By Rich Bevensee
The Zoned RedHawks 14U Elite ballclub finished off the month of July and their summer season on a serious roll. It’s almost a shame that the coaches have bid farewell to their players until fall baseball begins.
Zoned, led by Tim Hansen and Jacob Marin, capped an exceptional month of baseball with its second championship of the summer on Sunday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
In the Beat The Heat Tournament Powered by Farah Nutrition, the RedHawks entered the 14U silver bracket playoffs as the sixth and lowest seed, then outmuscled the top three seeds by allowing four runs in three games en route to the bracket championship.
In the Silver Bracket final against top-seeded Santos, Hansen pitched a complete-game two-hitter, Marin hit an inside-the-park, three-run home run, and Zoned used a six-run, first-inning explosion to roar to a 9-1 victory in five innings.
“It’s what’s to be expected with Zoned,” said Marin, whose inside-the-parker was his first on a 90-foot diamond. “We came in here and our hitting, fielding, pitching is all A-plus effort.”
Zoned finished its summer season 16-9-1 after going on a 7-2-1 tear in July.
The RedHawks’ other title this summer was achieved at the Nation’s Father’s Day Classic, when the Elite squad defeated Zoned Select in the final.
Tim Hansen, left, pitched a two-hitter and Jacob Marin hit an inside the park home run for Zoned RedHawks 14U Elite in the Beat The Heat championship game.
This weekend, Zoned went 1-1 in pool play, beating Locked In Expos Blue, 12-5, and bowing to Centercourt Baseball Rogers, 7-6. In the quarterfinals, they rolled past third-seeded Prospects Baseball Academy, 7-1, then knocked off second-seeded Iron Nine, 7-2.
Santos went 2-0 in pool play, including a 6-5 victory over Zoned. In the semifinals, Santos scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and slipped past fourth-seeded Morris County Cubs Navy, 10-9. The Cubs had scored four runs in the top of the seventh to overcome an 8-5 deficit.
Hansen, a 5-11, 150-pound rising freshman at Watchung Hills, was admittedly not overpowering, but definitely effective in allowing just the two Santos hits and two walks.
His only mistake of the afternoon was allowing a leadoff solo home run to Liram Wagner in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“I mostly used my fastball and when I was deeper into the count when I wanted the strikeout or weak hit, I’d go to the slider,” Hansen said. “There were some changeups and knuckle curves in there. The knuckle curve was good. The changeup was not very comfortable but worked pretty good. I was very comfortable with the fastball and slider. I’ve had good outings but this is definitely high on my list.”
Before the right-hander even took the mound he was handed a 6-0 lead. Zoned sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the first inning and scored six runs on three hits and five walks.
Parker DiPollina and Christian Estudillo each had an RBI single and Marin sent his home run ball to the left center field wall, but not before Wagner, the Santos center fielder, nearly made a diving catch.
“Honestly I was thinking I gotta get there, use my legs, go as fast as I can and beat the throw,” Marin said. “I was thinking three (bases), but Coach (Steve Nikorak) sent me and I had to go. I had to be there.”
Marin, a rising freshman at Immaculata, said he saw Nikorak waving him home even as he just rounded second base.
“I saw him waving me in and I thought, what is he doing? No way. But I had to get there and do it for my team.”
Zach Battoglia scored on a wild pitch to cap the six-run first.
Estudillo, who had a fantastic game by going 2-for-3 with three RBI and drove in another run in the second inning with a fielder’s choice.
In the fourth, the RedHawks tacked on two more for an 8-0 lead when Avery Bell drove in a run with a groundout, and Estudillo – who else? – had another RBI single.
“Having a big lead like that gave me a lot of comfort,” Hansen said. “I was just trying to get the ball over the plate, let them hit the ball and not walk a lot of guys.”
Alex Azcona pitched two-thirds of an inning for Santos, Will Rupp came on in relief for 2⅔ innings and Ethan Morrisette pitched the final 1⅓ innings.