Brendan Connolly of PA Rebels 2027 returns safely to first ahead of a pickoff throw by the catcher.
By Sean Reilly
Pitchers Mike Noone of the PA Rebels 2027 and Ethan Barry of the Jersey Shore Raiders had something in common on Saturday morning at Diamond Nation.
Their teams were tied in the seventh inning of a pool play matchup at the 16U Halloween Mash, Powered By Victus.
Not only was the outcome at stake, it was also the final time that either would pitch in 2024, since it’s the final event of the year for both sides. As a result, both wanted to head into a well-deserved rest period on a positive note.
Both hurlers threw 1-2-3 frames in the seventh, resulting in a 3-3 tie in Flemington.
Noone pitched three innings of relief after taking over for starter Will DePrado. Noone allowed no runs on three hits, with three strikeouts and no walks.
“I wanted to make the most of it,” Noone said. “I was going with a fastball, curveball, change up mix. I didn’t really have my curveball. I didn’t want to end with a tie, but it’s still good. Hopefully we can finish it with a win (Sunday).”
Barry worked the seventh after Connor Luce threw six solid innings for Jersey Shore.
“I just wanted to throw strikes and end on a positive,” Barry said.
Both Noone and Barry will still bat as the tournament concludes with one more game for each on Sunday. They each happen to play a prominent offensive role for their team.
The Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third. Barry, who also went 2-for-4 out of the leadoff spot, began the inning by beating out a grounder to third base. He stole second and moved to third on a passed ball with Jake Andrus at the plate. A wild pitch on ball four to Andrus allowed Barry to score.
Ethan Barry of the Jersey Shore Raiders advances to third on a passed ball.
The Rebels scored twice in the top of the fourth. Noone, the cleanup batter, hit a leadoff double toward the right field corner. Declan Kerr hit a one-out grounder to shortstop, and the throw went to third base. Noone was safe there, with Kerr also safe at first before taking second base.
DePrado, who finished 2-for-3 as the only Rebel with multiple hits, delivered an RBI single to center. Trevor Pusey hit a fly ball on the right side of the infield and toward shallow right field. The second baseman, who was positioned near the base, had to run toward the ball and got his glove on it while in stride, but it dropped, allowing courtesy runner Steven Kandinsky to score for a 2-1 lead.
A two-run fifth gave Jersey Shore a 3-2 advantage.
Julian Schwarz led off with a single to left, and he advanced on a ground out. Andrus walked, and the runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Luce drew a walk to load the bases.
That’s when Noone came in to pitch, and with the infield playing in, James Ryan hit a grounder to shortstop. The throw came to the plate, but the catcher didn’t make foot contact with the dish while handling the throw, which scored Schwarz and kept the bases loaded. With the infield still playing in, Mason Griffin took advantage by hitting an opposite field cue shot that went over third base and landed in shallow left field for an RBI single.
The Rebels tied the game for good in the sixth.
Chris Murray led off with a single to left field. He stole second and moved to third on Noone’s fly out to right field. Kaminsky followed with an RBI single to center.
The game came down to the seventh, but Barry retired the side for the Raiders by getting a fly out to left, ground out to second and strike out.
In the bottom of the inning, Noone set down the Raiders with a strikeout, fly to left and groundout to second.
Both teams lost earlier games on Saturday, so their seasons will end at the conclusion of pool play on Sunday. Jersey Shore will face Riot Baseball, while The PA Rebels will play Prime Time Aces Meyers, which clinched a first-place Pool A finish by sweeping its two games on Saturday.