Alex Tabares slugs an RBI double in the Cyclones’ 11-run first inning rally.
By Rich Bevensee
Sitting there in the dugout while his teammates piled up hit after hit, run after run, circling the bases with no end in sight, Logan Erath was wondering when he’d be able to get back on the mound.
Not that Erath wasn’t appreciative of the offense his team provided for him – the Out Of The Park Cyclones 17U Prospects sent 16 batters to the plate and scored 11 runs while taking 28 minutes to finish the bottom of the first inning – but he was anxious to resume pitching. No pitcher likes to sit for too long.
“I definitely wanted to get back out there after 10, 15 minutes,” said Erath, a left-hander with the Cyclones. “But it was definitely fun watching my teammates so I didn’t really mind. I actually really enjoyed watching it because I get to see my teammates do phenomenally, get on base, get RBIs. It’s fun for me.”
Erath pitched a perfect first inning, watched his team rack up the runs, then pitched another scoreless inning to help lead the Cyclones to a three-inning, 14-0 victory over Zoned RedHawks 17U in a High School Fall League game on Tuesday evening at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
The Cyclones improved to 3-0 in league play and will be back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 30 against Go The Distance.
The RedHawks (1-3) return to action on Wednesday to face Top Corner Sports Blackhawks White.
Five days after throwing five shutout innings with nine strikeouts, Erath was asked by coach Travis Zilg to sharpen his off-speed pitches. After mostly using his fastball on Friday, Erath said he was getting mixed results Tuesday with his changeup and slider.
“I was trying to work on my changeup because I learned a new grip,” Erath said. “The changeup was a little off. I was trying to get it down by the plate because up high is not a good place to have it. I’m usually good with my slider but today it was a little bit wonky. I’m trying to get it to go more outside to righties because it was starting to go inside.”
Cyclones leadoff hitter Alex Bender beats out an infield single in the second inning.
Despite not seeing the best results with his off-speed pitches, Erath, a 6-1, 155-pound junior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, extended his scoreless inning streak to seven on Tuesday and faced just one batter over the minimum while striking out four.
In the middle of that stint, his teammates put up an 11-spot with some hitting throughout the lineup. The big blows came from No. 6 hitter Aiden Duhaime, who sparked the inning with a two-run double, and No. 9 hitter Milo Rosal who had a two-run single.
“When I see a runner on second or third, I’m trying to put the ball in play, maybe something on the ground that will get the runner in,” said Rosal, a senior at Metuchen. “If the bases are empty, I’ll try to swing a little harder, find the gap and get on second.”
Rosal went 2-for-2 with three RBI after adding a run-scoring single in the third inning for the Cyclones, who have scored 31 runs in three league games.
“That speaks a little bit to the depth of this offense,” Zilg said. “When you score 30-something runs in three games, that’s because you have guys at the bottom of the order that can put the ball in play with good approaches like that, which makes things a little easier.”
Another big cog in the Cyclones offense was speedy leadoff hitter Alex Bender, who reached on infield singles in his first two at bats, then drove in two runs with a single to center in his final at bat.
Anthony Mustacciuolo drove in two runs, one with a single to left and the second with a bases-loaded walk.