By Sean Reilly
Phoenix Pitts wears number 99 for the Morris County Cubs 10U Navy, but 1.000 may have been more appropriate on his uniform on Sunday at Diamond Nation.
Pitts hit safely in his final eight at-bats of the tournament, including a 3-for-3 showing in the championship game, as the Cubs 10U Navy continued their exceptional play at ‘The Nation’ with a 10-0, four-inning victory over Hustle Baseball 10U to capture the 10U Mother’s Day Classic in Flemington.
It’s almost impossible to overshadow a perfect game pitching performance, but that’s what Pitts accomplished while batting out of the second spot in the batting order for the Cubs.
Nick Scudilla, the Cubs’ prolific cleanup man and the team’s big-game pitcher, retired all 12 Hustle Baseball batters, with seven strikeouts.
The 10U Cubs, now 15-3 on the season, have won three straight tournaments and 11 consecutive times at Diamond Nation. They also won the Around The Horn tournament on April 19 and the Spring Classic on April 26.
To make the streak even more impressive, the Cubs have produced double-figure run totals in all 11 of those games, including the four over the weekend, in which they posted a 45-12 run differential.
“We play together,” Pitts said. “We always want to be there for each other. Playing with my friends and buddies is a lot of fun, and gives us all confidence.”
Pitts was 0-for-1 with two walks and two runs in the first game of the weekend, an 11-3 win over the Hot Corner Elites on Saturday. He was then 2-for-2 with a double, two runs and one RBI as the Cubs beat the Millville Lightning, 12-7, later on Saturday.
Pitts was 3-for-3 with two runs and five RBI, with a double and triple, as the Cubs closed out pool play with a 12-2 triumph over the NE Huskies on Sunday morning.
That sent the Cubs into the final against the Fairfield-based Hustle Baseball, who won the opposite pool with a 3-0 record.
After Scudilla struck out two of the three batters in the top of the first, the Cubs scored twice in the bottom of the inning.
Morris County Cubs 10U Navy Moms join in the Cubs’ Mother’s Day Classic title celebration.
Kash Keelin led off with a full-count walk and Pitts followed with a single to left. The runners advanced on a wild pitch before Tyler Drown grounded out to second to score Keelin. After a pop out to the pitcher, Carter Szelesta hit an RBI single to right to score Pitts.
Scudilla had two more strikeouts in the second inning and added another strikeout and two ground-ball outs in the third before the Cubs blew the game open with six runs in the bottom of the third.
Sending up the top of the order, Keelin led off with a five-pitch walk before Pitts hit a first-pitch single to left, with Keelin holding at second.
Drown followed with an RBI single to left that scored Keelin. A miscue on the throw home brought in Pitts as Drown took second on the throw and ended up on third after the error. Scudilla then hit an RBI groundout to shortstop for a 5-0 lead.
Szelesta singled to third base, and moved to third when Jace Rowen singled to right field. Grayson Shepulski hit a single to third, with Szelesta scoring and Rowen reaching third.
Phoenix Pitts was 3-for-3 in the championship game and 8-for-9 in the tournament for the Morris County Cubs 10U Navy.
With Connor Korem at the plate, Shepulski stole second, and a throwing error brought in Rowen for a 7-0 score. Shepulski ended the play at third, and scored as Korem singled to center.
Scudilla struck out the leadoff batter in the fourth before left fielder Blaze Auferio made perhaps the best defensive play to protect the perfect game by catching a line drive. Scudilla struck out the next batter looking on the 53rd pitch (and 36th strike) of his gem.
The Cubs ended the game in the bottom of the fourth. Ryan Rutski led off with a single to center and advanced on a wild pitch. Auferio had a full count before hitting an RBI double to center. After a strikeout, Pitts legged out a single to shortstop which sent Auferio to third.
Drown closed out the mercy rule finish by hitting an RBI single to right. He ended the game 2-for-3 with three RBI, and was 5-for-7 with six RBI over the weekend.
In addition to his 8-for-9 hitting performance, Pitts also ended the tournament with eight runs and six RBI.
“I was barreling the ball and getting it in play,” he said. “We play together and we’re confident,” Scudilla said. “But we know we have to also play hard.”