Michael Horvath scores on sacrifice fly by Ben Weninger to give NLB Mid-Atlantic-Dando a 1-0 lead.
By Sean Reilly
John Phillips brought the necessary pitching elements to his start on Sunday afternoon at Diamond Nation.
It wasn’t just his fastball or other pitches that consistently found the strike zone for NLB Mid-Atlantic-Dando.
He also mixed them well, to the point where opposing batters didn’t quite know what was coming.
Phillips, a senior at Freedom High School in Pennsylvania, allowed one hit through six innings, with nine strikeouts and two walks, as his Lehigh Valley-based team defeated Iron Nine Baseball, 5-2, to complete an unbeaten three-game showing at the Wood Bat Championship, Powered By Victus, in Flemington.
“I was throwing fastballs outside, and then a slider,” Phillips said. “I also threw the off-speed pitch in spots.
Phillips also pitched the entire game with a lead, after his team scored twice in the top of the first.
Michael Horvath, who went 3-for-3, singled to center with one out. Tyler Sanders followed with a single to shortstop, with Horvath advancing to third on a throwing error. Ben Weninger was up next, and hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Horvath and send Sanders to third.
Brader Butz walked, and a successful double steal scored Sanders for a 2-0 lead.
Anthony Bulger of Iron Nine Baseball throws to first after fielding grounder.
Phillips retired the first six batters, three by strike out, before Jack Soriero began the third with a walk for Iron Nine. Harrison Thorburn also walked with one out, but Phillips got the next batters on a strikeout and fly out to center.
The North Jersey-based Iron Nine, which ended the weekend 1-2, got its first hit when Kaden Frei led off the fourth by hitting a ball that couldn’t be caught by a charging center fielder. Frei then hustled to second for a double.
Gabe Arato followed with a ground out to second which advanced Frei to third, and Liam Sullivan hit a sacrifice fly to right field to get Iron Nine within 2-1.
NLB Mid-Atlantic extended its lead with a three-run sixth.
Phillips, who also hit out of the leadoff spot all weekend, led off with a walk. Horvath followed with a single to the pitcher.
Sanders, who finished 2-for-2 with a walk, followed with a one-run double to left field.
With runners now on second and third, a pitching change was made. A strikeout followed. Butz was the next batter, and with the infield playing in, he hit a two-run single past second base.
Phillips pitched a clean bottom of the sixth and yielded to the bullpen in the seventh after throwing 85 pitches.
Frei led off the seventh with another hit that showcased his speed, when his ball sent to right field resulted in a triple. He scored as Zachary Fernandes reached on a two-out error.
Sanders ended the weekend 6-for-8 with five RBI, as NLB Mid-Atlantic outscored its opponents 18-4.
“This was a good weekend,” Philips said. “It’s good to pitch with a lead in front of you. We all did our part. We hit, we fielded and we pitched.”