Patrick Killeen drives in the go-ahead run with a fifth-inning single for Boston Prime.
By Rich Bevensee
Coaches like Len Ferrari of Boston Prime 17U Orange love having ballplayers who relish the spotlight of clutch situations. Patrick Killeen and Jacob Antonellis are going to make Ferrari’s job that much easier this summer.
Killeen, Boston’s No. 2 hitter, produced a late-inning, go-ahead hit, a two-out single to break up a tie game. Antonellis, a hard-throwing right-hander, stranded the tying run at third with one out in the seventh to complete three innings of shutout relief.
Together they vaulted Boston Prime to a showcase-opening, 3-2 victory over the PA Shockers in the Garden State Invitational Powered by Victus on Monday afternoon at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
The tournament will not have playoffs, but the top five teams from the 17-team field will qualify for a Showcase Series in August here at ‘The Nation.’
Boston Prime, from Watertown, Massachusetts, is slated to play Diamond Jacks Gold and Wladyka Baseball American on Tuesday, and the South Jersey Young Guns on Wednesday.
The Shockers, drawing players mainly from Bucks and Montgomery County in Pennsylvania, are scheduled to face Long Island Elite and Richmond County Baseball Club Ghost Americans on Tuesday and Wladyka American on Wednesday.
In separate conversations, both Killeen and Antonellis suggested the word “intensity” to describe the mentality of a situation they look forward to when the game is on the line.
“When you have the opportunity to take the lead in the game, the mindset is different than any other situation, for sure,” said Killeen, a rising senior at Needham (Mass.) High. “You need to have a clutch approach, and I love the intensity there. I like to come up in big spots. I’ve been that way since I was 10 years old when my team brought me in to close games.”
Boston Prime trailed in this game 2-0, but battled back to tie with two runs in the top of the fourth. With two out in the top of the fifth and Zach Leeson at third base, Killeen faced a 1-2 count before ripping a fastball back through the middle to drive in the go-ahead run.
“Guy on third with two out, obviously that’s a big situation,” Killeen said. “Really from there I’m trying to find a hole, looking for gaps. On a 2-2 count all I’m thinking is to put the ball in play. I got a fastball high in the zone right where I like it, belt high, and I found a hole up the middle.”
Killeen pitched a fantastic game to that point, giving up two runs (one earned) in four innings on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts. After his team tied the game in the top of the fourth, he stranded the potential go-ahead run at second base in the bottom of the inning. He gave up a one-out double to Justin Murray and then got a strikeout and flyout to end the inning.
After Killeen’s RBI single, Antonellis came on to relieve in the fifth and pitched three shutout innings, albeit with a couple of challenges.
Maddox Bauz attempts to leg out a ground ball for the PA Shockers.
“I like the pressure,” Antonellis said. “I like the intensity. It’s a great feeling.”
Both Prime pitchers needed to be at their best because Shockers righty Josiah Kuhns, a just graduated senior from Salisbury High in Allentown, Pa., was terrific in a complete game effort. He struck out 13 over seven innings while allowing two earned runs on five hits and four walks.
Twice Antonellis had to escape innings where the tying run reached scoring position. In the sixth the Shockers’ Alan Evans stroked a one-out double but was stranded there when Antonellis struck out the next two batters. Evans finished 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI.
In the seventh, Murray (2-for-2) reached on a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a groundout and stole third with one out. Antonellis answered the bell once more, inducing a weak infield popup and getting a strikeout to end the game.
“Honestly, in that spot I have to get in the zone and throw a strike,” said Antonellis, a 6-1, 205-pound rising senior from Newton (Mass.) North High. “Nothing is free, and you gotta trust your fielders behind you. I know if he puts it in play they’re gonna make a play.
“With one out I’m thinking I have to strike this guy out or get something weak in the infield, and I got a little popup. With two outs the runner is on my mind but pretty minimally. It’s all about getting the out there.”
Antonellis finished his three scoreless frames with five strikeouts while yielding just one hit and one walk.
“Pat pitched a great game and Jake came in and was lights out the last three innings,” said Ferrari, who doubles as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Division 3 Lasell University in Newton, Mass. “They made some key pitches, tried to win every batter, got ahead on first-pitch strikes and did the job.”
The Shockers scored single runs in the second and third innings to claim a 2-0 lead.
In the second, Murray singled and stole second. He advanced to third on a dropped third strike to Jackson Korne and took home on an errant throw across the diamond to third.
In the third, Jaden Holland earned a two-out walk, took second and third on wild pitches, and scored on an Evans single to center.
Boston Prime evened the score at 2-2 in the fourth. Killeen led off with a triple and scored on a bloop single to center by Thaddeus Gummow. Nicholas Castellano then tied the game with a one-out groundout which scored Ryan Volante.