WESTFIELD – A year after finishing in the bottom of the 13 and 14-year-old Babe Ruth baseball standings, ITI rose to a second-place finish during the 2015 regular season, prime to capture their first Amanti Cup title since 2012.
The No. 2 seed battled both the wet and sloppy conditions at Bullens Field and the hottest offense in the tournament, using a two-run double from Scotty Bussell in the sixth inning to win the title and defeat No. 3 Kiwanis Club, 4-2, Saturday afternoon.
“It felt so good to have the kids who were 13 turn 14 and capture the Amanti Cup,” said Head Coach Mike Nihill. “To feel like they’re at the top of the hill is huge for these guys and now our 13-year-olds will go into next year with all kinds of confidence.”
Tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, Kiwanis retired the first two ITI batters before hitting No. 11 hitter Mateo Sanchez to set the table for the potent top of the batting order. After Carter Cousins extended the inning with a single, Bussell crushed the eventual game-winning two-run double deep down the left field line.
“I saw the first pitch and the second pitch was right in my sweet zone and I swung right through it,” said Bussell. “It feels great being part of this team. It was one heck of a year and hopefully it will be great next year.”
For the third time in as many tournament games, ITI rode the arms of their 13-year-old pitching staff, holding a Kiwanis offense that had scored 36 runs in the past two games to two runs and seven hits. Michael Hall pitched five innings in a no decision, while Ethan Flaherty earned his second win in as many tournament games in relief. Bussell earned the save by pitching the seventh inning, making him the first 14-year-old to pitch in an Amanti Cup tournament game for ITI.
“We really did it with three pitchers in the Amanti Cup,” said Nihill. “We lost our top pitcher that really got us through most of last season, so to lose him and ride the 13-year-olds through the postseason is incredible. Going undefeated really allowed us to have more days off and have some rest.”
After ITI jumped on top via a wild pitch after the first inning, Kiwanis took the lead with single runs in the second and fourth innings, the latter on an Ian Willhoite single to drive in Colton Baker. The next inning, Walter Figueroa laced a RBI single to tie the game and bring Elliott Avery home. After Kiwanis starting pitcher Sam Parker no-hit ITI through the first three innings, ITI found its offense, recording all five hits after the fourth inning.
“What really showed is that we had great depth,” said Nihill. “There’s great balance over the entire lineup and that’s huge. With two outs, I give the top of the lineup a lot of credit for doing that much damage (in the sixth inning).”
The ITI title marks the end of the 13 & 14-year-old Babe Ruth season and the beginning of the All-Star season. Both teams have several representatives on both the 13-year-old and 14-year-old All-Star teams. ITI’s Hall and Figueroa and Kiwanis’ Colin Scanlon made the 13-year-old roster, with ITI’s Flaherty named as an alternate.
The 14-year-old All-Star Team, coached by Nihill, will look to repeat its success from a season ago and will feature three ITI players (Cousins, Michael Nihill, Carter Davignon) and four from Kiwanis (Parker, Baker, Jack Blake, Baley Collier).
