Charlie Carlevarini, drawing throw at third following sac bunt by Jacob Vasil, was the only DJack to advance beyond second base.
By Sean Reilly
Jared Kligerman has a simple philosophy when on the pitcher’s mound.
He throws strikes.
“I’ve been grinding every day in the gym with my pitching coach, working on pitches, corners and high/in and everything,” he said. “I try to fill up the zone and trust my fielders. Walks kill.”
Kligerman, a right-hander from the Mustangs Baseball Club, was at his best on Sunday morning at Diamond Nation, when he threw a seven-inning two-hitter, with 12 strikeouts and no walks, as his team beat the Diamond Jacks Gold 17U, 1-0, in the final game for both at the 17/18U Fall Classic.
Kligerman, who attends Neshaminy (Pa.) High School, threw 87 pitches, 62 of them for strikes, in a dominant effort that saw only one Diamond Jacks runner reach third base.
The Marlboro, N.J.-based Mustangs scored in the bottom of the fourth, as Kligerman outdueled the DJacks combination of Myles Fister and Nico Moore.
Fister allowed two hits over 5⅔ innings, with four strikeouts and three walks. Moore retired the two batters he faced in the sixth.
Fister retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced, allowing only a two-out walk to Kligerman in the third.
Jared Kligerman pitched a two-hit shutout for Mustangs Baseball, with 12 strikeouts and no walks.
The Mustangs then got the first hit from either side when Anthony Bavaro supplied a first-pitch single to left field with two out in the fourth.
Bavaro moved to second after an errant pickoff throw with Johnathan Sponder at the plate. Sponder then sent a 1-0 pitch to right-center for a run-scoring single.
The DJacks had their best chance in the top of that inning. Charlie Carlevarini was safe on a leadoff error, advanced to second base after an errant pickoff, and was bunted to third by Jacob Vasil. With the top of the order now up, Kligerman escaped after a liner was snagged by first baseman Mark Risi, before a ground out to short.
“When a guy is on third, it’s like nobody is on base for me,” Kligerman said. “I zone them out.”
The DJacks got their first hit when Kevin Kelly doubled to left field with one out in the fifth, but Kligerman struck out the next two to maintain the shutout.
The DJacks also got a one-out single to right field from Vasil in the seventh, but a fly out to center and ground out to second ended the game.
“It’s great to see my practice work out on the field,” Kligerman said. “Getting the run boosted my energy and made me more comfortable out on the mound. The guys did a great job manufacturing that run, and it got us the win.”