Zach Cruz of Clutch Cartel beats the tag from 5-star first baseman Ryan Rude.
By Rich Bevensee
It is a widely accepted baseball maxim that a golf swing can destroy a baseball swing and vice versa. Stevie Schwartz is walking, talking proof that the baseball authorities need to revisit that maxim for its accuracy.
Schwartz and his 5-Star National Metro 27 teammates didn’t have a game scheduled for Monday so he played nine holes at Wiltwyck Golf Course in Kingston, N.Y. Let’s just say the kid’s pretty good. He shot a 1-under par 35.
On Tuesday, 5-Star National was to play its opening game in the 16U Blue Chip Prospects Tournament at Diamond Nation in Flemington and Schwartz was penned into the starting lineup, batting ninth and playing left field.
How did Schwartz follow up a sizzling nine holes at Wiltwyck? He went 2-for-3 with an RBI single which triggered a five-run rally and propelled his team to an 8-2 pool play victory in five innings over Clutch Cartel 27 of Vineland, N.J.
Even though Schwartz had the big RBI single and was the only 5-Star player with two hits, coach Mark Bonilla joked that Schwartz may be a better golfer than he is a baseball player. Be that as it may, Schwartz says his baseball swing came back to him in the batting cages Tuesday afternoon as if golf was never a factor.
“I was hitting in the cage and I really didn’t have to think about it,” Schwartz said. “It was just coming naturally. It just fixes itself sometimes.”
So how does Schwartz explain how so many baseball swings are ruined by golf with its long, looping swing – which in no way translates to a good baseball swing?
“My dad (Joe Schwartz) actually talked to me about this,” said Schwartz, a rising junior at Rondout Valley High in Accord, N.Y. “I didn’t like to play golf the day before I played baseball because I say it’s going to mess me up. But he’s telling me it’s all mental, and I think that’s probably true because I started golfing the day before I bat and I’ve been hitting better this season than I had before.”
Another standout for 5-Star, based in Fishkill, N.Y., was starting pitcher Lucas Martinez, who despite his 5-7, 155-pound frame, was whizzing his 80 mph fastball consistently through his three innings of work.
Mixing his fastball with a curveball, slider and changeup, Martinez, a rising junior at Briarcliff High in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., yielded only two runs despite surrendering six walks along with three hits.
Clutch scratched Martinez for two runs in the bottom of the first but he avoided worse damage by stranding runners at second and third.
In the second inning Clutch had runners on first and second with no out, second and third with one out and bases loaded with two out. Martinez left Clutch out in the cold once more.
5-Star National’s Brendan MacDonald takes a vicious cut during 16U Blue Chip Prospects play.
“I’ve definitely had better outings than today, but fighting through tough spots, I think I did pretty well,” Martinez said. “I calm myself down, I take deep breaths, and I try not to think too much because that makes you think even more and that’s when you mess up. All I think about is attack, and hit your spots. Just pretend you’re having a catch in the backyard with your dad.”
Teagan Cardona came on to relieve Martinez and pitched two shutout innings, allowing no hits and one walk while striking out four, including the last two batters of the game.
It was Martinez’s sacrifice fly in the top of the second inning which scored Schwartz (who doubled) and pushed 5-Star ahead for good at 3-2.
In the fourth, Schwartz ripped a single up the middle to drive in Aidan Francisco, which at the time seemed like an important insurance run at 4-2.
Later in the fourth, Logan Bach scored on a wild pitch, Schwartz and Brendan MacDonald both scored on an infield error, and Ryan Rude pumped an RBI double into left.
For Clutch, Alex Garangel drove in his team’s first run with a long double down the left field line in the first inning, and Pat Tull later had an RBI groundout to tie the game at 2-2.
In the top of the first, the first four 5-Star batters walked to drive in the game’s first run, and Jeremy Lai had a sacrifice fly to give 5-Star a 2-0 lead.
Clutch left fielder Angelo Conte turned in the defensive play of the game in the top of the fifth. When Jeremy Lai of 5-Star tried to take an extra base on a Francisco single, Conte threw Lai out at third with a laser of a throw. It was Conte’s third outfield assist in the team’s last two tournaments.
This week 5-Star will continue pool play by facing Heavy Hitters, Santos and Tri-State Arsenal 2027 Marucci National. The Cartel will take on Body Armor Titans 2028s, Pro Skills and Tri-State Arsenal.