By Sean Reilly
Greg Rup had a great time on Sunday at Diamond Nation competing for his RCBC Ghost 11U Nationals at the 11U King Of The Diamond tournament.
It began with his first-ever grand slam in a 10-3 victory over the FB Braves 11U Red Scout in the semifinals, followed by a solid performance at the plate and in center field as his Staten Island team defeated the Diamond Jacks 11U, 10-2, for the championship in Flemington.
Those efforts, along with his play in two pool play wins on Saturday, earned him the tournament Most Valuable Player award.
He was proud of that honor, but not for selfish reasons. Instead, he took it as a sign that he played an important role in his team’s 4-0 overall showing, which boasted a 45-7 run differential.
“This was a great way to start the season,” he said. “I’m more happy that we won the championship, and not my individual stats.”
The Diamond Jacks, who entered the final with a 4-0 weekend record, began the game with singles by Carter Cust and Ryan Beardsley. They moved up on a wild pitch to create an immediate threat.
A fly ball was then hit to Rup in center field, who made the catch and threw a missile to home plate, where catcher Vinny DeFranco made a great play on a tagging runner to complete a double play. The next batter also hit a fly ball toward Rup, this one to shallow center, and he made a diving catch to end the inning.
Rup, who has plenty of Diamond Nation experience along with his RCBC teammates, enjoyed competing for the first time on the new turf fields at the complex.
“I love them,” he said. “They’re really nice. I like the turf in the outfield a lot more. The other one was a bit old, and I also like the way that it looks.”
RCBC also turned an infield double play for the first two outs in the second inning before taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the frame.
Anthony Laino was hit by a pitch and Rocco Midolo walked on a full count before Craig Tronolone sacrificed the runners to second and third. After a line out to second base, Joey Rainero faced an 0-2 count before hitting a two-run opposite field single to right field.
Greg Rup of RCBC 11U Ghost was named 11U King Of The Diamond Most Valuable Player.
RCBC added another run in the third inning. A.J. Eugenio led off with a walk and Mason Garland followed with a single to center. The runners advanced on a double steal before Kane Sherlock hit a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Diamond Jacks scored twice in the fourth to get within 3-2. Canaan Crews led off with a walk and Cust drew a base on balls with one out. Beardsley singled to right field to load the bases. With Kwame Boachie-Agyeman at the plate, errors on separate pickoff plays allowed Crews and Cust to score.
RCBC ended the game by scoring seven times in the bottom of the fifth.
The inning began with singles by Rainero and Ben Goldberg and a full-count walk to Eugenio to load the bases with nobody out. Garland hit a fly ball that dropped beyond second base for a single to score Rainero.
Goldberg and Eugenio scored on wild pitches with Sherlock at the plate, and Sherlock walked to place runners on first and third. Rup followed with a RBI single to left field for a 7-2 lead.
Rup moved up on a wild pitch and Laino walked to load the bases, with still nobody out in the inning. Sherlock scored on a wild pitch before Midolo hit a one-run single to left field.
The first out was recorded on a foul out to first base before the game ended via the mercy rule when Jaden Savino hit an RBI groundout to shortstop.
Sherlock, a left-hander, pitched the first four innings for the victory. He allowed four hits and no earned runs. Garland, also a lefty, threw a 1-2-3 top of the fifth with two strikeouts.