By Sean Reilly
The Diamond Jacks Super 13U may be undefeated this spring, but that doesn’t mean success comes easily for all of the players.
Colton Plaxe and Ryan Nigro are two of the team’s hardest workers, but often take a back seat to some of the other standouts on the high-powered roster.
That changed over the weekend at Diamond Nation, as the team won five games to sweep to the championship of the Spring Fever tournament, Powered by Pure Rush.
It was another top-notch effort by the Diamond Jacks, who outscored the opposition, 53-6, while improving to 23-0 on the season. And at the forefront were Plaxe and Nigro, who shared tournament MVP honors, a first-time achievement for both.
The capper to the tournament was a 10-2, five-inning triumph over Grit 13U Orange, which also entered the final with a 4-0 record on the weekend.
Plaxe walked and hit an RBI triple in the game, while Nigro was 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth which ended the game via the mercy rule.
“This was a lot better than my previous weekends,” said Plaxe, who also pitched a three-hitter in a pool play victory on Saturday. “My pitching and hitting were better. It feels great to have a weekend where it came together. I had more confidence.”
Nigro had a 7-for-12 weekend at the plate for the DJacks, who were back in action after a one-week break.
“I was pretty hot, but then cooled down a little bit,” Nigro. “I was seeing the ball a lot better this weekend, and getting my swing through.”
In the final, Logan Koziupa (who pitched a one-hitter, with three strikeouts and three walks), hurled a 1-2-3 top of the first before DJacks scored twice to in the bottom of the inning.
The team’s first five batters – Andrew Vasil, Nate McGann, Aaron Erb, Tyler LaGanga and Ryan Sharma – all had hits. The highlight was LaGanga’s two-run double to left-center field.
Colton Plaxe and Ryan Nigro of the DJacks Super 13U were named co-MVPs of the Spring Fever.
Grit 13U Orange scored both of its runs in the second, as Tyler Esterkin led off with a walk and later came home on an error, and Zach Cohen added an RBI groundout.
Oliver Stokes led off the bottom of the second with a double to deep left field, stole third and scored on an overthrow to give the DJacks a 3-2 lead.
The margin was extended to 5-2 in the third. McGann was hit by a pitch, stole second and moved to third on an error. He scored on LaGanga’s groundout to shortstop. Sharma walked, stole second and advanced to third as Nigro singled to third. A pickoff play got Nigro at first base for the final out, but not before Sharma scored during the play.
Stokes hit a one-out single to third in the fourth inning, and scored when Plaxe drilled a two-out triple to left-center field for a 6-2 lead.
The game ended in the bottom of the fifth. Vasil led off with a walk, and McGann followed with an RBI double to left. Erb was up next, and hit a run-scoring single to right. LaGanga walked, and after an out, Erb scored on a wild pitch before Nigro hit an RBI single to left to end it.
McGann ended the game 2-for-2 with three runs, Erb was 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI, LaGanga 1-for-2 with three RBI, and Stokes 2-for-2 with two runs.
Jackson Weiss had the lone hit for Grit 13U Orange, a one-out single to shortstop in the fourth.