Locked In Baseball Expos 17/18U allowed just four runs in four games to claim the Fall Fury title.
By Rich Bevensee
The grind of baseball training every day from March through July can be grueling, and Billy Wingren could feel he was mentally and physically exhausted by the time the Locked In Baseball Expos 17/18U squad reached a four-week break in its schedule.
Grinders like Wingren don’t need much time to recover, though, so after a week of vacationing in Tennessee with his family, he felt he was ready to get back to his training.
And by the time the Expos’ break was over, Wingren was chomping at the bit for games to begin again.
Wingren showed it this weekend, batting .500 with two doubles, three walks and five RBI while the Expos went unbeaten in four games and stormed to the 17/18U Fall Fury championship on Sunday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“I didn’t need a lot of time, just a little debrief, but I was dragging at the end,” said Wingren, a 5-9, 170-pound senior at Morris Knolls. “I was exhausted but that one week did it for me. Those four weeks built up to this tournament. I had to get back out here.”
In the championship game, the top-seeded Expos received three solid innings from starter Will Duffy, a two-run double from Devin Aiken and an RBI double from Kieran Callanan in a 6-2 victory over second-seeded Baseball U PA 18U Regional.
The seeding process for the three playoff teams was as slim as it gets. All three qualifying teams went 3-0 in pool play and the difference in runs allowed was razor thin. The Expos defeated three opponents by a combined score of 21-2, while Baseball U 18U allowed just four runs and third-seeded Baseball U PA 17U Regional allowed five runs.
Baseball U 18U defeated its 17U counterpart in the semifinals, 7-4, on the strength of Dylan Hoffman’s tie-breaking, three-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Duffy was solid if not spectacular in his three innings for the Expos, allowing one run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He left the game with a 4-1 lead after Baseball U’s Aiden Brier led off the top of the fourth by launching a solo home run over the right field fence.
“It wasn’t my best day out there, I felt a little rough, but I was going either three or four (innings) from the start,” said Duffy, a 6-2, 166-pound senior at Parsippany Hills. “I got in a little trouble so that was it.”
Billy Wingren of the Expos batted .500 and drove in five runs to earn Fall Fury MVP honors.
Duffy said a little introspection allowed him to improve his changeup and throw it effectively on Sunday.
“Today I was relying on my fastball, I only threw one curveball and my changeup was working good,” Duffy said. “Throughout the year my change has been rough but I got it going now. I changed my grip to a seam-shifted grip and it’s been working for me. I watched a YouTube video and I fixed it. I’ve been doing that since I was a kid.”
The Expos gave Duffy an early 3-0 lead when Chase Bagley led off the bottom of the first with a walk and eventually scored on a passed ball. Aiken, batting with two outs, ripped a shot to right where Baseball U right fielder Colin Andrews dove and missed at the dying liner, which rolled to the wall while two runs scored and Aiken cruised into third for a 3-0 lead.
In the third, Wingren walked with two out and eventually scored on a balk.
In the top of the fourth following Brier’s homer, Damian Budhai had an RBI single that was believed to drive in two runs, but the home plate umpire ruled the second runner failed to touch third base so Baseball U’s deficit was 4-2.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Expos bought more insurance when Callanan sent a double to the left center wall to push a runner across, and he later scored on a wild pitch for the final score.
“This is the first tournament we’ve played in where we had a chance to win a championship with this age group,” Expos coach Todd Leathers said. “This wasn’t what we were thinking it was going to be when the weekend began but we’re happy we can finally get a win.”
For Baseball U, Jamie McMynne pitched three innings and allowed three runs on one hit and four walks and he struck out three. Colin Andrews permitted two runs on two hits in his three innings of relief work while allowing two hits and two walks with one strikeout.
UMP DENNIS DOWD HANGS UP HIS MASK
Dennis Dowd, who served as an umpire at Diamond Nation for 16 years and 20 years overall, has announced his retirement.
Dowd called his last game behind the plate on Sunday in the 17/18U Fall Fury semifinals between Baseball U PA 18U Regional and their counterparts from 17U.
Dowd, known for his trademark headband, shared his final game with fellow umpire Pete Hamm, who also wore a headband in Dowd’s honor. Dowd and Hamm are two of the original umpires at Diamond Nation when it was known as Jack Cust Baseball Academy (JCBA).
Dennis Dowd, right, enjoyed his final game as an umpire on Sunday at Diamond Nation as his game partner Pete Hamm, left, wore a headband to honor his partner for his trademark head gear.
Dowd began umpiring at Diamond Nation in 2009, the same year the complex opened. He said working at ‘The Nation’ made him a better umpire because he saw better baseball and worked with better officials.
“It was a pleasure working with Dennis as both an official and an assignor,” said Jim Rueb, Diamond Nation’s director of event operations and umpire assignor. “Dennis could always be counted on to be on time, available and give his best effort for the kids. He will be missed by our entire staff.”
Dowd also said that among the hundreds of coaches who passed through ‘The Nation,’ he greatly respected Jim Wladyka of Wladyka Baseball the most because of the way he taught the game.
Dennis Dowd at work on his final day as a Diamond Nation umpire.