Josiah Sharpe scores for Sportika 17U Red on a sacrifice fly by Will Perski.
By Sean Reilly
Josiah Sharpe is healthy again, and he’s making the most of it for Sportika Baseball 17U Red.
The leadoff man and outfielder is an active presence for his team, which competed this week at the Diamond Nation 17/18U Blue Chips Prospects tournament, Powered By Victus.
That wasn’t the case earlier this year, when his junior season at Union Catholic was limited to 27 at-bats after he suffered a toe injury in a pre-season scrimmage.
His ability to cause havoc atop the order was on display on Thursday morning, when he went 3-for-4 and scored three runs while driving in another during a 7-1 victory over Hustle Baseball.
Sportika had a second game later in the day, and beat Complete Performance Baseball 17U Blue, 11-0, to complete a 2-2 showing at the event featuring more than 80 teams.
Sharpe is a dangerous player in several ways. The first is his ability to get on base. Once there, he’s a threat to advance in a variety of ways. Against Hustle Baseball, that included two stolen bases, advancing on two wild pitches and an outfield error following a hit, along with scoring on a sacrifice fly and on a dash home after confusion on the bases led to a teammate joining him near third base.
Hustle Baseball first baseman Matthew Parker handles throw for an out.
“This is an important summer for me and it’s going good,” he said. “I like to bring energy.”
After Nick Hardy pitched a 1-2-3 top of the first, Sharpe set a tone for Sportika leading off the bottom of the inning. After taking a pitch for a strike, he beat out a slow roller toward shortstop. He stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a balk with No. 2 hitter Matt Sisco still at the plate.
Hustle Baseball tied it in the second, with catcher Nick Arvanites reaching on a single to left field and courtesy runner Anthony Tetto later scoring on a sacrifice fly to left from Noah Gattens.
Sharpe factored into Sportika retaking the lead in the bottom of the third.
He led off with a single to center and stole second. He moved to third when Sisco singled between shortstop and third. Sharpe then beat a throw to the plate after tagging on Will Perski’s fly out to right field.
Sportika broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning.
Braden Ward got it going with a one-out grounds rule double to right field. Shane Tumbleson was then hit by a pitch.
Nick Graziano was the next batter, and his single through the left side of the infield scored Ward and sent Tumbleson to third. Graziano also took second on a throw to the plate.,
With the infield playing in, James Zsorey hit an RBI single to left field for a 4-1 lead.
Sharpe, with the infield playing in, hit an RBI single to center, and a misplay in the outfield scored an additional run and sent Sharpe to second. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on his dash to the plate following Perski’s ground out.
Hardy pitched the first five innings for the win, allowing four hits, with six strikeouts and four walks. Leo Vitale added two scoreless innings of relief.
For Sharpe, the wins on Thursday were great, but being able to play healthy again is even better.
“I’m getting back into it,” he said. “I really like batting leadoff and being active. During the high school season, I sprained my big toe really bad, and it was really frustrating. I’ve been looking to make up for it over the summer.”
Ward also finished with multiple hits for Sportika, going 2-for-3. The team totaled eight hits overall.