Nathan Sewall of Stars Baseball follows through on a pivotal two-run triple.
By Sean Reilly
When the tenth batter in the lineup sends a tough pitch into right field for a clutch two-run, opposite field triple, it might seem like a surprise.
But when Nolan Sewall did exactly that for Stars Baseball Academy on Saturday morning at Diamond Nation, it was neither.
First of all, Sewall can definitely hit. And secondly, sending the ball the opposite way is a part of his game.
“I get a lot of my hits to the opposite field,” he said.
Sewall delivered a two-run triple to right field with one out in the bottom of the third inning, which wound up being the biggest hit of the game when Stars Baseball Academy beat the Long Island Arrows, 4-2, in the opening pool game for both at the 10U Spring Classic, Powered by Victus, in Flemington.
The game was scoreless when Stars Baseball Academy came to bat in the bottom of the third.
Stars Baseball, with players from Rockland and Bergen counties, had its leadoff batter in the frame fly out to center field before Anthony Mesopotanese singled to right. He moved to second on a wild pitch, and Jack Guinan reached on an error before stealing second.
That put runners on second and third for Sewall, and he delivered. His two-run triple gave his team a 2-0 lead.
“It felt like it was an inside pitch and I took it the other way,” he said. “It kept rolling and I went to third. It felt really good.”
Stars Baseball Academy first baseman Chris Poliandro beats Long Island Arrows runner to the bag.
It felt even better when he scored as leadoff man Mike Reynolds followed with a double to left field.
Reynolds crossed to third as Jack O’Hanlon grounded out to shortstop. Christian Buffamante then sent an RBI single to left for a 4-0 advantage.
The Arrows scored in the fourth. Jayce Martin reached on an error with one out, and he moved to second on a wild pitch. After a fly out, Martin scored on a single to left field by Charlie Novissimo.
The Arrows began the fifth inning with a walk to Austin Young. He stole second before a strike out, and moved to third before another strike out. Mike Montpetit singled in Young, but was thrown out trying to steal second on an excellent throw from catcher Buffamante.
Mesopotanese, who relieved starter Carter Zodda in the sixth inning, pitched a 1-2-3 frame to end the game. The final two outs were recorded on strikeouts.
Zodda allowed two hits and one run, with seven strikeouts and two walks, over his five innings.
Mesopotanese allowed one run on one hit, with four strikeouts and one walk.
Stars Baseball Academy was limited to four hits by the Arrows pitching combo of Zack Reitan and Thomas Brand.
Stars Baseball Academy followed up with a 10-2 victory over the Watchung Hills Warriors. It can clinch a first-place pool finish and a berth in the final by defeating Diamond Jacks 10U (1-1) on Sunday morning.
The Arrows bounced back with a 10-9 win over the Diamond Jacks 10U. The Arrows will close out pool play against Watchung Hills (0-2).