By Rich Bevensee
The East Brunswick Cubs couldn’t wait for revenge on the DTF Phantoms after a decisive loss to the South Jersey club the day before.
And for four innings it seemed the rematch was a pretty big challenge for the Cubs, who took leads of two and three runs only to see the Phantoms come back to get within a run.
And then the Cubs began to hit like they have all spring and summer. They seized control by batting around for a six-run fifth inning, and eventually claimed a 13-5 victory in the 9U championship game at the Beat The Heat Tournament Powered by Farah Nutrition on Sunday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“We really wanted revenge after losing yesterday,” said tournament MVP Jack Burke, who singled, walked and belted an inside-the-park home run in addition to driving in four runs in the final. “We were glad to play them again.”
“This felt like the Yankees and Red Sox, how they’re big rivals,” said Anthony Sether, whose RBI triple triggered the Cubs’ six-run fifth. “I think they’re probably our new rivals. I’m sure they want revenge back on us.”
The Cubs, which bowed to the Phantoms 9-5 on Saturday in pool play, finished the weekend 3-1 and now have won seven of their last eight games. They knocked off the FRB Red Devils, 11-2, in the semifinals.
The Phantoms, from Chesterfield in Burlington County, N.J., entered the final as the top seed after going 2-0 in pool play.
Burke gave the Cubs a 6-3 lead in the top of the fourth with a clutch, two-out, two-run single, but the Phantoms rebounded with two runs in the bottom of the frame on RBI singles from Rowan Graham and Angelo Mannino to climb within 6-5.
Then the Cubs’ bats really woke up, and it was Anthony Sether who sounded the horn. His opposite-field triple clanged off the right field fence to score Quinn Collins, and it sparked a rally which saw 11 batters come to the plate and score six runs on six hits and an error.
“I wasn’t feeling like myself when I was hitting, and in the fifth I came back and hit it,” said Sether, who struck out and popped out prior to his big hit. He later singled in the sixth. “I wasn’t loading before and I drove my hands through the ball. At first I thought it was gone. Then it hit the fence and I had to run.”
In the fifth following Sether’s blast, Alexander Paradowski had an RBI single and scored on a wild pitch. Liam Pony scored on an outfield error, pinch-runner Matthew Schmidt scored on a wild pitch, and Lincoln Mischik capped the burst with an RBI single.
Jack Burke homered, singled and drove in four runs in the final to earn Beat The Heat MVP.
“With this team the bats are contagious. Everyone can hit one through 11 and we showed it there,” Cubs coach Andrew Sether said. “We’ve had innings like that all year and we knew it was coming.”
The Cubs’ defensive star of the game was Paradowski, who made two brilliant throws from left field in the bottom of the fourth.
The Phantoms’ Graham singled to left with one out and Paradowski made a pinpoint throw to the plate to nail a sliding Nathan Dressler, but Dressler was ruled safe due to catcher’s interference. That made the score 6-4.
Three batters later, Mannino singled to left to drive in Graham, but another laser throw from Paradowski was in time to get Jon VanDeVusse at home for the final out of the inning.
Burke’s two-run, inside-the-park home run got the Cubs on the board first in the first inning, but the Phantoms answered with two runs in the second, as Bryce D’Angelo scored on an error and Max Unger tied the game with an RBI single.
Cubs leadoff hitter Levon Burke hoisted the Cubs back on top, 4-2, in the third by hitting an RBI single and later scoring on an infield error.
Mason Goldsmith pulled the Phantoms within a run at 4-3 in the bottom of the third by pulling an RBI single through the right side.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the fourth when Jack Burke sent a line drive into center for a two-out, two-run single and a 6-3 Cubs lead.
The Cubs added another nail in the coffin in the sixth with Liam Pony’s RBI groundout.