By Sean Reilly

It was one of those situational moments that outstanding hitters hope for, and Peyton Lora was ready, willing and able to cash in on the opportunity. 

Lora came to bat for Lynx Northeast 13U Marucci with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning on Sunday afternoon against Complete Game Academy 13U Navy in the championship of the Diamond Nation 13U Mother’s Day Classic. 

The score was tied, and there were runners on second and third with two out. An out would send the game to an eighth-inning tiebreaker, but a hit would give Lynx Northeast the title.

Having already delivered a pair of run-scoring singles in the game, he was ready to add another against an unusually stretched Complete Game Academy bullpen. 

“I was in the moment and ready to hit,” Lora said. “I was trying to just clear my mind and hit the ball.” 

Lora delivered a solid single to right field which scored Eman Lai from third, and it gave the Bergen County team a 5-4 victory for the tournament title in Flemington. 

Lynx Northeast ended the weekend 4-0 with a 19-9 run difference. 

“We won our last tournament as well,” Lora said. “So this is what we want to do.” 

Lynx Northeast can hit, particularly at the top of the order. And that’s precisely how it won the game in the final inning. 

With the game tied heading into the bottom of the seventh, the first two batters were retired. That made a tiebreaker inning seem like a strong possibility. 

But, the Lynx lineup also flipped to the top, so there was still a chance to end the game in regulation. 

Lai gave Lynx a baserunner when he hit a line drive that struck the pitcher in the area of his wrist. The injury forced an unplanned pitching change to Complete Game Academy’s fourth thrower of the game.

Aaron Yoo, who was 8-for-11 in the tournament (with a single and two fly ball outs in the final), was the next batter. Lai stole second on the first pitch, and then moved to third on a wild pitch that made the count 2-1. Yoo was then intentionally walked. 

That brought up Lora, who had hit the two one-run singles in three prior at-bats. Yoo took second on defensive indifference before Lora hit a hard single to win the game. It was his fifth hit of the tournament. 

“There was really no pressure,” Lora said. “I just had to hit the ball anywhere.” 

Tyler Hannigan pitched the first six innings for Lynx Northeast, and was selected tournament MVP. Yoo picked up the victory after pitching the final inning.

Tyler Hannigan of Lynx Northeast 13U is pictured with his mom after earning Mother’s Day MVP.

“Everyone had a good tournament and helped out in some way,” Hannigan said. “We’re hitting, pitching and playing good baseball.” 

Complete Game Academy, from Lancaster, Pa., took a 4-0 record into the final. 

Complete Game Academy scored twice in the top of the first, after Michael Sahd hit an RBI double to right with two out and scored when Colton Erdman singled to left. 

Lynx Northeast got both runs back in the bottom of the first. 

Yoo hit a one-out single to shortstop and stole second. Lora hit an RBI single to right, and took second on a throw. After moving to third on a groundout, he scored when Noel Vazquez singled to shortstop. 

Complete Game Academy took a 3-2 lead in the second after Xavier LaManna tripled to center with one out and scored as Jaxson Douglas grounded out to shortstop. 

Lynx Northeast tied it with a run in the fourth. Vazquez led off with a walk, Hannigan also walked and Dylan Kim, who went 3-for-3 in the game, hit an RBI single to left.

Lynx Northeast went ahead, 4-3, in the fifth. Mason Benitez led off and was safe on error. After advancing on a balk, he scored on Lora’s two-out single to center. 

Complete Game Academy scored its final run in the top of the seventh to tie the game once again. Noah Kenkelen led off with a single to left. Toma Cox followed with a single to left. During the next at bat, a throw to third on a double steal was off line, allowing Kenkelen to score.

Kenkelen, Cox and Erdman all finished with two hits for Complete Game Academy.

In addition to Lora and Kim finishing with three hits, Vazquez ended 2-for-2 with a walk for Lynx Northeast. He was 5-for-7 in the tournament.