By Sean Reilly

Evan Corrado hit the game-deciding single for the Bucks County Generals 11U Black in the championship of the 11U Gold Mother’s Day Classic on Sunday afternoon at Diamond Nation. 

There was no need for him to tell the news of the 3-2 victory over Hustle Baseball 11U to his across-the-street buddy upon returning home after the game. 

That’s because his neighbor is Jake Stephenson, who happened to be the runner on second base who had knocked in the tying run earlier in that pivotal fifth-inning rally. 

“Evan is my neighbor,” Stephenson said. “I can literally walk 10 seconds across the street to his house. I was really happy for him.” 

There was one other thing the two players had in common during the comeback. Both delivered their hits to the opposite field, as the Generals rallied from a 2-1 deficit to complete a 4-0 weekend with a 42-4 run differential at ‘The Nation.’ 

The comeback began after Aiden Torpey drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. 

Stephenson, who was up next, had a full count before hitting an RBI double the opposite way to left-center field.

Jake Stevenson made Mother’s Day special for his mom, Cat, earning the 11U Gold MD Classic MVP.

“I’ve been kind of slumping,” he said. “I’ve been working on my stance and stuff. It was definitely nice to pull this out, especially on Mother’s Day. 

With the score now 2-2, Stephenson moved to third when Leo Ronca grounded out to the pitcher. 

Corrado followed with an opposite field single to right field on a two ball, two strike pitch. 

“It was a fastball and I just happened to be able to hit it the opposite way,” he said. “My dad has been teaching me to do that, so I just took my opportunity.” 

In the top of the sixth, Jack Cavanaugh hit a leadoff single for Hustle Baseball, but Generals reliever Weston Misterman retired the next three batters, on a pop out to second base, strike out, and pop to shortstop.

Misterman worked the final three innings, allowing no runs on two hits, with two strikeouts and no walks. Tucker Chapman pitched the first three innings, allowing two runs on three hits, with two strikeouts and one walk. 

Hustle Baseball took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, with the Essex County-based team doing all the damage with two out. 

Anthony Camacho-Osorio got things started with a single to center, and J.J. Marshall followed with a home run to left field. 

The Generals got one run back in the bottom of the first. 

Marc Geiger walked with one out, and Chapman hit a long single off the fence in straightaway center with Geiger reaching third. 

Chapman stole second, with the throw going toward shortstop in a bid to catch Geiger straying off third. Instead, the throw was off line, and the miscue allowed Geiger to score.

BC Generals 11U delivered the 11U Gold Mother’s Day Classic championship to their moms.

After that, the score held until the Generals’ comeback in the fifth. 

Ansh Jariwala pitched very well for Hustle Baseball, allowing four hits before exiting after the double by Stephenson. 

It was an especially nice weekend for Stephenson, who was 5-for-8 in the tournament, with at least one hit in all four games. 

While he has been a part of Generals teams that have won several championships at ‘The Nation’ the past couple of years, this was the first time he also received the tournament MVP award. 

And to make it even sweeter, it all happened the day before his birthday. “This feels amazing to be MVP,” he said. “That’s probably the best feeling. Winning the game, getting the MVP and having it come on my birthday. It’s also my dad’s birthday. So having it all on Mother’s Day, it’s like a three-in-one. It’s a lot of fun.”