By Sean Reilly
Marc Geiger had to bring a different mentality to the plate when the Bucks County Generals 10U Black faced Blue Sox Baseball in the final of the 10U Williams Harley Davidson tournament on Sunday afternoon at Diamond Nation.
“I batted leadoff because one of my teammates had to go to another game,” he said. “I usually bat third. There was a big difference. I’m used to waiting for my turn, but it definitely worked.”
Not only did it work, it helped the Generals to a championship and Geiger to a first-ever MVP award.
He capped off an outstanding weekend by leading off the bottom of the fourth inning with a double that launched a three-run rally for a game-ending 13-3 victory in Flemington.
Geiger and his Bucks County teammates love to make the short trip from Pennsylvania to compete at ‘The Nation.’
This tournament was their third of four visits this spring, and resulted in their second championship.
The Generals have compiled a 12-1 record this spring, with all of the action coming at Diamond Nation. They’ve outscored the opposition, 147-26.
In capturing the Williams Harley Davidson title, they went 4-0 with a 42-4 run differential.
“I love this facility,” Geiger said. “Our team likes it. That’s why we signed up for four tournaments. I like big fields, and our coaches like it. That’s why we come here.”
The competition is also a challenge, which is how the Generals like it.
And just like their 9-2 win over Wolfpack Elite (N.J.) in the final of the April Fools tournament three weeks ago, they fell behind in the top of the first inning.
In that game, Wolfpack Elite came into the final unbeaten, scored twice and were then blanked the rest of the way.
This time, the unbeaten Blue Sox scored three runs in the top of the first, but were then held scoreless by a group of Generals pitchers over the final three innings before the mercy rule finish.
The first three batters scored for the New York-based Blue Sox, who entered 4-0.
Blake Vargas led off with a walk and advanced on a wild pitch. Jaxson Wicke-Coamey hit an RBI double to right field, and Matthew Parco sent a RBI double to center field. Parco scored later in the inning on a wild pitch.
Bucks County Generals’ Marc Geiger was named MVP of the Williams HD Tournament.
When Bucks County allowed the two first inning runs in the April Fools final, it went ahead by scoring three in the bottom of the inning.
On Sunday, it grabbed the lead by bouncing back with a four-spot in the bottom of the first.
Tucker Chapman walked with one out and Lawrence Sheetz was safe on an error before Aiden Torpey hit an RBI grounds rule double to right field.
Westin Misterman followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Sheetz and advance Torpey to third. The other two runners scored on an error and a single by Leo Ronca.
After the Blue Sox loaded the bases but could not score in the top of the third, Bucks County broke the game open with a six-run bottom of that inning.
Tucker, who went 1-for-1 with a hit-by-pitch and walk, led off with a grounds rule double to straightaway center. With one out, Torpey (3-for-3) added a single to shortstop to put runners on first and third.
The next batter flew out to right, but Stephenson followed with a stand-up two-run triple to right. Ronca was then safe on a run-scoring error to boost the lead to 7-3 lead.
Ronca stole second and scored on Henry Kephart’s single to left field, with Kephart taking second on a throw. He advanced on a wild pitch before Evan Corrado walked and stole second.
Kephart scored on a delayed double steal, and Corrado came home on a wild pitch for the 10-3 advantage.
Geiger led off the fourth with a double to left field. After a walk to Chapman, they scored on a single to center by Sheetz. Torpey closed out the game with an RBI single to left field.