The Diamond Jacks Super 16U went 4-0-1 to capture the 16U Slugfest championship.
By Rich Bevensee
Nate McGann has rediscovered his batting stroke, and because of it the Diamond Jacks Super 16U ballclub closed their Slugfest weekend at Diamond Nation with a championship.
McGann, a prodigious power hitter on a 50-70 field before he made the jump to the regulation 90-foot diamond, endured a rugged summer at the plate. He earned his share of walks – he’s always been a patient hitter – but the batting average took a plunge.
Diamond Jacks coaches Travis Anderson and Chris Brown drummed into McGann a basic tenet of hitting – keeping his head in the swing – and he’s now reaping the success of that correction.
On Sunday afternoon, McGann hit his first two home runs on the big field and the Diamond Jacks rode his power surge to a 7-2, five-inning victory over the Avengers of Emmaus, Pa., to capture the 16U Slugfest championship in Flemington.
“I worked pretty hard with Trav and Brownie and I am feeling really confident now,” said McGann, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
McGann, a 5-11, 175-pound sophomore at Immaculata, actually had a quiet weekend before his bat woke up in the playoffs. Always the patient hitter, McGann was 0-for-3 with seven walks in three pool play games.
In Sunday’s semifinal game against Double Major Black of South Plainfield, McGann went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles.
In the 16U final, McGann sparked the Diamond Jacks’ scoring in the second inning with a solo home run, high off the netting in left field.
With the Diamond Jacks clinging to a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning, McGann cracked a two-run homer over the fence in left center.
“I’ve been taking a lot of walks recently and in my last game I was facing a lefty throwing hard and that got me going,” McGann said.
“I had a pretty bad summer,” McGann said. “I was pulling my head and I wasn’t doing so hot. Brownie and Trav worked with me a lot. And Brownie told me to be more relaxed. It feels good to be more confident at the plate now.”
DJack Nate McGann hammered two home runs in the 16U Slugfest final to earn MVP honors.
The Diamond Jacks scored twice more in the fifth inning to salt the game away as Liam Freyre and Lucas Funk each provided an RBI single. But Brown said it was McGann’s power surge which launched the Diamond Jacks into the winner’s circle.
“He hit two big home runs for us and we needed them both,” Brown said. “They were home runs we needed to win the game, so he came through in the clutch in a championship game. He’s patient at the plate and he’s extremely strong. He’s gotta focus on left center and keep his bat inside the baseball, and if he does that he’s gonna hit it hard because he’s a physical kid.”
Remington Mortman and Liam Freyre pitched a combined two-hitter for the Diamond Jacks.
Mortman, a right-handed sophomore at Ridge High, got the win after allowing two runs on one hit and three walks in two innings of work. He struck out one.
“My fastball was a little off – I was falling off the mound a little bit but I ended up figuring it out – but my curveball always works well,” Mortman said.
Freyre threw three innings of scoreless relief. He struck out four while permitting one hit and two walks.
Mortman said McGann’s power display was the kind of offense the team has become accustomed to receiving. This summer the Diamond Jacks averaged 6.7 runs per game while going 22-11.
“I go out there trying to throw strikes and I know if I make a mistake I have my guys behind me to pick me up and I know we’re gonna score,” Mortman said. “That’s what we do. We have a great offense.”
Also for the Diamond Jacks, Henry Kusant followed McGann’s solo homer in the second inning with an RBI double and Ben Vannozzi added an RBI single.
The Avengers came into the final having won their three pool games by a combined 35-10 margin and earned the top seed for the championship game.
For the Avengers, Caleb Frerick roped a grounds-rule RBI double in the first inning and Aydin Bekiri walked and scored on a wild pitch in the second inning.
Maddox McGuire pitched four innings and allowed five runs on seven hits and no walks with two strikeouts. Paul Prokopovits permitted two runs on four hits and one walk in the fifth and final inning.