Jonathan Crossman of Green Mountain slides home into USG catcher Javien Paneto.
By Rich Bevensee
Coming off a pair of so-so performances in Upstate New York showcase events, the Green Mountain Lightning 15U ballclub of Bennington, Vermont, needed a shot of confidence.
The Lightning already had chemistry in its favor. The players from this small-town team have shared the same bench since the team was assembled six years ago.
The Lightning was also battle tested, as the lumps it absorbed in New York came with the benefit of gaining valuable experience by playing nationally-ranked clubs.
What may have tipped the scales in the Lightning’s favor was Green Mountain coach Derrick Tienken’s decision to throw Brody Smith in their 15U Beat The Heat tournament opener at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Michael Van Allen slugged a triple for Unleashed Sports Group.
With Smith tossing a two-hit shutout and his team playing errorless defense and throwing in some timely hitting, the Lightning put its best foot forward in a 5-0 victory over Unleashed Sports Group N.Y. on Saturday.
“When I woke up this morning I felt I was going to have a good day. I had a good night’s sleep,” Smith said. “My location is what I do best. I don’t throw that fast but I’m accurate.”
Green Mountain lost its next game to Wladyka Baseball National, 4-0, on Saturday and fell to 1-1 in pool play and 12-5 for the summer. The Lightning, making its annual three-and-a-half-hour trek to Flemington from the southern tip of Vermont, will finish pool play against Bucks County Generals 2027 Red on Sunday.
The top five teams from the Beat The Heat event qualify for the Super 15 Top 25 Showcase Aug. 12-15 at ‘The Nation.’
Smith, making his eighth appearance of the summer but just his third start, was brilliant without being overpowering. He allowed one walk and struck out three with a low 70s fastball and changeup.
Green Mountain’s Cooper Petell dives back to first on a pickoff attempt.
“He keeps them off balance and throws strikes and he’s pretty much a two-pitch worker,” Tienken said. “I don’t know what his strike percentage was but it had to be above 75 percent.”
Smith, a 5-9, 145-pound rising sophomore at McCann Tech in North Adams, Massachusetts, threw an economical 79 pitches in seven innings and allowed no more than one baserunner per inning. His closest scare to being scored upon came in the bottom of the first when USG’s Michael Van Allen belted a two-out triple.
Smith said he wrestled at 132 pounds this past winter to get stronger for baseball, and he may be on to something. After recording 37 strikeouts over 13 innings for the McCann Tech JV team in the spring, Smith lowered his summer ERA to 1.83 over 34 innings.
“We’ve gotten some low pitch games in the past – that’s just what he does,” Tienken said. “He pitches to contact. He’s not gonna throw it by you unless he mixes it up and slows your bat down. That’s his thing.”
The Lightning slammed its proverbial foot on the gas by taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning against USG starter Parker Romanowski.
Talin Bartholdi reached on an error, moved to second on an errant pickoff, then took third on a wild pitch and scored on a Jonathan Crossman single. Smith helped himself three batters later with an RBI single which scored Carson Andrick.
Green Mountain made it 3-0 in the fourth on a Bartholdi sacrifice fly.
In the seventh against USG reliever Andrew Almonte, the Lightning tacked on two big insurance runs. Rowan Behan scored on a wild pitch and Aiden Santarcangelo added a sac fly of his own.
For the Lightning, Crossman, Behan, Smith and Aiden Lacasse each had two hits.
If the Lightning are going to make this summer a success, chemistry is first and foremost on everyone’s mind, according to Santarcangelo.
He said it’s a major reason why Green Mountain won the Eastern New York Travel Baseball League title last summer, and it’s why the team believes it’s destined to successfully defend that title.
“We’ve been together forever, and since last year we’ve gotten even better,” said Santarcangelo, a rising sophomore at Mount Anthony Union High in Bennington. “Our communication is great and our minds just click together. Every practice we go hard, every game we go hard. We’re a small town team so we’re just trying to make a name for ourselves.”
Prior to making the journey to New Jersey, Green Mountain went 2-2 in a Prep Baseball Report (PBR) showcase in Portland, N.Y., and 1-2 in another event in Schenectady, N.Y. Not eyebrow raising results, but Tienken liked how the team responded to the challenge of high level baseball.
“These kids are all going to the same high school,” Tienken said. “They’ve stuck together for a long time and we’d like to keep it like that for as long as we can.”