Superior pitching all weekend steered Diamond Jacks Super 14U to the Spring Swing championship.
By Rich Bevensee
A postgame chat with Diamond Jacks coach Travis Anderson usually is peppered with ballplayers’ names he wants to recognize.
After his team’s five-game blitz through Diamond Nation’s Spring Swing, Anderson was once again checking off multiple boxes, this time with regard to his pitching staff, calling out a plethora of players who contributed to the Diamond Jacks Super 14U club’s second tournament title of the season.
Righthander Logan Koziupa finished off the work that his teammates began, scattering five hits through five innings and boosting the Diamond Jacks to an 11-3 victory over Wladyka American in the Spring Swing championship game on Sunday at The Nation.
The tournament’s Most Valuable Player award was handed to the entire team, but Koziupa and Tyler Izbicki were two names which stood out after the final. Koziupa had a one-hit shutout going through four innings and he finished with seven strikeouts. Izbicki went 2-for-3 with three RBI in the final, and finished with a team-high eight RBI for the weekend.
But back to pitching. Koziupa was the tip of the spear for the Diamond Jacks, which received excellent pitching all weekend to win their fifth straight and improve to 16-3 overall. Seven pitchers held the opposition to a combined 10 hits in four games heading into the championship.
“The best pitch in baseball is strike one and we have to be able to establish that and then go from there, and they took to it,” Anderson said. “Two weeks ago we talked about a rush to get to strike two. What that means is we gotta get ahead and put these guys on the defensive right away.”
Tripp Fabiani and Tyler LaGanga combined for a four-hitter in a 4-3 pool play victory over the Complete Game Colonials. Also in pool play, Cole Izbicki and Aaron Erb combined on a one-hitter in a 12-1 decision over Wladyka National.
In the quarterfinals, Ryan Sharma threw a two-hitter at the Zoned RedHawks in an 8-0 victory. And in the semis, Daniel Chu and Alan Pena combined for a three-hitter in defeating Complete Game, 9-1.
“Pitching is what we’re built on,” Anderson said. “Anytime I can give the ball to any of these big starters, I’m confident we’re gonna have a chance to win.”
Logan Koziupa, left, pitched a five-hitter in the final and Tyler Izbicki had 8 RBI in five tournament games to pace the Diamond Jacks in the 14U Spring Swing.
Koziupa faced just one batter over the minimum through four innings, when Wladyka’s Jack Carosella led off the game with a single. Koziupa also received sterling defense, especially a 4-6-3 double play in the fourth when Pena made a slick play in the hole at second, fired to shortstop Chu who then relayed to first baseman Cole Izbicki.
In the fifth, Wladyka managed to fire off three opposite field hits off Koziupa and scratch out three runs to muddy his masterpiece.
“The first few innings I felt I couldn’t miss,” said Koziupa, who fired 74 pitches by mixing his four-seam and two-seam fastballs, curveball, slider and changeup. “Toward the end I kind of struggled to fill the zone but I think I battled through it.”
Koziupa’s velocity and control remained consistent throughout. He began at 78 mph on radar and dipped a tad to 76 in the fifth. He worked to a full count only four times.
“The only way to improve velocity and pitch well is to throw more,” Koziupa said. “Especially in the beginning of a game, don’t try to throw as hard as you can. Stay consistent. Location just comes with practice. My velocity has gotten better because I’ve been in the weight room.”
Tyler Izbicki was the Diamond Jacks’ offensive star. In the final he lofted a sacrifice fly in the first inning, belted an RBI double in the fourth and added a run-scoring single in the fifth.
“My hitting is starting to pick up for me,” Izbicki said. “I was able to attack at bats, looking for first-pitch fastballs. My dad and coaches have been helping out. My dad (Ed Izbicki) has been giving me advice. Coach Walt (Cleary) and Coach Travis taught me how to load back and stay through the ball. I’ll use this confidence and try to keep things going.”
Diamond Jacks shortstop Chu got the team’s offensive machine charged early, swatting a double into the left center field gap in the bottom of the first to score the game’s first run. Sharma had an RBI single and Izbicki had a sac fly to build a 3-0 lead.
The Diamond Jacks added four runs in the fourth. Tyler Izbicki doubled home a run, Pena and Cole Izbicki added RBI singles, and Pena scored on a passed ball for a 7-0 lead.
Wladykla finally figured out Koziupa in the top of the fifth, driving three of their four hits that inning the opposite way into right field. Eric Nowak had an RBI single, Kristian Waples drove in a run with a double, and Nowak later scored from third on a throwing error following a pickoff attempt at second.
The Diamond Jacks polished off their second title of the season with four more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Sharma walked with the bases loaded to force in a run. Tyler Izbicki drove in his third run of the game with a single. Joe Conte walked with the bases juiced, and Cole Izbicki closed the game out via the mercy rule with an RBI single into left.
The Diamond Jacks grabbed their first tournament trophy of the season since their first taste of action in March when they won the Battle At The Turf title. The following weekend the Diamond Jacks reached the King Of The Diamond final, only to be knocked off by the South Jersey Young Guns.
For Wladyka, Carosella went 2-for-2 with a triple. Dylan Perez and Waples both doubled.
Wladyka turned a smooth 4-6-3 double play in support of starter Asher Pak in the second inning, thanks to second baseman MIchael Cavagnaro, shortstop Vin Grande and first baseman Brendan Klotz.