Nick Penna follows through on his game-ending three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth.
By Sean Reilly
Nick Penna is no different than hundreds of other players converging at Diamond Nation this weekend for the Battle at the Turf tournament.
It’s the season-opening event for just about everyone competing, so players are eager to put off-season hours spent training indoors to good use on the freshly-turfed fields at ‘The Nation.’
It will be hard for anyone to get out of the gate better than Penna, who in three at-bats delivered an RBI groundout and two three-run home runs, the second of which ended the game with nobody out in the bottom of the fourth inning as his Diamond Jacks Super 12U team defeated Energy Baseball 12U Fuel, 13-3, in the 2025 opener for both teams at the 12U Battle at the Turf.
“This was a great start to the season,” Penna said. “It was really fun to get out and play.”
He received a payoff from an off-season goal, which was to work on his line-drive hitting. Both home runs came on fastballs, and both went over the fence in right field.
Despite the 10-run winning margin, the Diamond Jacks showed mettle by overcoming an initial three-run deficit.
Chase Steinhauer connects on two-run opposite field single for Energy Baseball 12U Fuel.
The Fuel, from Worcester, Mass., had taken a 3-0 lead by scoring three times, all with two out, in the top of the first. After singles by Parker Tyrrell and Nash Lefebvre, followed by a wild pitch, Chase Steinhauer hit a two-run, opposite field single to right field. Eric Noel then reached on an error which scored Steinhauer.
The Diamond Jacks got one run back in the bottom of the first. Luca Manfredi led off with a single, stole two bases and scored on Penna’s one out groundout to shortstop.
“It was good to get a run there,” Penna said. “It kind of got the rally going and helped shift us into gear.”
The Diamond Jacks tied the score in the second inning, which opened with walks to Richie Adamczyk, Alex Wheeler, and Chase Samuelson. The next two batters struck out before J.J. Villanueva hit a two-run double to center.
The Diamond Jacks broke the game open with a seven-run third inning.
Manfredi walked with one out and stole two more bases. Noah Komline also walked, on a full count.
After a pitching change, Penna hit his first home run.
“I saw a fastball and jumped on it,” he said. “I took a big swing and it went.”
After a single by Garrett Garlits and a walk to Adamczyk, Wheeler hit an RBI single to center for a 7-3 lead. Samuelson reached on an outfield error to bring in Adamczyk, Wheeler scored on a wild pitch, and Samuelson scored after getting caught in a run down after breaking for home on a pitch that initially got away from the catcher.
In the midst of pulling away, the Diamond Jacks got solid relief pitching from Hank Schaubman, who entered with a runner on second with nobody out in the third. With the Fuel’s top of the order coming up, the left-hander got two strikeouts before retiring the next batter on a soft liner to second base.
Luca Manfredi steals third for the Diamond Jacks, one of his four stolen bases in the game.
In the fourth inning, he got a called third strike, pitcher-to-first ground out and strikeout for a quick inning.
Then, in the bottom of that frame, Manfredi and Komline singled before Penna came up again.
The count was 2-0 before he went into swing mode and fouled off a pitch. The game-ending home run followed on another fastball.
“I did not want to walk,” he said. “I was definitely looking to swing.”
“This was a great way to start the season,” Penna said. “It was really good to open with a win.”