Josh Labrador slaps a grounder to third in the fourth inning to deliver two runs for the DJacks.
By Rich Bevensee
Missed opportunities were abundant on both sides of the diamond, but that may be due to how well the pitching of Grit Silver 14U and Diamond Jacks Super 14U held up in challenging situations in this particular baseball game.
Grit’s right-handed tandem of Colton Stacy and Collin Powers held the Diamond Jacks to two hits. The Diamond Jacks trio of Marco Gulyas, Cole Izbicki and Aaron Erb limited Grit to four hits.
Without much hitting, there were limited chances to score on either side, and when Powers pitched out of a jam with the potential winning run on third in the bottom of the fifth inning, this pool play game ended in a 3-3 tie in the Beat The Heat Tournament Powered by Farah Nutrition on Friday evening at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Of the nine runners the Grit lineup stranded, eight were in scoring position. It wasn’t much better for the Diamond Jacks, who stranded nine baserunners, six in scoring position.
One major reason for all of those baserunners were bases on balls. Both teams surrendered eight walks.
“We dug our own grave,” Diamond Jacks coach Travis Anderson said. “When you battle like that you gotta make pitches when the situation arises and we did. But when you’re always battling yourself and putting yourself into those situations, it’s not always good. We walked too many guys.”
Grit coach Jason Schrammel saw the silver lining in all that battling for his two pitchers. He liked that they held a potent Diamond Jacks lineup – which scored 41 runs in seven July games – to two hits.
“At the end of the day we’re proud of what we did,” Schrammel said. “We always want the ‘W’ but that was a good baseball game. The boys hit their spots. If we’re making a call from the dugout to the catcher and they’re hitting their spots at any moment in time, they’re doing the right thing.”
Stacey, a rising sophomore at St. Joseph Regional in Montvale, allowed one run on one hit and three walks with three strikeouts in 2⅔ innings for Grit. He was making his first appearance on the mound after missing two months due to a torn hamstring.
In the first inning he gave up a run and stranded a runner at third. In the third he left the game with the bases loaded and two out, and Powers induced a groundout to end the threat.
“I came into it a little sore today but just wanted to hit my spots,” said Stacey, who was cleared to play on Monday and said he felt about 95 percent healthy. “I wanted to attack this team. I didn’t want to back down. Going into this game we were the underdogs so I wanted to show that they can count us out but I wanted to make it a game.”
After Powers saved the day in the third inning, he escaped two more jams in the fourth and fifth innings.
In the bottom of the fourth with Grit leading, 3-1, a two-out, infield error allowed two runs to score and tie the game. With the go-ahead run on second base, Powers induced a groundout.
In the fifth, the Diamond Jacks managed to get runners on second and third with one out. Powers didn’t blink. He got a strikeout and an infield popup to end the game.
Thomas Leahy takes a big cut for Grit Silver 14U.
Powers pitched 2⅓ innings for Grit and yielded two runs – both unearned – on one hit and five walks with three strikeouts.
“We were just spotting up our pitches and making it tough for them to piece the ball,” Powers said. “We did a good job of limiting them to making weak contact. They’re a really good team and we held them to just a few hits.”
Powers said he felt especially comfortable in those challenging situations because his fraternal twin, John, was behind the plate calling pitches. The boys will be incoming freshmen at Pascack Hills this fall.
“Whether it’s in the yard or in the bullpen, obviously he’s familiar with what I can do,” Powers said. “I like other guys catching me but he knows the most about me. He knows how I get into certain situations, what I’m confident about and where my pitches are going.”
On the Diamond Jacks side, Diamond Jacks starter Gulyas was making his first appearance since July 6 when he threw three innings against T3 Warhawks Lewis of Cleveland, Ohio, at the LakePoint Sports complex in Cartersville, Georgia.
Gulyas went 3⅓ innings and gave up just two runs despite yielding four hits and four walks with two strikeouts. He left base runners stranded at second and third in both the first and second innings.
When Izbicki came on to relieve Gulyas in the top of the fourth with one out, there were runners at first and third. Izbicki gave up a run on a bases-loaded hit batsman, then left the bases full with a strikeout looking.
Izbicki pitched 1⅓ innings, he surrendered a run on four walks and he struck out one.
Grit was looking to break the 3-3 tie in the top of the fifth. The go-ahead run was on second when Izbicki gave way to Erb, who got a strikeout to end yet another threat.
“We gave them situations which they didn’t capitalize on, which is good, but I think we got away with one today,” Anderson said.
Aaron Erb manufactured a run for the Diamond Jacks in the bottom of the first when he raced all the way to third on an outfield error, then scored when the next batter, Alan Pena, drove him in with a groundout.
Grit took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth thanks in part to a strange play. Stacey drove in Powers with a one-out RBI single, and after stealing second and third, he caught the Diamond Jacks defense napping and stole home for a 2-1 lead. Devin Pantiliano later forced a third run home when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Diamond Jacks had runners at second and third with two out. Josh Labrador grounded to third but an errant throw allowed Izbicki and Drew Pietrowski to score and tie the game.