By Rich Bevensee

A handful of the 14U Underground Vipers played in the 2024 Little League World Series, in case anyone was wondering how a group of boys so young developed such nerves of steel to handle tense situations. 

Will Szablewski was not as fortunate as some of those Vipers to have played in front of 17,000 people at Williamsport’s Lamade Stadium. But he immediately proved himself as a new face on the team this fall, so no one is concerned how Szablewski will handle the moment when the game is on the line.

With two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, Szablewski coaxed a six-pitch walk, thereby forcing home the winning run to propel the top-seeded Vipers to a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over third-seeded Baseball U PA National in the 14U Slugfest championship game on Sunday evening at Diamond Nation in Flemington. 

“I was thinking about how I can help the team win this game, how I can help win the championship,” said Szablewski, named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “I was pretty nervous, but I knew I wasn’t going to swing on 3-1. I was trying to make him throw the ball.”

The Newtown, Pennsylvania-based Vipers went 3-0 in pool play and outscored those three opponents, 21-2, to earn the top seed for the final. Baseball U went 2-0-1 in pool play and defeated familiar foe and second-seeded Baseball U Regional, 8-5, in the semifinals. 

“We have some kids from the Williamsport team, and with some more good players we added, we’re playing really good right now,” said the Vipers’ Tyler Neeld, who played in the LLWS last summer. 

Vipers coach Brad Hamilton said the LLWS veterans were treated like local heroes when they returned from Williamsport, but the staff has been careful to treat them like normal players to keep them grounded. 

Szablewski said he never felt intimidated by joining a team with LLWS stars. The Vipers who played in the Little League classic last summer are Neeld, Brayden Peiffer, Saverio Longo, Dean Hamilton and Gavin Caudill. 

“We played against each other so many times back home, they’re like family friends,” Szablewski said. 

The Vipers never led until Szablewski forced home the winning run, but they never trailed by more than two runs. Every inning featured at least a single run scored by one of the combatants, and every at bat felt like a crucial one.

The Vipers entered the bottom of the sixth trailing, 5-4. Longo walked, Joey Mormello reached on an error and Korn walked to load the bases with no outs. 

After a strikeout and a fielder’s choice out at home got Baseball U to within one out of the title, Caudill was hit by a pitch in the helmet to force home the tying run. Then Szablewski patiently waited for a pitch to hit – which never came. 

“It’s always little things which make the difference,” Szablewski said. “They made one or two little mistakes which kind of cost them, and if they don’t make those mistakes they win the game, You have to keep fighting ‘til the end. It’s never over ‘til the team walks off the field.” 

Baseball U scored a crucial insurance run in the top of the fifth to take a 5-3 lead when Carter Samanas broke for second and Kash Kromko stole home on the double steal. 

But the Vipers remained within striking distance by scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth on Peiffer’s RBI groundout.  

It was little instances like that which called to attention how the Vipers, with all of their big game experience, stayed in the game and executed the smallest details.

Will Szablewski earned MVP honors for leading the Underground Vipers to the 14U Slugfest title.

“You have a core group of boys who have played in high-level competition in front of 17,000 fans,” Brad Hamilton said. “Then we added some boys from Suburban Travel, our local travel league, who we knew could compete with the boys we had. So since the beginning it’s been set up to where if we keep doing the right things, the fundamental things, you’ll continue to win.”

The five Vipers who played in the LLWS last summer represented Council Rock Newtown Little League. They went 3-0 to win the Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament, then went 2-2 in the LLWS. 

The LLWS vets on the Vipers agreed that playing in big games last summer helped them face tough spots in future games, especially since they’re now playing on a 90-foot diamond instead of a Little League field. 

“Last year taught us to stay positive and when something bad happens, just let that go and focus on the next play,” Neeld said. “It’s more fun to play in tight games because it’s back and forth. The close games don’t make me nervous.”

“Last year’s experience helps because we’re used to being in tight situations,” Dean Hamilton said. “At the end of the day, it’s just a game. Win or lose, it’s a good game and you get to play again the next day.” 

Baseball U National entered the final with quite a resume, if not a nationally recognized one. The Scranton-based program ran its summer record to 26-6-1 and won three tournament championships. Last weekend, in its first tournament of the fall, it won that one, too, at the Big Show in Reading, Pa.

Kromko got the scoring started in the Slugfest championship game with an RBI single in the top of the first. Neeld countered with his own RBI single in the bottom of the frame to tie the game at 1-1.

The second inning was a mirror image of the first, with both teams scoring once. Nolan Franchella singled up the middle to drive in a run for Baseball U, and Matteo Negrotti scored on an infield error to tie the game at 2-2. 

Baseball U scored twice in the third for a 4-2 lead. Samanas laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to bring home a run, and Kromko scored on an infield error. 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Vipers cut the deficit to 4-3 on Negrotti’s RBI single through the left side.