Zachary Broderson leads off first for the Cubs while Powerballers first baseman Anderson Hsu holds.

By Sean Reilly

The teamwork between pitcher and catcher is essential to any well-pitched game, especially a closely-contested one.

Zach Zaslow certainly pitched superbly on Friday evening at Diamond Nation, when his one-hitter propelled the Morris County Cubs 2027 Navy to a 3-2 victory over the Powerballers 16U in the opening game of the Super 16 Invitational. 

Zaslow, who just completed his sophomore season at  Pingry, was in sync with catcher Branden Woletz, who plays high school ball for Sparta. 

They teamed so well that you’d never guess that the game actually marked the first time the battery mates had ever worked together. 

“He called a great game,” said Zaslow, who mixed a fastball, curve and slider while striking out six, walking three and allowing one earned run. “It’s huge to connect with the kid back there.” 

“We were on the same page right away,” said Zaslow of his connection with Woletz. “It kept me in rhythm, which was really nice. It’s easy not having to shake the catcher off.” 

“We talked briefly before the game about what he likes to throw in what counts,” Woletz said. “He was really good with his pitches and really good at executing. He was great all day in locating his pitches and in talking to me about what he likes in different counts.”

Cubs pitcher Zach Zaslow (center) is congratulated after his one-hitter by teammates Joey Vitale (left) and Trevor Wilson (right).

The Pennsylvania-based Powerballers took a 2-1 lead after scoring an unearned run in the top of the fifth, but the Cubs went ahead in the bottom of the frame. 

Zaslow led off with a walk, and courtesy runner Trevor Wilson stole second before Danny DiCarlo hit a single to center. Wilson ended the play on third, and DiCarlo wound up on second after an error on the throw back to the infield. 

Brayden Longo was up next. In his first two at-bats, he flew out to left field and to center. Those plays had been among six fly-ball outs by Cubs batters to that point. This time, he sent a ball to deep center that was almost caught by the backpedaling outfielder but instead went for a two-run triple. 

“The first two at-bats, I just missed,” said Longo, who plays for Mount Olive High. “In the first one, I was a little bit out front, and in the second, I didn’t really connect on a curveball.” 

In the third at-bat, he was ready. 

“He gave me two fastballs, and the first one was up,” he said. “The third fastball, I kind of expected a change-up, but reacted at the last second, threw my barrel out and connected.” 

The Cubs had taken a 1-0 lead in the third inning. DiCarlo (2-for-3) led off with a single that glanced off the pitcher and went toward second base. He stole second before Longo’s fly out to center. 

Woletz was up next, and hit a slow grounder toward shortstop. He was safe with a single, and when the fielder threw off-line to first, the error scored DiCarlo. 

Zaslow retired the first 11 Powerballers batters before Hunter Herr walked with two out in the fourth. He stole second and scored on Chase Winsor’s double to deep right. 

The Powerballers took a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Chase Panczer and C.J. Peacher reached on consecutive errors with one out. After a double steal with two out, Peacher scored on a ball four wild pitch to Anderson Hsu.

Dempsey Lawson, who allowed four hits in 4.2 innings, delivers a pitch for the Powerballers. 

After the Cubs regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth, Zaslow pitched a 1-2-3 top of the sixth.

In the seventh inning, Zaslow retired the first batter on a pitcher-to-first grounder before Braydon Wilson walked and Panczer reached on an error. 

The pitcher then got a pop out and line out, both to second base, to end the game. 

“This was a great team win,” Zaslow said.  

“The last inning, we went with mostly fastballs because they just weren’t touching them,” Woletz said. “We thought if we tried to be too pretty with it, we wouldn’t have come out ahead, so we kind of went all fastballs away, and worked good counts. I loved working with him, and can’t wait to work with him more.” 

There are more than 60 teams competing in the tournament. The top five teams after each play a total of three weekend games will qualify for the Top 25 Showcase at Diamond Nation in August. 

Both teams played a second game on Friday night, and the Cubs moved to 2-0 after gaining a 7-4 win over Bucks County Generals 2027 Red. 

The Powerballers bounced back with an 8-1 victory over 15U Locked In Baseball Expos Blue.