Mateo Guerra drives in a run with a third-inning double for Elite RBI National at the Ripken Nationals.
By Rich Bevensee
The entire state of Texas must be thankful that the Elite RBI National ballclub took a week off from pounding on local opponents and took its act to upstate New York.
The Houston-based youth program has an impeccable ability for generating offense. Fans and foes alike found that out in the Ripken National Championships at All Star Village in Cooperstown.
The most recent victim of this Texas whirlwind was Ascent Athletics-Richter of Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania, which was invited as a non-qualifier and quickly developed the makings of a Cinderella story.
Ascent, trying to make a late dramatic comeback and continue its fairy tale ride, was not getting any sympathy from Elite RBI National. After seeing their five-run lead cut to two in the fifth, the Houston-area kids rolled up six more runs in the top of the sixth to storm to an 11-3 quarterfinal victory.
“Oh man, this is what we look for,” Elite RBI coach Ryan McVay said. “You could see these guys getting some momentum. Vibes are high and the boys are playing well and connected.”
With the victory, Elite RBI National (61-11) will face the Dulins Dodgers, a qualifier out of Cooperstown, in the semifinals. Twitty City Athletics-Duke (68-5) of Hendersonville, Tennessee, will meet ZT Prospects Arteaga (58-14-2) of Fontana, California in the other semi.
The early story of the game was Ascent (21-7-1), which was the runner-up in the Ripken Qualifier at Diamond Nation in Flemington, N.J. The crew from Pennsylvania received an at-large bid just a few weeks ago and responded by winning its first four games by a combined score of 56-17.
Elite RBI righty Lawson Nerren was not interested in Ascent’s backstory. Shockingly, he quieted Ascent’s powerful lineup by navigating through four no-hit innings.
Not until the fifth inning did Nerren reveal a chink in his armor, when Ascent rallied for three runs to make it a 5-3 game, thanks to a solo home run by Luke Hurley and a two-run home run from Vince Milani. The home run has been a calling card for Ascent.
“I was thinking about the no-hitter too much,” said Nerren, who added that his teammates did not jinx him by mentioning the no-no. “If they said something on the bench I didn’t hear anything. After the second out in the fourth inning I realized I had a no-hitter going and I was thinking too much.
“When I was trying to locate inside I left it in the middle and they made me pay. The other one was an outside pitch and the guy just got his barrel to it.”
Billy Messick takes a cut for Ascent Athlete-Richter at the Ripken Nationals in Cooperstown.
Nerren’s teammates were quick to support his effort, sending nine batters to the plate in the top of the sixth and scoring six runs on five hits and one walk.
By the time it was over, Nerren’s lost no-no was ancient history. McVay would rather compliment his pitcher for the control he did have for four innings.
“Lawson Nerren is a bulldog,” McVay said. “The angrier he gets the more focused he gets. His strength is his ability to throw all three pitches he has in any count, and you saw that they could not get on his timing.”
Nerren faced the first three batters of the fifth inning before handing off to Austin Pederson. In his four innings of work Nerren struck out four while allowing three runs on two hits and two walks.
“For the first four innings, that was the best I’ve ever thrown,” Nerren said. “My curveball wasn’t good in warmups but I changed my grip on the seams and it went up and down like a rainbow and I said, ‘I’m gonna stick with that.’ My fastball is my second-best pitch. I love my curveball. I go to that a lot. I can throw it for a strike or in the dirt.
“I’m not mad about the no-hitter. I threw a pretty good game.”
Pederson finished up for RBI Elite by striking out four over two scoreless innings.
Ascent, which bowed to Flores Baseball Braves Red in the finals of the Diamond Nation qualifier, received an email with an invitation to the Ripken Nationals when one of the automatic qualifiers declined its invitation to Cooperstown.
“The email said we were probably the best runner-up team and they wanted to invite us. It was an honor,” Ascent coach Mike Melasecca said. “It was also a complete shock. Our decision to play was pretty much automatic. Coach (Steve Richter) said here’s some good news and we all wanted to go and here we are.
“We’re so proud of the boys. They fought hard, came out swinging, and just to come here to play these great teams is an honor. They’re no slouches – all the kids can play. To play that level of competition is what you want, especially at 12U. It’s been a very cool ride. We couldn’t ask for a better experience. It was awesome. Hopefully we can come back next year.”
Elite RBI got off on the right foot in the first inning when a Maverick Qualls RBI single earned a 1-0 lead. Elite RBI made it 3-0 in the third when Mateo Guerra belted an RBI double and Pederson added an RBI single.
The lead grew to 5-0 in the fifth when Gavin Pratt scored on a passed ball and Pederson knocked in another run with a groundout.
Here’s where Ascent made its move. A solo bomb by Hurley and a two-run shot from Milani suddenly squashed a no-hitter celebration and made it a close game again.
Elite RBI made sure Nerren’s effort would not go for naught. Cash McVay opened the sixth-inning scoring with an RBI single before Brody Pemberton, the team’s No. 9 hitter, crushed a two-run home run.
Then Nerren soothed his wounds with a solo home run, his second in as many games. He also homered in the round of 16 against Prevail Maroon of Ramsey, N.J. Back to the top of the lineup, where Pratt singled in a run and Guerra drove in the final run with an RBI groundout.