Devin Murray of Untamed Baseball 13U Blue scores on Tyler Plank’s sacrifice fly.
By Sean Reilly
Jack Flessner’s pitching start on Saturday morning was part of a continuing process to improve as a baseball player.
“It’s been a pretty good season,” said the right-hander from Untamed Baseball 13U Blue, which faced Crush Baseball 13U in the opening game for both at the Diamond Nation 13U Red Division Youth World Series. Flessner also plays catcher for his Union County-based team.
“Pitching has been a strength for me this year,” he said. “It’s been coming along. I’m working to be a better overall player and to improve as a hitter and at different positions.”
Getting better may be a primary goal for Flessner and his teammates, but they certainly want to win games as well.
Untamed Baseball was successful on both counts on Saturday, as a four-run top of the first set the tone for a 14-0, three-inning victory in Flemington.
Anthony Rivera of Untamed Baseball slides safely into third base.
Flessner, who walked and scored as the No. 2 batter in the opening inning, pitched two no-hit innings before Jack Feldman allowed no hits while throwing the third against the opponent from Brewster, N.Y.
“I was just trying to throw strikes,” Flessner said. “You can’t do it all yourself, and our defense played well. I was mixing up the fastball sometimes with a curveball and changeup to keep their hitters off guard.”
The first five batters for Untamed 13U Blue – Anthony Rivera (full count), Flessner, Will Frey, Devin Murray (full count) and Ryan Roof (full count) – all walked for a 2-0 lead.
After a pitching change, Matthew Kanarek had an RBI groundout to second, and Tyler Plank hit a sacrifice fly to center.
In the top of the second, Gavin Keogh led off for Untamed with a double to left field, and Feldman followed with an RBI single to left. Feldman scored when Flessner reached on an error, and Flessner scored on a wild pitch for a 7-0 lead.
Jack Flessner pitched two no-hit innings and scored twice for Untamed Baseball.
The third inning included an RBI single to center from Logan Santiago, an RBI groundout to second from Zach Rinehimer and a two-run double to center by Anthony Rivera. Roof added an RBI single and the other two runs scored on wild pitches.
Roof, who was 2-for-2, was the lone player with multiple hits.
Untamed 13U Blue continued play with two games on Sunday morning, first against the Connecticut Wolfpack, followed by a contest against the Lower Bucks Minutemen 13U. Its final pool matchup will come against the 13U Jays on Monday morning.