By Sean Reilly
If Rucci Baseball 11U Carolina was going to win a championship on Sunday afternoon at Diamond Nation, it wouldn’t be according to plan.
Nevertheless, the South Jersey team went home with the championship of the Spring Classic, Powered By Victus, and did so in convincing fashion.
The South Jersey team took a 3-0 record into its semifinal against the Bucks County Generals 11U Black.
Rucci Baseball won that matchup, 12-4, but the victory came with a cost. Its would-be pitcher for the championship was lost during the game to an ankle injury, so it would take a committee approach to beat a hard-hitting Diamond Jacks 11U in the final.
Rucci Baseball made it work. The pitching held up, and the offense totaled 13 hits to defeat the Diamond Jacks, 14-4, in a game that ended via the mercy rule during a nine-run bottom of the fourth inning.
Rucci Baseball was sparked in the championship game by Ty Hoffman.
First, he hit a three-run home run with two out in the bottom of the third to give his team a 5-1 lead.
After entering in relief in the top of the fourth, he got the final out of the inning to keep his team’s lead at 5-4.
Then, in the bottom of the frame, his three-run double was followed by an RBI single from Vance Linden to end the game.
Hoffman had also hit a three-run home run to close out the semifinal win due to the mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth.
“It felt good,” he said of his contribution to the championship. “My second day was better than my first one. It was also good for our whole team.”
Rucci Baseball had two other players who were named tournament co-Most Valuable Player for their exceptional play in all five games.
Leadoff man Anthony Terranova was 9-for-14 with 10 runs and two RBI. He hit safely in every game, with two hits in four of the five contests.
Third batter Mason Shaw went 10-for-13 in the tournament, with six runs and 10 RBI. He had two hits in every game.
Mason-Shaw and Anthony-Terranova were named co-MVPs of the 11U Spring Classic.
In the championship, the Diamond Jacks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Ryan Beardsley singled to center with one out, advanced on a wild pitch, stole third and then scored on a throwing error.
Rucci Baseball took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. Terranova led off with an infield single, advanced to third on two wild pitches and scored on Shaw’s double to left field. Shaw scored the go-ahead run on a two-out single to center from Mason Edelman.
Additional two-out hitting allowed Rucci Baseball to extend its lead in the bottom of the third.
The first two batters were retired before Edelman (3-for-3) singled to center. M.J. Rucci then reached on a bunt single, compounded by a throwing error that put runners on second and third for Hoffman.
The count on Hoffman was 2-1 when he sent the next offering over the fence in left field.
“I saw it go off the bat and thought it was going to be a double,” he said. “I think it was a fastball. It was inside, and that’s where I like to hit it.”
The Diamond Jacks closed to 5-4 in the top of the fourth, with Mason Roman hitting a hard two-run single off the center field fence with two out, and Liam Schenkel adding an RBI double.
Rucci Baseball ended the game with its huge bottom of the fourth, with the nine runs scoring without an out being recorded.
Elias Padro led off with an infield single, before Cooper Mertz walked.
Terranova was safe on a bunt single, and a throwing error scored a run and put runners on second and third for Connor Behr, who hit a one-run single to left field. That was followed by a two-run hit to left field by Shaw for a 9-4 advantage.
After Santino Fiorelli was safe on an error, Edelman hit an RBI single to left. Rucci was safe on catcher’s interference, and that loaded the bases for Hoffman.
Hoffman responded with a three-run double to center, and Linden’s single to right field ended the game.