores, and then Dickerson hit a ground ball and gives us the lead. It was good execution all around from all the kids.”