E.J. Doyle went 4 for 4 with a double and two RBI for Morris County Cubs 12U White.
By Rich Bevensee
For never having encountered a high-leverage at bat in his young career, Kevin Mammon seemed cool and in control.
Mammon, hitless in three plate appearances, strode to the plate with the bases loaded and two out, and his Morris County Cubs 12U White team trailing by two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The 1-hour, 50-minute game clock had already expired.
“I was very nervous,” Mammon admitted. “I was trying to think to myself, you can do it, you can get a hit. Just make contact, try to get through the ball.”
Mammon executed just as smoothly as a 12-year-old could, ripping a two-strike pitch into the right center gap to drive in the tying runs and lift the Cubs into a 9-9 tie with the Road Warriors of Cookstown, N.J., in King Of The Diamond pool play on Friday evening at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
The Cubs were unable to push the winning run across before the final out of the game, but they did escape a pair of considerable deficits to provide Mammon with his big opportunity.
Which apparently was all he needed. An opportunity.
“Based on what I saw in his winter workouts, I knew he could rake,” Cubs coach Zach Fike said. “Today, maybe he had some first game jitters, but I knew he was waiting for that moment and there was no bigger moment to be in – two outs, two strikes and he decides on the next pitch to tie it. It was a fantastic at bat.”
Mammon’s heroics were the pinnacle of the Cubs’ never-say-die effort Friday evening. They trailed 5-0 after a half-inning of play, then tied the game in the bottom of the third only to see the Road Warriors take a 9-5 lead into the bottom of the sixth.
Leadoff hitter Brandon Salerno kick-started the Cubs’ final rally with an RBI single and cleanup hitter E.J. Doyle singled in a run to set the stage for Mammon. Doyle was a hammer for the Cubs on Friday, going 4-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBIs.
“This team, in general, started out as two separate teams, White and Gray,” Fike said. “I didn’t know a lot of these kids when we combined so we spent a lot of time in the offseason building mental toughness. We had a lot of live ABs and they proved today that all that work was good. I am very proud of them.”
Kevin Mammon’s two-run DB helped the Cubs 12U White salvage a 9-9 tie with the Road Warriors.
Also for the Cubs, Austin Bowley went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, and Devin Canavan added an RBI single.
Austin Bowley and Devin Canavan pitched three innings each for the Cubs.
The Road Warriors, looking to rebound from a 1-2 showing in Jackson two weeks ago, showed some grit of their own in this back and forth battle. After watching their five-run lead evaporate in the bottom of the third, the Road Warriors quickly bounced back by manufacturing a three-run fourth for an 8-5 lead.
The Road Warriors merely put the ball in play and dared the Cubs to get them out. After a pair of leadoff walks, Samson Pitko scored on a double steal, Brysen Van Sant scored on a ground ball error, and Manus McGinley scored on an infield throwing error.
The Road Warriors padded their lead in the fifth, courtesy of a Luke Wietlisbach RBI groundout.
“These guys have been playing together a long time,” said Road Warriors coach Rick Martin, “and something we’ve talked about a lot is mental toughness, whether it’s on the bases, on the mound, at the plate, battling with two strikes. It’s something we preach and they follow it to a T.
“Even though we got a tie, this was big for us, especially coming off our last tournament. Coming to Diamond Nation and knowing good teams are here, today’s game is a pick-me-up for these kids and I know they’ll come out strong tomorrow.”
Wietlisbach was the top offensive provider for the Road Warriors with a base hit, a walk and two RBIs.
Joey Hader (2⅔ innings), Grant Martin (2⅓), Samson Pitko (⅔) and Logan Saganowski (⅓) handled pitching for the Road Warriors.
Saganowski was a human highlight reel in the bottom of the fifth inning at third base. He began a 5-3 double play by snagging a hot grounder and getting the force at third, then fell over backward while catching Karson DeMaria’s pop fly for the third out.