Peyton Lora leads off first for Lynx Northeast Marucci as Diamond Jacks’ Cole Izbicki holds the bag.
By Rich Bevensee
Daniel Kwon and Aaron Yoo did just enough on the mound to keep their Lynx Northeast Marucci team in the game.
They didn’t eliminate the damage, but they did limit it against a potentially explosive Diamond Jacks Super 14U lineup.
The efforts of Kwon and Yoo paid off in the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Lynx trailed by two runs and teammate Noel Vazquez came to the plate with the bases loaded and time running short on the game clock.
Vazquez drilled a one-out, 2-1 pitch into the left center gap for a bases-clearing double and vaulted his team to an eventual 7-6 triumph in a 14U Spring Fling five-inning, pool play contest on Saturday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“I was a little bit excited, a little nervous, but it’s good to get the game-winning hit,” Vazquez said. “I was thinking, fight the nervousness, make contact and get a hit. My approach was to score everybody.”
The Lynx completed a Saturday sweep with their 3-2 decision over Wladyka Baseball Continental and earned a berth in the eight-team Gold bracket playoffs on Sunday. Quarterfinals are scheduled for 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., semifinals are at 12:15 p.m. and the championship game is slated for 2:15 p.m.
The Diamond Jacks rebounded from their one-run loss by beating the New Jersey Renegades, 6-1.
Three times the Diamond Jacks tried to expand their lead and each time the Lynx inched close enough to keep the game within reach.
The Diamond Jacks built a 2-0 lead in the first inning but the Lynx cut that lead in half in the second. The Diamond Jacks extended their lead to 4-1 in the third but the Lynx came back to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.
The Diamond Jacks scored two runs in the fourth, only to see the Lynx rally for three runs in their next at bat.
“It starts with our pitching. Daniel did a great job staying calm,” Lynx coach Ming Lai said. “They had bases loaded on us, scored two without even getting a hit, then we clawed back. Daniel pitched three strong innings for us.”
Kwon’s pitching line – six earned runs on five hits and five walks – does not tell the tale of how much he accomplished in his 3⅓ innings of work.
In the first he gave up two runs without giving up a hit. He walked two runs in with the bases loaded, then struck out the next three batters.
In the third, the Diamond Jacks loaded the bases again with one out, but managed only two runs off Kwon before he closed out the frame with a strikeout.
After giving up two more runs in the fourth, Kwon was relieved by Yoo who got two quick outs to stop the bleeding. Yoo pitched a perfect fifth as the game clock hit zero.
Logan Koziupa’s two-run double in the fourth gave the Diamond Jacks a 6-4 lead.
In the crucial bottom of the fourth inning, one-out singles by Yoo and Dylan Kim sandwiched a walk to Peyton Lora. After a strikeout, Vazquez came up to deliver his game-winning, three-run double.
“That was a tremendous at bat by Noel,” Lai said. “Bases loaded, down two, he clears the bases. That was a huge hit for us. He has improved a ton. Our hitting started a little cold this season but now we’re starting to heat up, so this was a great game for us.”
Vazquez said the swing didn’t arrive this spring without some hard work in the batting cage.
“I worked on bat path and hip strength and did a bunch of workouts,” Vazquez said. “Hitting off the tee and working on my bat path was the biggest thing. I changed my path to not ground out and try to get a little under the ball and get a line drive.”
For the Diamond Jacks, Tyler Izbicki and Aiden Messina worked back-to-back bases-loaded walks in the first for a 2-0 lead. Kwon cut that lead in half in the second with a sacrifice fly.
In the third, Messina earned his second bases-loaded walk and Joe Conte lofted a sac fly for a 4-1 Diamond Jacks lead. The Lynx tied the game in the bottom half of the inning when Eman Lai singled in a run, and both he and Dylan Kim scored on a throwing error following a pickoff throw.
The Diamond Jacks took their final lead of the game at 6-4 in the fourth when Antonio Sivio singled, Tyler LaGanga doubled and Logan Koziupa drove them both in with a double to the left center gap.
Diamond Jacks starter Tripp Fabiano gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits in 2⅓ innings He walked four and struck out three. Reliever Ryan Sharma allowed three runs on four hits and two walks with four whiffs in 1⅔ innings.