The Dayton Titans 9U youth baseball team claimed the spring Diamond X championship this past weekend, and also claimed their spot in the Central Jersey Baseball League championship game.
The Titans beat the Thunder, 2-1, behind the strong and crafty arms of Janton Shorter, Drew Fisher and Jimmy Matt, holding the noisy Thunder to only three hits. Shorter recorded four strikeouts before turning the ball over to Fisher for the top of the fourth, and Fisher held the Thunder scoreless through the next two innings. Matt took the mound for the top of the sixth, and slammed the door closed on the Thunder. The Thunder pitching kept the usually loud Titan bats quiet, but the Titans used a steal of home by Matt in the first inning to go on top early, and went on top for good in the bottom of the fifth. Mark Bobko led off the top of the fifth inning with a single, and moved to third base on two consecutive passed balls. Shorter tagged a Thunder pitch for a hard single, scoring Bobko for the go-ahead run. The Titans defense, led by Chucky LaSala, Kyle Klemas, Anthony Cima, Gary Holder, Ethan Collins and Colby Redfield, held the Thunder in check the rest of the way to gain the championship win.
In the second game of their Father’s Day doubleheader, the Titans plowed through the Middletown Crush, 11-3, to advance to the CJBL championship against the Central Jersey Jaguars. Bobko started the game on the mound for the Titans, and left after three innings with an 8-2 lead; Matt took the hill and held the Crush to just one run to complete the game. The Titans bats were led by doubles by Redfield, Matt, and Alex Matt, each one knocking in two runs, and Matt Von Roemer contributing two RBI’s with a double and sacrifice fly. LaSala and Klemas also added two hits each to the attack.
The Titans began their quest for a Diamond X league championship the previous weekend, burning the Hillsboro Heat, 11-1, in a mercy-rule-shortened semifinal victory.
The Titans used a complete game pitching performance by Jimmy Matt (6-1) to conquer the team from Hillsboro. Matt struck out six Heat batters, and did not surrender an earned run. The Titans, trailing 1-0 going into the bottom of the fourth, exploded for seven runs in the inning to break the game open. Kyle Klemas led off with a single, followed by a beautiful bunt single by Anthony Cima. Matt Von Roemer followed with a single to load the bases for Drew Fisher. Fisher tagged a single, and pushed Klemas across the plate with the tying run. The bases still loaded, Mark Bobko came to the plate and cracked a hit to knock in two runs, and give the Titans a lead they would not relinquish. Chucky LaSala added a double and two runs batted in to the inning, and Matt helped his own cause by booming a triple to deep centerfield and driving in a run.
The Titans put the game away in the bottom of the fifth, this time with Klemas starting the inning with a walk. Cima, Von Roemer, Fisher, and Bobko followed with consecutive base hits driving in three runs, and setting the stage for Gary Holder to end the game. Holder hit a sharp grounder to score Fisher, and the game was over.
The Titans, after committing two errors in the first inning that led to an unearned run, used outstanding team defense led by Janton Shorter, Colby Redfield, and Ethan Collins to hold the Heat scoreless the rest of the way.