Sportika first baseman Stephen Heidt lands on base after handling a high throw in time for an out.
By Sean Reilly
About the only disappointing thing for Rocco Pluchino on Sunday afternoon at Diamond Nation occurred during his final at-bat, and even that ended with a base on balls.
Pluchino was already 2-for-2, along with a sacrifice fly. He also drove in six of the 10 runs scored by his Sportika Baseball Red 2026 Red team.
There were runners on second and third when he stepped into the box, with a chance to make a great performance even better.
“It was 3-1 in the count and I was looking to homer,” he said with a laugh.
Instead, he took a ball-four pitch that still helped his team, which is something he did throughout the 10-4 victory over TBT NY Ballers 2025 in the final game for both teams at the Wood Bat Championship, Powered By Victus, in Flemington.
Pluchino, a junior at St. John Vianney, gave his team a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to center field with one out in the top of the first. It scored Anthony Foti, who led off with a single to left field, and reached third after walks to Noah Feldman and Matthew Lokerson.
TBT NY Ballers tied the game in the second inning, after Peter Calabrese was hit by a pitch leading off and came around to score on an RBI groundout to shortstop by Jason Croce.
Pluchino broke the tie in a major way during the third inning.
Brandon Heller singled to center field with one out, and Feldman followed with a first-pitch single to right. Lockerson also hit a first-pitch single to right, which loaded the bases for Pluchino.
He fell behind in the count, but still hit a double to center which cleared the bases for a 4-1 advantage.
“I was down 0-2 and just thinking hit one up the middle,” he said. “I wound up hammering one.”
He also had a big hit during a six-run fourth inning that extended the lead to 10-1.
The bases were loaded with nobody out when Foti grounded into a fielder’s choice which got an out at second but scored Stephen Heidt from third. Heller walked to reload the bases, and Feldman drew a bases loaded walk. Lokerson was hit by a pitch to bring in another run.
Up came Pluchino, and once again he fell behind in the count before hitting a hard single into center for his fifth and sixth RBI and a 9-1 lead. Thomas Dunn added a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
“I was also down 0-2, and trying to put the ball in play again, and got one over the shortstop’s head,” Pluchino said.
Being able to hit in two strike situations is clearly something that he handles well.
“The count doesn’t really matter,” Pluchino said. “It’s more, see the ball, hit the ball.”
TBT NY Ballers scored the final three runs of the game.
Matthew Lokerson scores on a three-run double by Rocco Pluchino of Sportika Baseball 2026 Red.
The Rockland County team scored on an error and a single by Nathaniel Cantor in the fifth, and got a sacrifice fly from Aidan Padley in the sixth.
Heller finished 2-for-3 with a walk, and also gained the pitching win by working the final five innings after entering with two on and nobody out base in the second. He allowed one earned run on six hits, with two strikeouts and one walk.
Feldman ended 2-for-2 with two walks, and Lokerson was 1-for-2 with a walk and hit by pitch.
Those three players accounted for five of the six runs driven in by Pluchino.
Feldman also had a double and three RBI when Sportika began its day with a 4-3 win over the FB Braves 16U National.
Pluchino went 1-for-2 in the win against the Braves.
“I’m looking to get better,” he said of his goals for the fall season. “I also had a seven RBI game a couple of weeks ago. This was a good weekend. I think I went 4-for-6. This is a chance to get college scouts looking at you, and to play more baseball.”