Petrillo’s blast, Fabiano’s single send DJacks Gold 12U to title

By DN WRITING STAFF | July 29, 2024

By Rich Bevensee

They’re going to be talking about Jake Petrillo’s grand slam home run inside the walls of the Diamond Jacks’ training facility for a very long time.

By turning a one-sided contest into a nailbiter, Pettrillo’s blast breathed life to a Diamond Jacks 12U Gold team bidding to upset a superior rival, at least in name.

Diamond Jacks Gold, trailing by eight runs at one point, used Petrillo’s scorcher over the center field fence in the bottom of the fifth inning to climb within one run of the Diamond Jacks Super 12U. Then Tripp Fabiano’s two-out, two-run single pushed Gold over the top in a dramatic 11-10 upset victory in the Boys of Summer championship game on Sunday at ‘The Nation’ in Flemington. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys, and Jake’s been the heart of the team all year,” Gold coach Luke Crawford said. “Winning today means everything. These boys fight till the last out of every inning of every single game. We’ve only been to the playoffs one time before this, so finally winning one is awesome.”

Both teams went 2-1 in pool play but Diamond Jacks Gold earned a bye into the final thanks to surrendering less runs in pool play than their Super counterpart, which defeated NY Dynasty, 4-3, in the semifinals.

Diamond Jacks Gold, trailing 9-1 after the Super 12U squad scored five runs in the top of the fourth, staged its remarkable comeback in the bottom of the fifth while trailing 10-4.

Diamond Jacks Gold 12U’s Jake Petrillo was named 12U Boys of Summer MVP.

“We were a little bummed but we usually don’t think we’re done until the end of the game,” said Gold’s Aaron Erb, who one inning earlier drilled a three-run homer, his 16th of the season. “We got a little low there but we picked it up.”

“In the dugout we were trying to get everyone louder and more energetic,” Fabiano said. “We started getting runs and the whole tide of the game changed.”

Thomas Crowley knocked an RBI single up the middle before the Gold team loaded the bases. Diamond Jacks Super got two outs before Gold leadoff hitter Petrillo came to bat. 

On a 3-1 pitch, Petrillo unleashed a line drive which quickly disappeared over the center field fence. His first career grand slam triggered a wild celebration in front of his dugout.

“That felt amazing,” said Petrillo, named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “I was using another bat and my dad told me a couple tournaments ago that my bat was dead. I switched back to this one and I felt strength again. I thought it was just a double and then I looked at it and it was gone.”

Of course, the Gold team’s work wasn’t done. Now trailing 10-9, Nino Sivio walked and Aaron Erb singled to bring up Fabiano, the cleanup hitter. Fabiano ripped a single into the right field corner to drive in the tying and winning runs. 

“I was trying to wait on it and hit a line drive,” Fabiano said. “I was not that nervous because it was a close game and I felt confident. I was looking for a fast pitch and it was way slower. It was the best feeling ever.”

DJacks 12U Gold (black) and DJacks Super 12U (white) reached the Boys Of Summer final.

Diamond Jacks Super entered the final 37-9 at ‘The Nation’, and through 3½ innings it seemed to be rolling toward its second Diamond Nation title in as many weeks and its fifth of the summer. 

In the first inning Alan Pena and Joe Lopresti each had RBI singles to give their team a 2-0 lead. Drew Pietrowski hit a solo homer, his first, in the second inning, and Ryan Beirne had an RBI sacrifice fly in the third for a 4-0 lead. 

Cameron Dorr got Diamond Jacks Gold on the board in the bottom of the third when he stole third and took home on a throwing error. But the Super team answered that with a five-run fourth.

Nate McGann belted a two-run shot for his 26th homer of the season. Ian Peros added an RBI single and Pietrowski tacked on a two-run double for a 9-1 Super team lead. 

Erb’s three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth brought Gold back to within 9-4, but Nigro’s RBI single in the top of the fifth helped the Super squad regain a six-run cushion. 

Diamond Jacks Super 12U didn’t go down without a fight. In the top of the sixth, Erb retired the first two batters before Lopresti and Peros singled to get the tying and go-ahead runs aboard. Unshaken, Erb got a strikeout to end the game and cap the upset victory.

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