PPH pitcher Azlan Shafi beats Nico DiGiacomo of 3Up3Down to the bag.
By Rich Bevensee
Matthew and Daniel Shuta are twin brothers who possess their own distinct skills on the baseball field, so they have very different ways of influencing a ballgame.
Those skills came into focus yesterday at the exact moment their team, 3Up3Down Red, needed them the most.
The twins’ combined effort allowed the team to rally for a pair of insurance runs and ultimately claim an 8-0, five-inning victory over PPH Red in the 16U Blue Chip Prospects event on Tuesday evening at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“They have a great relationship and when they’re on the field together, it is amazing,” 3Up3Down coach Jose Reyes said.
The Shuta twins, rising juniors at Perkiomen Valley High in Collegeville, Pa., were the impetus for a two-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning when 3Up3Down was clinging to a one-run lead.
There is an old baseball adage that if you watch baseball long enough, you may see something you’ve never seen before. That describes Daniel Shuta’s fourth inning mad dash perfectly.
Daniel earned a two-out walk and broke for second base on the first pitch to Ben Radcliffe. He slid in safely as the throw hit him in the chin flap of his helmet. The ball caromed off his helmet and into shallow center field and Shuta was up and running again, never stopping until he sped home well before the throw for a 2-1 lead.
“I put my head down and ran and I felt it hit my chin flap,” Daniel said. “I saw the ball in center field and the ump had his hands up and didn’t say anything so I just ran.”
“It’s fun to watch when he does things like that because it gets everyone going and gets the whole team moving, and then you feel like anything is possible,” Matthew Shuta said.
Then it was Matthew’s turn to get his team another run, albeit in the traditional way. Radcliffe reached on a walk and took second on a passed ball while Matthew was batting. Matthew singled a 3-2 pitch into center to drive in Radcliffe and give 3Up3Down a 3-0 lead.
Daniel and Matthew were batting sixth and eighth, respectively, in their team’s 12-man lineup, and while Reyes touted their hitting, that’s just where Reyes likes to keep them in the order.
“They are great hitters but you can’t put every great hitter at the top of the lineup,” Reyes said. “You need some balance. You need to have guys who can drive in runs at the top, in the middle and at the bottom. They bring a lot of energy to the middle of the order.”
Daniel, who caught the whole game, finished 0-for-2 with an RBI coming on a bases-loaded hit by pitch. Matthew played second base and went 1-for-2.
Matthew said he was looking forward to Wednesday’s game against Body Armor Titans 2028 Cashman because he’ll be pitching and Daniel will catch him.
“He’s probably the best catcher I’ve played with, maybe the best I’ve ever seen since I’ve been playing,” Matthew said. “He’s been catching me since we started playing together when we were 6 years old, so when I pitch, he knows me. It’s also good when he’s catching and I’m at second base so we can call pickoffs.”
“It’s a good time when he’s pitching to me,” Daniel said. “When he’s on the mound he does his thing and he’s jolly out there. And when he’s pitching well it’s a ton of fun.
Twin brothers Matthew and Daniel Shuta had a huge impact on the win for 3Up3Down.
“He’s the closest person I’m friends with. When you’re brothers you treat each other differently than if you were friends, so we get at each other a little more, but it ends up working out.”
Daniel spent Tuesday evening catching Radcliffe, who was exceptionally sharp in his complete-game shutout. Throwing a low-80s fastball while mixing in a curveball, slider and a few sinkers, Radcliffe struck out nine while allowing two hits and two walks.
“I thought I pitched pretty well,” said Radcliffe, a 6-2, 180-pound rising junior at Pope John in Sparta. “I located my spots and my outside pitches were working for me today. The high fastball really worked a lot. Sometimes I finished my curveball early so it finished high, so some things I still have to work on.”
“I like that he attacked with his fastball,” Reyes said of Radcliffe’s 79-pitch effort. “He was throwing fastballs until they showed him they could hit it. I love that.”
Playing with a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning, 3Up3Down rallied for a bigger inning and ended the game via the mercy rule.
Josh Banas walked and Cole Vanjonack doubled before Gage Davis’ infield single scored Banas. Luke Watson reached on a ground ball error and Vanjonack scored on the play for a 5-0 lead.
With the bases loaded, Aaron Rodriguez walked and Daniel Shuta was hit by a pitch to force home two runs and bring about a 7-0 lead. With Radcliffe batting, 3Up3Down ended the game when Nico DiGiacomo scored on a wild pitch.
Davis finished 2-for-2 with two RBI and Wyatt Moore singled twice for 3Up3Down, which has games remaining with Body Armor Titans 2028 Cashman, Tucci Elite and Ghost 2027 Underclass.
For PPH (Premier Player Headquarters), Ayden Antigua and Azlan Shafi had base hits.
Spencer Money started for PPH and pitched two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. Shafi pitched two innings and permitted three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Joey Fabbricature pitched the fifth and yielded five runs (four earned) on two hits, three walks and a hit batsman.
PPH has games remaining against Tucci Elite, NJ Rising Rebels 2028 Scout and Body Armor Titans 2028 Cashman.