Mason Flanagan-Diltz of Wladyka 17U American hustles back to first in the sixth inning.
By Rich Bevensee
It was another teenage baseball game on another steamy Tuesday evening at Diamond Nation in the middle of summer with no championship at stake.
And because of that scenario, Wladyka Baseball Academy founder Jim Wladyka says many teenagers are tempted to take a play off here or a game off there because the summer season can be such a grind.
And yet Wladyka Baseball 17U American was battling until the very last pitch, which pleased their coach to no end.
Trailing by a run in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out and no time left on the game clock, Rocco Pierorazio drove in a run with a fielder’s choice grounder and Jayden Pena worked a full count before earning a bases-loaded walk to help Wladyka earn a walk-off 4-3 victory over Akadema Express National in the 18U Blue Chip Prospects showcase at ‘The Nation’ in Flemington.
“I give all the credit to the kids,” said Wladyka, who doubles as Don Bosco Prep’s pitching coach. “It’s that time of the summer, the guys are playing a lot of baseball in a nine-week period and they could go the other way, and these guys don’t, and that’s what I love about them. They love to play, they love to compete, they get here early and they’re ready to go. Most importantly, they are rooting for one another.”
On Thursday, Wladyka (1-1) will conclude pool play by facing Tri-State Arsenal 2025 Marucci National and Locked In Baseball Expos Black. Wladyka lost to Zoned RedHawks 18U, 2-1, on Monday.
Akadema (1-1), a combination of players from the Youngstown, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, areas, defeated Baseball U PA 17U-Regional, 7-1, on Wednesday, and will finish pool play Thursday against Wladyka Continental. On Monday, Akadema beat Body Armor Titans Vigeant 20-2.
The top five teams from the Blue Chip qualify for the Super 17 Top 25 Showcase Aug. 12-15 at Diamond Nation.
Wladyka entered the bottom of the sixth inning trailing 3-2. Michael Hanna earned a leadoff walk against Coleton Logan before Joe Zuccaro came in to relieve and immediately got a strikeout. Zuccaro walked Wladyka leadoff man Mason Flanagan-Diltz, and a wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position.
Pierorazio, a rising senior at Old Tappan, worked a 2-2 count and fouled off three more pitches before grounding to short. The throw home was too late to get a sliding Hanna and Wladyka had tied the game.
“He’s a tough out,” Wladyka said of Pierorazio. “For him to just battle and battle and battle, our kids expect that from him. He always fights.”
“I love to be in that position for my team,” Pierorazio said. “I’m just trying to pass the baton to the next guy. Once I got to two strikes I was trying to play pepper and get the ball on the ground. I love that spot. I feel like every kid wants to be in that spot.”
Zach Hare slides home safely for Akadema Express in the fourth inning.
Dennis Mulhearn was next up and he dumped a single into right field to load the bases. Pena, a rising senior at Don Bosco, who blasted a long solo home run one inning earlier, showed patience at the plate as he worked to a 3-2 count. The next pitch was high and inside, barely missing his jersey, and Pena’s walk forced Flanagan-Diltz home with the winning run.
“The pitcher was struggling with the zone so I was trying to work the count,” Pena said. “I knew behind me I had Nick Gilpin, who was going to get the job done no matter what. I love being in that spot. It’s what you dream of as a kid. You want to pick up your guys.”
Wladyka received exceptional pitching from Max Caracciolo and Gilpin.
Caracciolo, a rising senior at Columbia High, worked the first four innings, showing off his high-80s fastball as well as his slider, sinker and changeup. He allowed two runs on two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.
“I was feeling great, and I definitely could have gone longer,” Caracciolo said. “I started off strong, attacking hitters. It was great.”
“He’s been like that all season,” Wladyka said of Caracciolo. “He can elevate his fastball and he gets swings and misses. He asks for the ball and he responds in big games.”
Gilpin pitched the final two innings and allowed a run on one hit and one walk with four strikeouts.
Akadema’s starting pitcher, Aedan Fowler, a rising senior at Seneca Valley High in Harmony, Pa., also showed an impressive fastball in recording seven strikeouts over four innings. He allowed one run on one hit – the solo homer to Pena to lead off the fifth inning – and two walks.
Logan surrendered two runs on no hits over his one inning of work, walking one. Zuccaro yielded one run on one hit, walked two and struck out one.
Zach Hare, a 6-3, 215-pound rising senior at Riverside High in Ellwood City, Pa., got the Akadema scoring started with a fourth-inning RBI triple which scored Johnny Reyes. Hare swiped home on a double steal while Zuccaro was tied up between first and second.
Wladyka scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game. Pena sent a leadoff rocket over the left field netting, and Nick Donofrio’s sacrifice fly scored Gilpin from third. Gilpin had reached on a hit by pitch, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error. It was Pena’s fourth homer of the season.
“That ball was crushed,” Wladyka said of Pena’s homer. “You don’t see that too often with wooden bats and 17 year olds.”
Hare, who batted .542 for Riverside this past spring, struck again in the top of the sixth, playing a little “Anything you can do, I can do better” with Pena by belting a towering homer to the same spot as Pena’s for a 3-2 Akadema lead.