Nick Simone dives into home plate to score on a wild pitch for House of Thunder 14U.
By Rich Bevensee
The simple truth of the matter is one team’s pitchers handled the cold weather much better than the other.
House of Thunder 14U of Fairfield, Connecticut, was locked in a back-and-forth, one-run battle with Jersey Devils Pandolfini of Cherry Hill, N.J., when the game reached the fifth inning.
With temps dipping to a crisp 37 degrees, Devils pitching struggled to find the strike zone and House of Thunder responded with six runs on one hit and eight walks. That was the difference in the game.
House of Thunder righty Nick “Nooch” Simone pitched three shutout innings in relief and helped the team secure an 8-3, six-inning, pool play victory in the King Of The Diamond tournament on Saturday evening at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
House of Thunder (1-1) lost a heartbreaker to Diamond Jacks 14U Super earlier in the day, but the win in the nightcap clinched a berth in the six-team 14U playoff bracket. The sixth-seeded Connecticut visitors were set to face third-seeded Diamond Jacks Gold (2-0) in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 12:15 p.m.
The winner will face second-seeded Flores Baseball Braves Cross (2-0) in the semifinals. The final is slated for 6:30 p.m.
While he was serenaded by cheers of “Nooch,” Simone managed to maintain enough control to keep Devils batters from stringing together a rally. Simone also clawed through his own struggles, as he allowed five walks in his three innings of work – including three straight free passes with one out in the fifth – but he stranded four runners in scoring position.
“I tried to stay focused, locked in, and tried not to lose my temper,” Simone said. “I just tried to find the zone and let the defense make plays.”
Logan Saganowski takes a cut for Jersey Devils Pandolfini 14U.
Simone allowed just one hit and struck out five, including the final two batters of the game.
House of Thunder starter Jack Feeney kept his team in the ball game, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks with one strikeout through the first three innings.
“My brother (Chase) and I were both pitchers so we know what this is like,” said House of Thunder coach Kyle Jeter. “It’s hard to throw in the cold, so you have to take the approach of less is more and live in the zone. If they hit it, they hit it, but you can’t defend a walk. I think you saw that from the other side, struggling a little with control. We’re about getting the ball in the zone, let them hit it and we’ll defend it, and we were able to do enough of that between our two guys.”
The Devils scored two unearned runs with two out in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead.
In the fifth, Feeney began the six-run barrage by scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game. Solomon Greenberg, who had an RBI triple in his previous at bat in the third, walked to force in the go-ahead run.
Simone scored on a wild pitch, Jack Boxberger and Brooks Podolec scored on consecutive bases loaded walks, and Houston Plyler knocked in a run with a fielder’s choice for an 8-3 cushion.
The Devils broke through first when Charlie Sodaro earned a bases-loaded walk in the second inning.
House of Thunder responded with a pair of runs in its next at bat. Leadoff man Justin Rader singled sharply to right to drive in Simone, and Greenberg belted an RBI triple to center which chased home Rader for a 2-1 lead.
The Devils took their final lead in the third. With two out, Jace Hernandez reached on an error and stole second. Gabe Correa singled to center and Hernandez held up at third, but an errant throw home allowed him to score the tying run. Tyler Rich singled home Correa for a 3-2 Devils lead.