By Rich Bevensee
Batterymates Travis Jerrell and Ayden Milligan were the perfect combination of players to help Tri-State-Arsenal 25 Victus escape its most challenging jam of the game.
Coach T.J. Bayless’ confidence in both ballplayers enabled Arsenal to overcome that jam and ultimately come away with a tournament title on Sunday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
With Milligan calling the pitches behind the plate and southpaw Jerrell minimizing damage after starting the fifth inning with a bases-loaded, no-out situation, third-seeded Arsenal survived that challenge and earned a 9-4, six-inning victory over fourth-seeded Ace Elite 2025 of Alexandria, Virginia, in the 17/18 Wood Bat championship game of the Labor Day Blast, Powered By Cortes and Hay.
“From the start we were all about going right at them and going right to the final,” said Milligan, a 6-2, 180-pound senior at Moorestown who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “This is our last tournament of the summer, the last time our team will be together, so we wanted to go out with a bang.”
Arsenal went 3-1 in pool play to earn the third seed and upended Team Beast, 8-2, in the semifinals.
Ace Elite also went 3-1 in pool play to earn the fourth seed in the four-team playoff, and shocked top-seeded Monmouth Liberty Baseball Club 17U, 11-3, in the semis. Monmouth had outscored four opponents 35-4 entering the semis.
Jerrell and Milligan both said that having Bayless’ confidence helps them do their jobs, and do them well.
That confidence paid off in the top of the fifth. Arsenal led 6-1 at one point, but Ace Elite was about to make its latest and best push to climb back into the game, scoring a run in the fourth and two in the fifth.
Liam Cardman and Austin Dean singled and Ben Frazier was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Ace Elite in the fifth. Then, leadoff man Killian Kenney earned a walk to force in a run and Jeremy Focht added a sacrifice fly to bring Ace Elite to within 6-4.
It appeared Jerrell was tiring after allowing just three hits and one walk through the first four innings. Bayless stuck with Jerrell and his decision paid dividends. Jerrell got Owen Siegel to line out to short, and he got Aiden Potholm on a comebacker to escape the inning.
“Yeah, I was tired,” said Jerrell, a senior at Moorestown. “Coach came out and said to try turning a double play. I was like, c’mon, I need to do something. I was able to let it go and just pitch. Because I have the coach’s trust, I had the confidence to finish.”
Jerrell pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning before Connor Dunn came up in the bottom of the sixth and hammered a walk-off, two-run double to center, which wiped out the remaining time on the 1-hour, 50-minute game clock.
In his complete-game effort, Jerrell allowed four runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batsman. He struck out three.
“Travis is a guy who’s been consistent for us all summer,” Bayless said. “He doesn’t tire often, and even though he had a difficult inning that inning, I still had the utmost confidence putting him back out there the following inning, because he’s been great for us. He’s a strike thrower, he usually hits his spots and gives us the best chance to succeed.”
Milligan went 0-for-2 with a sacrifice fly in the final, but he hit safely in each of the prior five games. He hit a key two-run double in the semifinal and finished with five RBI for the weekend.
He said Bayless allowing him to call pitches enables him to build his leadership skills. Milligan especially enjoyed that freedom when guiding Jerrell through that troublesome fifth inning.
Ayden Milligan of Tri-State Arsenal was named the 17/18U Labor Day Blast MVP.
“Having Coach’s confidence takes a little pressure off,” Milligan said. “Coach puts his trust in me so I have to do what I do and be the leader I have to be.
“I try to be more of a communicating player, talk to my pitcher and make sure he’s on the same page with me. I try to push leadership with everyone and keep things going.”
“Ayden has been one of our most consistent hitters all summer. He anchors us behind the plate and commands our pitching staff very well,” Bayless said. “I let him call the pitches and he almost never gets it wrong. He’s very intelligent and he always hustles. He’s been great for us all summer.”
The key inning for Arsenal was the bottom of the second when the Hamilton-based club exploded for four runs to take a 6-1 lead. Dunn began the rally with a hard-hit RBI single off third baseman Henry Foresman’s glove. Milligan added a sac fly, Jayden Jennings walked with the bases loaded, and Dunn scored on a wild pitch.
Ace Elite creeped back into the game with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Owen Siegel scored on a wild pitch in the fourth, and Kenney and Focht produced two more runs in the fifth.
Arsenal countered with a run in the bottom of the fifth when Dane Jorgensen reached on a fielding error and later scored on a throwing error following a fielder’s choice.
With time ticking toward 0:00 and Ace Elite hoping for a quick exit to get another at bat, Arsenal squashed those hopes when Jacob Mangenello and A.J. Maddalena walked and Dunn crushed a two-run double to center.
Levi Fear pitched the first 1⅔ innings for Aces Elite and yielded six runs, four earned, on three hits, five walks and a hit batsman and he struck out one. Owen Siegel pitched 4⅓ innings in relief and yielded three runs, two earned, on two hits and two walks and he struck out two.