By Sean Reilly
Anthony Verde came to Diamond Nation over the weekend possessing more than just a bag filled with baseball equipment.
He also brought along a simple, yet lethal, plan of attack for his at-bats for a very talented Body Armor Titans team.
“I was looking to sit fastballs first pitch and hit,” he said.
Verde was wildly successful in those efforts, and it led his Long Island team to the championship of the 13U Best Show On Turf tournament, which was highlighted by an 11-3, five-inning victory over the Out Of The Park Cyclones 13U Prospects in the final on Sunday afternoon.
Verde was selected tournament’s Most Valuable Player after going 10-for-11 in the five Titans games, all of them victories. He scored eight runs and had eight RBI, with a triple and home run.
In the final, he was 2-for-2 with a walk, with one run scored as the Titans improved to 9-0 on the season.
“I was seeing the ball well,” Verde said. “We did a good job focusing and hitting the ball.”
The Titans outscored their opponents 53-14, scoring at least 10 times in four of their games, while the pitching staff also allowed three runs or less four.
The OOTP Cyclones, who ended the weekend with a 4-1 record, took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. JB Mullan led off with a single, stole second and scored after two wild pitches.
Anthony Verde of the Body Armor Titans was named 13U Best On Turf tournament MVP.
The Titans gained a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Mac Fairbairn led off with a double to center field, and scored when Ryan Buderman hit an RBI single to right.
Nick Grigonis hit a one-out double to left to score Buderman, and he scored when next-batter Jeremy Katz singled to center. Katz stole second, and scored as John Kletzkin hit a single to right.
The Cyclones narrowed their gap to 4-3 by staging a two-out rally in the top of the fifth. Ryder Alicea singled to left before Matthew Krail (2-for-3) tripled to right-center. Krail then scored on a wild pitch.
The Titans ended the game in mercy-rule fashion by scoring seven times in the bottom of the fifth.
Verde led off with a walk, and moved to second as Grigonis reached on an error. Katz followed with a one-run double to the right-field corner. Kletzkin hit a single to left field that scored Grigonis and sent Katz to third.
After a pitching change, Nico Sioukas was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Nathan Agustino was hit by a pitch to score a run. An error on the throw back to the pitcher following a pitch scored the next run before the first out was recorded as Alec Tullo was retired on an RBI groundout to first for a 9-3 advantage.
Sean Buderman hit an RBI single to center, and Fairbairn reached on a single to right. The game then ended when Ryan Buderman delivered a hit to center that scored Sean Buderman with the clinching run.
Kletzkin finished 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI for the Titans, as part of the team’s 14-hit attack.
Giovanni Perez pitched the first three innings for the Titans, allowing one run on four hits, with five strikeouts and two walks. Verde complemented his hitting effort by pitching the final two innings. He allowed two runs on two hits, with two strikeouts and one walk.