By Rich Bevensee
Things weren’t looking so hot for the Warriors after Day 1 of the 11U Monster Mash at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
After making the three-hour trip from Albany, N.Y. to Diamond Nation in Flemington, the Warriors promptly gave up 19 runs combined while losing both of their pool games on Saturday.
But as coach George Brooks reminded his players, the five-team 11U division guaranteed them of a playoff berth on Sunday. Anything could happen.
And anything did. The Warriors reeled off a pair of wins to reach the championship game, then got what was probably the most clutch at bat of the season from Callaway Sansone to push them over the top.
With his team down to its final strike of the season, Sansone smashed an RBI double to tie the game in the sixth inning, and the fifth-seeded Warriors rallied for three runs in the seventh to upset the top-seeded South Jersey Young Guns, 7-4, to claim the 11U Monster Mash title on Sunday at ‘The Nation.’
“We were feeling pretty down yesterday (Saturday) but then we were way more energetic today and put the bat on the ball,” Sansone said. “We were way more focused. Some of our success comes from the energy in the dugout, because sometimes that gets the pitcher rattled so you can get a nice pitch and drive it.”
Put aside for a moment the fact that by scoring 27 runs in three games, the Warriors morphed into an offensive machine on the second day of the Monster Mash. In the championship game, the Warriors had the unenviable task of facing the Young Guns of Sicklerville, N.J., who entered the tournament on a white-hot winning streak, having won three straight tournament titles.
That didn’t phase the Warriors. Neither team led by more than one run until the Warriors’ three-run burst in the seventh.
The biggest at bat of the game, and maybe the season for the Warriors, came with two out in the top of the sixth inning when Sansone walked to the plate with his team trailing, 4-3.
He quickly fell into a 0-2 hole, fouled off several pitches and worked a full count before driving a double into the left center gap to score Ethan Monk with the tying run.
“Going up to the plate I was really scared, but I knew I had to do my job, at least get a single, gotta’ put it in play,” Sansone said. “In those situations I’m trying to get a nice rip into the gap. It felt amazing, especially standing at second base.”
The Young Guns were held scoreless in the bottom half of the sixth by Dominic Gibson, the tournament MVP who came on after his team fell behind, 4-3, and pitched three scoreless innings.
In the top of the seventh, operating under the extra innings rule where each team starts with the bases loaded and one out, Caleb Yakuboski lined an RBI single into right and Declan Delaney knocked a two-run single into left to give the Warriors a 7-4 advantage.
Grant Matheke took over for Gibson in the bottom of the seventh and induced two straight infield popups to clinch the championship.
Brooks loved that Gibson kept his team in the game by simply throwing strikes with his low 60s fastball. Gibson said it was all about giving his team a chance to rebound from a tough Saturday.
Dominic Gibson of the Warriors 11U was named the 11U Monster Mash MVP.
“It was about not letting my team down,” Gibson said. “We just tried to come back and stay positive. It wasn’t hard because we just have that in us.”
“His ability to throw strikes is special because he can throw so many
strikes and all of them to put the ball in play,” Brooks said. “It keeps the rhythm going for our defense. He can throw it in the zone, out of the zone. He’s a player beyond his years.”
After a dramatic three-game run on Sunday – the Warriors defeated Fielder’s Choice Baseball, 13-8, the Langhorne Outlaws, 7-2, and the Young Guns – Saturday’s troubles were reduced to a memory.
“We won a 12U tournament a couple weeks ago out in Saratoga and that was the last time we practiced or played,” Brooks said. “Not to make excuses but we haven’t practiced a whole lot, so for us Saturday, it was, in a sense, practice. We had a bad day and it’s just about being who we’ve been all season.”
Delaney carried the Warriors’ biggest bat of the final, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Ethan Monk had an RBI single.
For the Young Guns, who capped their fall campaign at 25-6, Micah Mizrachi went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Levi Sanders and Wyatt Leigh both had RBI doubles. Landon Woeller threw 2⅔ innings, Leigh tossed 3⅓ innings and Joey Mignone pitched the seventh.