Gavin Schnall dives across home plate safely in the Diamond Jacks’ eight-run third inning.
By Rich Bevensee
Diamond Jacks Super 16U catcher Jacob Lilienthal said his teammate Mike Meyers carries a lot of effective tools to the pitcher’s mound, like a robust fastball and lively off-speed pitches. But when all the pitches are working, Lilienthal believes Meyers’ best tool is his confidence.
Meyers has another word to explain his success.
“I’m a little delusional,” said Meyers, who just wrapped up his junior season at Somerville High. “I think I’m the best ever. Every day I’m better than the hitter I’m going against. I’m always ready to compete.
“Actually I know I’m not the best, but when I step on the mound, in my head I think I’m the best, and that gets me through the game.”
Bucks County Generals 2027s Black got a healthy taste of Meyers’ delusional approach to pitching on Saturday afternoon, as he led the Diamond Jacks to a 10-2, five-inning pool play victory in the Super 16U Invitational at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Meyers allowed the Generals just two runs on three hits and no walks, and he struck out seven in four innings with a fastball which reached 87 mph as well as a changeup and slider.
“I like that he knows what kind of pitcher he is,” Lilienthal said of Meyers. “He has a different type of mindset when he’s on the mound. He wants to have fun up there but he wants to maintain a personality up there, too.”
This weekend was the first summer tournament for the Diamond Jacks Super 16U ballclub and coach Walt Cleary had no doubt Meyers was getting the ball for the opener. Meyers closed out his junior campaign at Somerville with 16 scoreless innings, and he finished with a 2.47 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 28.1 innings pitched.
“The 16 scoreless innings to end the year, that helped my confidence. The key was first pitch strikes,” Meyers said. “Moving forward I’d like to see my fastball get faster to 90 or 91, I want to work on getting more first-pitch strikes, get the changeup moving a little better, and then I’m thinking I’m pretty much set for college.”
Against the Generals, all the damage against Meyers was done in the second inning; otherwise, Meyers pitched three scoreless innings with no hits yielded. His high 80s fastball was just as ripe in the fourth inning as it was in the first.
“His stuff has elevated year to year since he took on the role of pitcher-only,” Cleary said. “His velocity has jumped significantly, he goes right after people and he throws three pitches for strikes.”
Nick Do of Diamond Jacks Super 16U drives a pitch into the turf for an infield single.
Cleary also lent some insight into the “delusional” mind of Meyers.
“He’s a very hard worker and brings a lot of positive energy to the team,” Cleary said of Meyers. “He’s a real centerpiece to this team. Through ups and downs he’s been a positive influence for a lot of the kids.”
While Meyers was keeping the Generals’ bats cool, the Diamond Jacks needed just three hits to score 10 runs over five innings. Generals pitching allowed 11 walks, including seven in the bottom of the third when the Diamond Jacks sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight runs to take a 9-2 lead. Nick Do drove in two runs that inning, one on an infield single and the second on a groundout, while Justin Labrador had an RBI infield single.
Landon Bolan pitched a scoreless fifth for the Diamond Jacks.
For the Generals, Joey Bonko and Jake Blum opened the top of the second with consecutive singles, and both scored; Bonko crossed on a Sean Kivlin RBI groundout, and Blum scored on an infield throwing error.
Later in the afternoon, the Diamond Jacks bowed to MVP 2027 Scout, 4-1. On Sunday they’ll face Northeast Pride 2027 National.
The Generals have two games Sunday, against Northeast Pride and MVP.