J.P. Santos slaps an RBI single in the fourth inning for USA Prime Northeast 17U Stars.
By Rich Bevensee
One guy has a habit of barrelling the baseball, and the other makes batters miss barrels.
J.P. Santos and Jackson Hibbs may be polar opposites in baseball but they make fantastic teammates because of what they bring to the USA Prime Northeast 17U Stars.
On Saturday evening, Santos scored a run in each of the three times he got on base to fuel the top of the order, while Hibbs limited PPH Red to three unearned runs and shut down rallies before they gained any traction.
Together they helped the Stars finish unbeaten in pool play after a 7-3 win over PPH in the Halloween Mash at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
USA Prime, 3-0 in its pool, clinched a berth in the 17/18U Wood Bat semifinals on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. The championship follows at 6:30 p.m.
Santos, a junior at Hunterdon Central, is the perfect top-of-the-order player because he’s always on base, and because of his speed and baseball IQ, he makes the opposition regret not getting him out before he gets there.
It’s not a coincidence that Santos’ teams, Hunterdon Central and Whitehouse Post 284, won consistently this year. Central won the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 championship in June, and Whitehouse enjoyed an undefeated regular season in the Diamond Nation High School Fall League and reached the championship game.
“It’s just the energy,” USA Prime coach Alec Silverman said. “He’s a team guy. Nothing fazes him. It’s just positive all day. And honestly, he has really good barrel skills. He competes in every at bat and he never gives an at bat away. So between being a team guy and never giving an at bat away, that’s pretty good.”
Santos, batting second for the Stars, singled, walked twice, drove in a run and scored three times.
The third time Santos scored, he drew a throw at third base in the top of the fourth inning that bounced into left field. He collided awkwardly with the base and PPH third baseman Zachary Nagle, twisting his ankle, but he hobbled home to score the run.
Alexander Williams takes a cut for PPH Red Saturday night in the Halloween Mash.
“I think my best tool is my effort, because even though I might have a bad at bat I’m still going to give 100 percent,” Santos said. “And even on the bases if I get on with a bad swing, I’m gonna make up for it by stealing bases.”
Hibbs, a junior righty at Cherry Hill East, surrendered three runs (all unearned) in four innings on three hits and four walks with six strikeouts using his curveball and four- and two-seam fastballs.
“He misses barrels and he competes in the zone consistently,” Silverman said. “And even when he gets down in the count he has the ability to hit a corner and get back in the count. For a guy like that to locate fastballs in and out is super important because you can work the offspeed off of that.”
Hibbs stranded five baserunners, three in scoring position, despite pitching in temps in the low 40s and slipping occasionally on the mound due to the building condensation.
“Not quite dreading it, just a little unfortunate,” Hibbs said of the chilly evening. “It’s really about controlling what I can control and not letting anything else affect me. It’s figuring out where to land, what adjustments to make, and finding a good balance between.”
A perfect example of how Hibbs not only misses barrels but battles through adversity came in the bottom of the fourth when he allowed a single and a walk to start the inning with the Stars clinging to a 5-3 lead. He promptly struck out the next three batters.
“He had some challenging conditions out there but he just kept his composure,” Silverman said. “He’s a competitor, which means he doesn’t let one bad pitch get to him, not one (close) call get to him. He just worked out of jams and kept us in a competitive game. That’s all you can ask for.”
USA Prime scored in the top of the first thanks to an Austin Wright RBI single and never trailed in the game. The Stars scored in every inning thanks to nine hits and five PPH errors.
Dylan Lehman singled home a run in the bottom of the first to tie the game but USA Prime responded with a run in the second to take a 2-1 lead on No. 9 hitter Oliver Worthing’s RBI single.
Santos made it 3-1 in the third inning when Wright reached on an infield error and an outfield error allowed Santos to score from second.
PPH tied the game at 3-3 on a couple of unearned runs. With the bases loaded Alexander Williams grounded into a one-out fielder’s choice and Cole Bemer was forced out at home, but the ensuing throw sailed into the outfield for a two-run error, allowing Richie Morris and Zachary Nagle to cross.
The Stars answered with their own two-run surge in the fourth when Santos had an RBI single and, upon stealing third, he jogged home on a throwing error for a 5-3 lead.
Prime picked up two more unearned runs in the fifth when, with two out, J.J. Bucchianico singled and scored on an infield error and Santos added an RBI single.
In the sixth, Wright doubled, Alex Alonzo thumped an RBI triple and Parker Love added a run-scoring infield single.
For USA Prime, Vincent Nuzzo and Buccianico combined for two innings of scoreless relief.
For PPH, right-handed starter Aiden Wysokowski went 4⅔ innings and allowed seven runs (three earned) on five hits and seven walks with four strikeouts.