By Sean Reilly
The Keystone State Bombers 13U National came to Diamond Nation over the weekend as a red-hot team, and with Keyon Wood swinging an equally hot bat.
Nothing changed over the course of four days in Flemington, as the team based in Manheim, Pa., won all five of its games — four of them by shutout — to capture the championship of the 13U Independence Weekend Firecracker tournament.
The trip concluded with a 6-0 triumph over the Diamond Jacks Gold 13U in the final on Monday afternoon.
Wood was 1-for-1 with a walk. His RBI single in the bottom of the first inning opened the scoring.
Wood hit safely in every game, going 5-for-10 overall with two walks, four runs and five RBI. For added measure, he pitched a seven-inning no-hitter when the Bombers defeated Pioneers Baseball Red, 3-0, in pool play action on Sunday. He had seven strikeouts in that game and two walks.
For all his efforts, Wood was selected tournament MVP.
“I came up each time feeling confident and really good,” he said.
The five victories, which came with a 35-3 run differential, improved the Bombers to 27-3-1 on the season. They’ve also won 10 straight. And not so coincidentally, Wood now has a 10-game hitting streak.
One thing that was a little bit different during the weekend was how some of Wood’s success this summer has showcased his power. At ‘The Nation,’ he hit more for contact.
“I’ve been swinging pretty good,” he said. “I’ve hit a few bombs over the summer. This weekend, I hit a few singles and two doubles and had a couple of walks.”
In the championship, the Bombers scored twice in the first inning and added their other four runs in the third to beat the DJacks Gold, which ended the tournament with a 5-1 record.
Luke Williams was the winning pitcher in the final, allowing three hits over four innings, with five strikeouts and no walks.
Williams joined Wood and Nick Bridgman (four-inning no-hitter), along with Everett Morgan (five-inning two-hitter) as the other Bombers pitchers to throw complete-game shutouts over the course of the tournament.
Keyon Wood of the Keystone Bombers was named 13U Firecracker Most Valuable Player.
In the championship game, the DJacks threatened in the top of the first, by getting two men on base with one out. But both were picked off at third base by Williams.
In the bottom of the frame, Eli Grohoski led off for the Bombers with a single to left field, and he advanced to second on a wild pitch. After a fly out to center field, Asher Holmes hit a single to right which sent Grohoski to third. Wood then hit a first-pitch RBI single to left field. Holmes later scored on a wild pitch.
The third-inning uprising began with one out walks to Ben Simmons, Holmes and Wood that loaded the bases. After a strikeout, consecutive walks to Williams, Owen Schlott and Chase Heit produced three runs. Grayson Stoltzfus was hit by a pitch to bring in the final run.
Aside from the opportunistic offense, the Bombers pitching staff issued only 12 walks over the five games, and the defense did not commit an error.
“We played really well,” Wood said. “The defense was on point, and pitching was really good also.”
Max Siemers, Kyle Ur and Ian Peros had the hits in the final for the DJacks, who reached the final with a 6-4 victory over Jersey Boyz Baseball. That required two tiebreaker innings after the play clock expired as the Jersey Boyz scored three times in the bottom of the sixth for a 4-4 tie.
The go-ahead runs for the DJacks came off an error on a ball hit by Josh Labrador. The DJacks turned a double play in the bottom of the inning to close out the win.