By Sean Reilly
From a travel baseball player’s perspective, there may be only one thing better than a nice break after a busy, but highly-successful, summer season.
Picking up exactly where you left, for yourself and your team, could certainly be it.
That’s exactly what happened for Colin Gamble and the Pioneers Baseball 16U 2028 over the weekend at Diamond Nation.
The Pennsylvania team came to ‘The Nation’ to compete at the 16U Slugfest tournament. Pioneers Baseball went 38-7 during a 15U summer campaign that ended on August 3 with a nine-game winning streak.
Making their 16U debut at the Slugfest in Flemington, Pioneers Baseball went 5-0 to win the tournament. The exclamation point to a three-game day on Sunday was a 6-1 triumph over PPH Mafia Blue 16U for the championship.
Gamble was selected tournament MVP for the first time after going 7-for-12, with six runs and five RBI. Pioneers Baseball outscored its opponents, 36-8.
“My weekend was great,” he said. “I was seeing the ball well and we won the championship, which is all that matters. We did really well in the summer, so it was good to come back in the fall and win the first tournament.”
Pioneers Baseball, playing immediately after an 11-1 semifinal win over Complete Game Colonials 2028 AAA, scored once in the top of the first in the final. Brayden Fallon led off with a triple to center field and Gamble followed with an RBI groundout to second base.
PPH 16U tied in the second inning. Aiden Rivera and Anthony DeSarno drew walks, and Collin Holonics hit an RBI single to left with two out.
Pioneers Baseball broke the game open with a four-run third.
Colin Gamble of Pioneers Baseball was named MVP of the 16U Slugfest.
Lukas Swanson led off with a double to right, and he moved to third on Michael Birdsall’s single to left. Cole Nazionale was up next, and was safe on a fielder’s choice after hitting a grounder to third in which Swanson scored. Austin Houser followed that with a two-run double to center. Fallon, who ended 2-for-3, then hit an RBI double to left.
The final run came in the fifth. Swanson led off with a walk, moved to second on a groundout and advanced to third when Nazionale singled to shortstop. Houser grounded into a fielder’s choice which scored Swanson.
Swanson pitched the first four innings, allowing two hits with six strikeouts. Nazionale worked the next two innings before the play clock expired. He allowed no hits, with three strikeouts and no walks.
“Coming back hot after not playing baseball for a month was pretty good,” Gamble said. “I was putting the ball in play and helping the team win. And getting my first MVP for a tournament makes it even better.”