Chris Quick of Spartan Baseball arrives at the plate after the first of his two opposite field home runs.
By Sean Reilly
Chris Quick was looking to give his Spartan Baseball 17U team a boost on Thursday morning, but what followed was beyond expectations.
Quick hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, and when he came up again with two-out in the third, hit a three run shot.
His two home runs, both opposite field blasts into the netting over the fence in right field, carried his Shore-based team to a 9-5 win over the New York Grays at the Diamond Nation 17U World Series.
The second home run resulted in a 5-1 lead, but the Grays scratched back to tie, 5-5, going into the sixth. Quick was then hit by a pitch and scored the third of four runs that inning as Spartan Baseball ended the tournament with a win after three defeats.
Most notably, Spartan Baseball lost, 7-6, to the Metro Senators PSL 2025 earlier on Thursday. Spartan Baseball led that game until allowing five runs in the bottom of the last inning.
After an immediate turnaround to play the Grays, Quick’s first inning home run was the quintessential shot in the arm for his team.
“I was able to get us in the lead,” he said. “That was something we were really looking for. It was good to start well, but we had to keep our foot on the gas through the entire game.”
The first-inning home run with one out also scored Brannon McBride, who had singled to center.
The Grays got a leadoff single from Matt Herlick in the bottom of the frame. And as often happens at Diamond Nation when a leadoff man reaches in the opening inning, he came around to score. In this case, he scored from third as a teammate was thrown out stealing second.
Spartan Baseball got a one-out walk from Zach Pirnik in the third. After a ground out, McBride (3-for-3) singled to third base. That sent up Quick, and the Class of 2025 player from Brick High School went deep on a one-ball, no-strike pitch for a 5-1 lead.
Quick, who hit three home runs this spring for Brick, had never hit multiple home runs before on a 60/90 field. But it wasn’t a part of any elaborate plan.
Third baseman Derek Mateo of the NY Grays sends throw across diamond to first base.
“It was just see ball, hit ball,” he said.
The Grays, who ended the tournament with a 2-1-1 record, scored three times in the bottom of the third, getting an RBI single from Orvic Marinez (3-for-3) with two out and an RBI walk from Ryan Perez on a full count. Derek Mateo then hit an RBI single to center, but center fielder Daniel Storch sent a throw to catcher Dan Lubach, who made a tag on an oncoming runner for the third out.
The Grays gained a 5-5 tie in the fifth. Shea Nitzky led off with a single to right field. After a strikeout and ground out, he scored when Sam Klein doubled past third.
Spartan Baseball countered with four runs in the top of the sixth, which turned out to be the final inning due to the expiration of the 1:50 play clock.
Storch led off with a single to third, and advanced to second on a throwing error. McBride, who ended 3-for-3, singled to center, with Storch stopping at third. Quick was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
With the infield playing in, Lubach hit a grounder to short. A throw came to the plate, but Storch was safe after the catcher caught the ball without his foot on the plate. Michael Figner followed with a walk for a 7-5 lead. After a strikeout, Sean Savannah and Tyler Cavanaugh also drew bases-loaded walks.
The Grays used a walk to Ryan Perez and singles by Mateo and John Avellino to load the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the inning.
A liner to second, strikeout and ground out to Quick at first base ended the game.
Savannah pitched the first 4.2 innings for Spartan Baseball, and McBride pitched the remainder to earn the win.
For Quick, his power display had an added bonus – it came in front of nearly a dozen college coaches who were watching the game, which is one of the best things about competing at ‘The Nation.’
“It’s always good to play in front of people,” he said. “But I also like to play like I’m not playing in front of people, to play without pressure. This was my best game of the tournament, so it was a good way to end it.”