Ben Smith delivers pitch in Super 16 Invitational for Complete Game Academy. 

By Sean Reilly

Having hit an RBI triple, followed by a two-run home run, in his first two at-bats, Tyler Maus was hoping for a fifth-inning encore on Sunday morning at Diamond Nation. 

There was no guarantee, however, that he’d get a chance, since his team was trailing. He would have been the sixth batter up for his Ghost 2028s team, and the 1:50 play clock was about to expire in the slow-paced game against Complete Game Academy. 

Still, the New York team not only scored once to tie, the rally lasted long enough for Maus to come to the plate with runners on second and third with two out. 

Maus took full advantage, by hitting a first-pitch two-run single to left field that was the difference in an 8-6 victory for his team at the Super 16 Invitational in Flemington. 

Maus went 3-for-3 with two runs and five RBI as Ghost 2028s completed a 2-0-1 weekend at ‘The Nation.’

“It was awesome,” he said. “I was just hoping to help my team out in any way possible.”

Ghost entered the bottom of the fifth trailing 6-5. The first batter was retired on a ground out before the lineup flipped to the top. TJ Muhlfeld then walked on a full count and stole second with Sage Caesar at bat.

Caden Weldon leads off first for Complete Game Academy as Ghost’s Vic Burgos guards the base. 

Caesar, who had hit a solo home run and a single in his two prior trips, was safe on an infield error with Muhlfeld advancing to third.

The next batter struck out, and Caesar stole second before Brady Scheurer delivered a two-out RBI single to right field for a 6-6 tie. 

Maus was up next, and he delivered the hit that scored Caesar and Scheurer for the lead. 

As it turned out, the inning ended with a minute left on the clock, but Shawn Pegues pitched a 1-2-3 top of the sixth to close out the win. 

The  game had been a back-and-forth affair. Ghost scored three times in the bottom of the first, with Caesar homering to left field with one out and Maus following a single by Scheurer with an RBI triple to center. Maus scored when DJ Kollar singled to center. 

Complete Game Academy, which loaded the bases but did not score in the first, scored three to tie in the second. Slaton Parker hit an RBI double before Caden Weldon produced an RBI single and Brayden Gebhard drew a bases-loaded walk.