By Rich Bevensee
The Tri-State Canes 15U ballclub boasts no more than two players who attend the same high school, yet coach Ed Thomas has fostered an atmosphere in which camaraderie is his team’s strongest asset.
“These kids have come a long way since the spring,” Thomas said. “They love playing the game the right way and passing the baton to their teammate.”
Perhaps that’s why the smiles were a little wider, the hugs a little longer and the pictures more plentiful than usual after the Canes wrapped up their 2024 season with a Diamond Nation championship.
Right-hander Jayden Marte pitched a complete game three-hitter and leadoff hitter Sebastian Santana went 3-for-3 to lead the Canes to a 6-2 victory over Russ Canzler Sports Warpath in the 15U White final of the Summer Bash on Sunday at ‘The Nation’ in Flemington.
“It feels good, man. We go home happy today,” Marte said. “As a team we always fight and we never give up. We did it all season and we get to celebrate today.”
Led by co-MVPs Marte and Santana, the Canes wrap their season at 26-7 after going 4-0 at ‘The Nation’ this weekend. They outscored their Summer Bash competition 39-10.
“Seeing where these guys started and ended the season, the bonds that we’ve built, remaining together as a family, believing in each other, it’s very gratifying,” Thomas said.
Warpath (18-16-2) was making its fourth championship game appearance of the season but its first at ‘The Nation.’ The Hazleton, Pennsylvania-based program won tournaments in Allentown and Scranton and finished second at Susquehanna University.
Marte said he knew he was in control midway through the first inning, after he surrendered a leadoff single to Logan Herrity and a walk to Brody Schrantz to start the game, and a double steal had them in scoring position. Marte struck out the next two batters and induced a groundout to escape the inning.
“I knew I was going to be in control after the third or fourth batter, ‘cause when I can locate my fastball consistently I know I’m on,” said Marte, a rising junior transfer at DePaul Catholic. “I just kept going, kept trusting my defense, kept attacking the outside corner. I didn’t change anything and it came out as a good result.”
Even when Warpath had runners on base it still seemed Marte was in control. For the game he allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and five walks and he struck out eighth. After the first inning he stranded five runners, three of which were in scoring position.
“Location was what he did best today,” said Santana, the Canes catcher. “Painting the outside corner, they couldn’t really put the barrel to the ball when it was out there, and it got us a lot of outs.”
“We saved him for last because we really have a lot of confidence in him,” Thomas said. “He struggled early on at another Diamond Nation tournament, but obviously we trust and believe in him. He was in control. It showed defensively and showed how much fun he was having out there.”
Marte made a terrific play on a Logan Herrity bunt in the third inning, barehanding the ball on the right side of the mound and throwing while falling backward to get the out.
Santana singled twice, doubled and scored twice to spearhead the Canes offense, which scored all six runs in the first two innings.
In the bottom of the first Santana singled, stole second and third and scored on a balk, and Marte added a run with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 Canes lead.
In the second, Jordan Rothseid, the team’s No. 11 hitter, drilled a two-run double to right center and later scored on a wild pitch. Quenton Ruffin added a two-out, RBI double to boost the Canes to a 6-0 lead.
Marte’s sac fly and J.J. Daniello’s sacrifice bunt – which set up Rothseid’s two-run double – was just the kind of selfless teamwork Thomas was expecting.
Tri-State Canes’ Sebastian Santana and Jayden Marte were co-MVPs of the Summer Bash 15U White.
“J.J. had that good bunt and we broke it open when Jordan hit a double,” Thomas said. “J.J. sacrificed himself for the team and gave us a cushion. Trusting the next guy up is important. We try to play the game right and pass the baton.”
Santana and Ruffin (2-for-3) were the only players in the game with multiple hits.
“MVP means a lot, being able to contribute a lot in the last tournament of the season,” said Santana, a rising sophomore at St. Mary’s of Rutherford.
“I work six times a week on my hitting. It does come naturally seeing the ball, but I’m always trying to perfect my craft.”
Warpath chipped away at the Canes’ lead with single runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Fred Corrado had a sac fly in the fourth and Alex Hisem had an RBI single in the sixth.
Hisem allowed six runs in 1⅔ innings on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Mason Eckert pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings, striking out two and walking one. Andrew Morris pitched the final three scoreless innings for Warpath and yielded one hit.