By Rich Bevensee
The Diamond Jacks 16U Gold squad turned in some outstanding baseball this weekend, but the team’s most notable achievement occurred after claiming the hardware.
The Diamond Jacks opened tournament play at Diamond Nation in Flemington with six pitchers combining on 12 innings of no-hit ball spanning the team’s first two games.
When the team reached the championship game, the three players who manned the No. 11 and 12 spots in the batting order went 2-for-2 with two walks and two RBI.
The biggest highlight was yet to come. After the Diamond Jacks put the finishing touches on a 7-3 victory over the Locked In Baseball Expos in the final of the 16U Grand Slam Powered By Cortes and Hay, the team made an immeasurable gesture.
The Most Valuable Player award was bestowed upon Diamond Jack catcher George DeTorres, a North Hunterdon sophomore who was unable to play in the title game. According to coach Chris Brown, he is still undergoing rehabilitation after surviving the Aug. 22 multi-vehicle crash which tragically claimed the life of his elder sister, Sophia, a junior at North Hunterdon.
Both siblings were passengers in the car while heading to North Hunterdon for the first day of school.
“George is the heart and soul of our team,” Brown said. “He’s a huge part of our success. This is for him and his family.”
Brown said DeTorres was at Diamond Nation on Saturday to watch his team win a pair of games to finish pool play 3-0.
“The guys look up to him,” Brown said. “He comes to the field every single day ready to go. Everything he’s been through and what he’s dealing with right now, I don’t know how he does it. He’s mature beyond his years.”
Sophia’s father, George DeTorres, and her mother, Noelle Boyd, have created an organization to honor their daughter called “Sophia’s Shining Light.” According to the website, sophiaslight.org, the organization will honor the life and legacy of their daughter by providing grants, scholarships and events to recognize and support local organizations and individuals in the Hunterdon County and greater New Jersey area that promote inclusivity and care for those who are isolated, overlooked or underserved.
“It’s a really big thing to honor George and his family today because Sophia was a really big part of our team. She came to all our games,” said Diamond Jack Evan Doty, who provided a key insurance run in the final with a fourth-inning, pinch-hit RBI single. “George is a massive part of our dugout and makes every game much more fun. We love George.”
The championship game was a rematch of Diamond Nation’s Slugfest final Sept. 10, when the Expos overcame an early five-run deficit to win the title, 10-7.
This time around, the Diamond Jacks seized control of the game with a five-run second inning to take a 5-1 lead. In that inning, No. 11 hitter Owen Keough had a two-out, RBI single and No. 12 hitter Luke Rocha forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk.
“Hitting at the bottom of the order, one of the things I’m thinking about is getting the guy’s pitch count up,” said Rocha, a sophomore at Seton Hall Prep. “And it’s about finding a way to get on base for the guys at the top of the order.”
The bottom of the Diamond Jacks order came through again in the fourth. With the game clock under 10 minutes and the Expos desperate to get back in the dugout and mount a comeback, Doty pinch hit for Rocha and dropped a two-out, opposite-field single into right field to drive in an insurance run.
That base knock extended the inning and drained the clock even moreso.
“I feel like it’s more important because when you’re that deep in the order, especially if you’re not starting off the inning, it’s likely there’s going to be guys on base,” Doty said. “So you really have to do something with your at bat.”
Kevin Kelly got the win for the Diamond Jacks after pitching 2⅔ innings and allowing two runs on one hit and four walks with two strikeouts. Gavin Butch came on in relief and permitted one run on three hits and three walks with two strikeouts over 2⅓ innings.
The Expos, 3-0 in pool play, seized a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on Andrew Summa’s RBI single, which scooted just beyond the grasp of Diamond Jacks first baseman Jackson Groenveld and inside the right field line.
The Diamond Jacks retaliated with five runs in the bottom of the inning. With the bases loaded, Groenveld tied the game by scoring from third on a dropped infield fly just behind second base. Keough had an infield hit to drive in the go-ahead run. Rocha walked with the bases loaded, Butch scored on a wild pitch and Keough scored on a two-out infield throwing error for a 5-1 Diamond Jacks lead.
“I think the second inning when we scored five runs was the key,” Brown said. “We put together a bunch of really really good at bats.”
The Expos added a run in the third on Drew Aromondo’s RBI single.
In the fourth, Doty had an RBI single and leadoff man Nico Moore beat out a bases-loaded, infield hit to give the Diamond Jacks a 7-2 lead.
The Expos tried to mount a two-out rally in the top of the fifth, just after Diamond Jacks shortstop Andre Milciukas fielded a grounder through the middle to begin a 6-3 double play. Tyler Jacobs, the Slugfest MVP, crushed an RBI double into the right field corner for the Expos, but Butch got a flyout to end the game.
“It’s always going to be a good game when our teams meet,” Brown said. “That’s an awesome team over there. Whatever team wins, it’s well deserved.”
The Diamond Jacks began the tournament weekend with a no-hitter for their first 12 innings of competition. Rocha, Jake Masterton and McCagg combined for a seven-inning no-hitter in a 2-0 victory over Prospects Baseball Academy. The no-hitter continued for five more innings as Ethan Huang, Doty and Jacob Vasil combined for a 5-4 win over LIB Expos Black.
“Our pitchers threw extremely well this weekend, and I thought Kevin Kelly and Butch did a great job today,” Brown said.