By Rich Bevensee
When New York Dynasty 12U coach Anthony Vigliotti received the news this past winter that his program would be merging with ZT Northeast, he was slightly apprehensive because he wasn’t sure how the new players would merge with the ones he had coached for several years already.
Suffice it to say Vigliotti and his staff have done a masterful job merging talent. In just the team’s second tournament of the season, ZT Dynasty 12U has reached the top step of the podium.
Colton Lezette and Sean Hachemeister accounted for four hits and three RBI as well as 2⅔ innings of solid relief work to lift the Dynasty to a 9-5 victory over Diamond Jacks Gold in the 12U Williams Harley-Davidson tournament championship game on Sunday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Lezette, who played five positions and collected seven hits and three RBI over the four-game weekend, was named tournament’s MVP.
“You never know what position you will play when you get older, and it’s good to try other things to see what you can do, but I prefer second base because I feel it suits me best,” Lezette said about his versatility. “Winning the MVP is awesome. It’s great that my coaches think I earned it, but this team is going to be great this year.”
Lezette went 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI at the plate, and he allowed one run on no hits and three walks on the mound in 1⅔ innings of relief. For the weekend he collected two singles, five doubles, two walks and three RBI.
“Colton does so many different things,” Vigliotti said. “I put him at second base, third base, left field, center field. The only thing he doesn’t do is catch, and if I gave him catcher’s gear, he’d do it. He’s our No. 2 pitcher – I can count on him to throw strikes – and our most versatile player. He puts the bat on the ball and more times than not he’s on base. He’s good to have in the two-hole.”
Hachemeister, who hammered 10 home runs last season, notched his first of the new campaign with a two-run laser over the right field fence in the bottom of the second inning which gave Dynasty a 6-2 lead.
It was a welcome at bat for the Dynasty’s most physically imposing player, who didn’t enjoy his first tournament of the season in Boston two weeks ago.
“My first tournament was a little rocky because I wasn’t barreling up the ball like I wanted to,” Hachemeister said. “I got in the cage and practiced staying inside, getting my barrel through the ball, and hitting it to the opposite field.”
C.J. Scheier had two of the three Diamond Jacks hits, while Tom Guidicipietro, Luca Milia and Ryan Tiger each drove in a run.
The Diamond Jacks leaped to an early lead when Giudicipietro laced an opposite field RBI single and Milia earned a bases loaded walk in the top of the first.
The Dynasty took advantage of some defensive miscues to rally for four runs in the bottom of the inning, and never looked back.
ZT Dynasty’s Colton Lezette had six hits in four games and played five positions to earn the 12U Williams Harley Davidson tournament MVP.
Hachemeister’s homer made it 6-2 in the second inning, but the Diamond Jacks tightened up the game with a pair of runs in the third, thanks to Tiger’s run-scoring fielder’s choice and Krempecke scoring on an infield error.
The Dynasty created a bit more breathing room in the fourth and fifth innings. Nick Cordoveno added an RBI groundout in the fourth. Lezette stroked an RBI single and Zach Althoff scored on a throwing error for a 9-4 lead in the fifth.
Vigliotti is pleased with how well his team meshed since coming together in December. He had his reservations, but now is confident the Dynasty is headed for a big season.
“This is very satisfying,” he said. “We grow with the kids and we’re prepping them for the big field. Being a new organization and having a good group to start with, it’s satisfying to win.”
Both teams entered the final 3-0. Dynasty defeated BC Cyclones Navy, 14-0, the Jackson Thunder, 12-7, and Morris County Cubs White, 17-0, in pool play to earn the top seed. The Diamond Jacks knocked off the Jackson Thunder, 13-3, Morris County Cubs White, 10-2, and BC Cyclones Navy, 7-2, in pool play, and the Diamond Jacks 12U Super 10-4 in the semifinals.