By Rich Bevensee

Anthony Minyetty wasted no time going to work on batters. With every at bat, the challenge was on with three different pitches and daring batters to put the ball in play.

Minyetty’s tactics proved more than successful. The young lefty pitched a one-hit shutout and faced just three batters over the minimum to propel top-seeded Tuna Scout to a 5-0, six-inning victory over third-seeded Team Elite Liberty and the 13U Summer Bash championship on Sunday afternoon at Diamond Nation in Flemington.

Team Elite pitchers were very nearly as effective as Minyetty, as three hurlers permitted four hits combined, but even Elite coach Matt Durando was effusive in his praise of Minyetty.

“Their starter was absolutely outstanding,” Durando said. “He hit his spots and mixed it up with some really good off-speed stuff. Gotta tip your cap to him. He did a great job and he’s a class act.”

Minyetty, named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, allowed one hit and two walks in six innings and struck out seven. 

“In the beginning of an at bat, I’ll go right at ‘em and see what they’ve got, but with two strikes or late in the count I’ll start painting the corners,” Minyetty said. “I felt I was on but I thought I had a little more.”

Minyetty, a 5-9, 150-pound southpaw, threw 20 pitches on Friday and only five on Saturday when his team was in a tight spot, so he was relatively fresh for the championship game. He ranked his performance his third best of the summer.

“The fastball was working really good, the sinker was working really good, and the off-speed could have been better but it got the job done today,” Minyetty said. “Midway through the game my arm started hurting a little bit so I took care of it in the dugout and finished the game.”

While Minyetty stole the spotlight in the final, the Tuna Scout bats also shined all weekend. The team outscored three pool play opponents 28-2.

Minyetty received just enough offensive support to get the win. Tuna Scout rallied for three runs in the bottom of the first inning against Elite starter A.J. Rivera, and tacked on another run in the third.

In the first inning, Jack Buccola lined a two-strike pitch into right-center field to drive in two runs, and Andrew Haggard followed up with an RBI single to left for a 3-0 Tuna lead. 

In the third, Mason Dorsett walked and stole second and third when Haggard came up to bat. Haggard grounded to third with the infield playing in, but Dorsett timed the play perfectly and safely dashed for home when Elite third baseman Johnny Ferraiuolo checked Haggard and threw to first.

Tuna Scout lefty Anthony Minyetty was named 13U Summer Bash MVP.

In the sixth, Tuna tacked on another run when Dorsett singled to center to drive in Minyetty. 

That was all the scoring Tuna Scout needed to support Minyetty in his final appearance of the summer. Tuna Scout is a combination of players from Flores Baseball Braves Red and Red Scout, East Coast Ghost and Rising Rebels, and was playing in just its third tournament.

“This started two years ago,” Tuna coach Jim Buccola said. “What we did, we put them together in a tournament and got all the way to the finals with that group of players, keeping them loose. I’ve had a blast coaching these kids.”

To their credit, Elite relievers Hudson Moore and Ahsan Torres kept their team in the game after Elite fell into that 3-0 hole.

Moore threw 1⅓ innings and allowed one run on no hits and two walks with one strikeout. Torres pitched the final three innings and permitted one run on one hit and no walks and struck out four.

“They did a great job. They really competed ‘til the end,” Durando said. “Hudson and Ahsan have been great for us all year. They came in and kept us in the game late. It was really inspiring.”

Teddy Thanopolous had the only Team Elite base hit in the game. 

Thanopolous and Ferraiuolo (who walked in the sixth) both reached second base, but Minyetty stranded those runners both times. 

Minyetty was the first pitcher to figure out the Team Elite bats this weekend. Team Elite, based in the tri-state area while drawing most of its players from the five boroughs of New York City, scored 35 runs against three pool play opponents. Team Elite defeated second-seeded Richmond County Baseball Club Ghost National, 5-0, in the semifinals.