Kaden Cortez of Philadelphia Prime drove in a run with this first-inning single.

By Rich Bevensee

Chemistry is no secret ingredient for keeping a team together, but Ben Ludwig and his Philadelphia Prime 2027 Scout players have figured out how to keep everyone happy on a club baseball roster full of high school stars.

“For being a local club and not a national team, we have a lot of good local guys who contributed to their high schools teams, and they’re selfless,” Ludwig said. “We have guys who are hitting 8-9-10-11-12 in our lineup right now and they’re usually hitting 2-3-4-5 for their schools. 

“That was our challenge with the team this year. We brought in some new bodies so we had some new personalities. The question was, how’s it going to come together? We have some goofy personalities, sometimes too goofy and we have to rein them in, but it’s actually a really good group.”

Philadelphia Prime thoroughly enjoyed itself on the first day of 16U Blue Chip Prospects on Monday night at Diamond Nation in Flemington. The defense enjoyed a relatively quiet evening while Jake Gorman threw a four-inning one-hitter, and the offense displayed remarkable balance while producing an 18-0 decision over the TBT NY Ballers. 

“Being loose definitely helps us. We have our fun moods but when it’s game time we know to bring it in,” Gorman said.

For the rest of the week, Prime will take on Northeast Pride Prestige, Canes Tri-State and Beast 2027 National. The Ballers’ road through ‘The Nation’ includes games against the same three teams. 

Philadelphia Prime saw every batter in its 12-man lineup score at least one run and eight players chalked up an RBI. Colton Swenson, a rising junior at High Point Baptist Academy in Georgetown, Pennsylvania, led Prime by going 3-for-3 with a double, or what Ludwig called a “barrel party.” He also had two RBI and scored twice. 

And speaking of party, Swenson said the team’s chemistry helps exclude ego from the equation, which has made for an enjoyable season, regardless of individual performance. 

“I think chemistry has played a huge part for us,” Swenson said. “We’re all pretty close considering we all come from different areas. You can have a rough day and come back to the dugout, and the mood is lifted because somebody is making some jokes. That’s always a plus for a team. It’s more on the level of how much we trust each other. Nobody thinks himself higher than another.”

Cooper Fanaro of Philadelphia Prime scampers back to first in the fourth inning.

Philadelphia Prime seemed to have gelled from the outset, as soon as high school players joined the team. Prime went undefeated in four games in the Super 16U Invitational in early June at ‘The Nation’ to finish in the top five to earn an automatic bid to the Diamond Nation Top 25 Showcase in two weeks.

The Philadelphia Prime offense really came to life in the top of the fourth inning while leading 5-0, a relatively well-pitched ballgame to that point.

But the wheels fell off for the Ballers in the fourth, as they allowed 13 runs on eight hits, three walks, a hit batsman and four errors. Prime sent 19 batters to the plate. 

When it was time for Philadelphia Prime to take the field, Gorman, despite a 40-minute layoff, wanted the ball, and Ludwig was more than happy to give it to him. 

“He was down for a while but he was only at 52 pitches so we talked about it,” Ludwig said. “I kept coming to him in the dugout and he wanted to finish. He stayed loose in the bullpen and he wanted to finish the game.”

Gorman got a strikeout, a fly ball and a sensational diving stop from first baseman Daniel Gormont to end the game.

Gorman, using a four-seam fastball, changeup, curveball and slider,  threw 63 pitches and surrendered only one hit, three walks and a hit batsman while striking out four.

“In the third inning, there was one batter I didn’t feel like myself and it was a four-pitch walk,” Gorman said. “But I put myself back together and reflected on what I was doing. In the fourth I wanted to finish what I started. I felt good. I warmed up in the bullpen halfway through the inning. I just wanted to get out there.”

For Prime, Preston Haag singled, doubled and drove in two runs, Owen Lockhart had an RBI triple and scored twice, and Cooper Fanaro scored three times.