Extra-innings game decides Millburn Little League Championship

Each year, Millburn-Short Hills Youth Baseball (MSHYB) celebrates the end of the season with Championship games in each of their age groups at ‘Family Day’. This year did not disappoint with an extra-innings masterpiece to settle the 4th grade title.

The #1 seed Wildcats had been great all year with a Murderers’ Row of batters similar to the 1927 Yankees. There was simply no weak spot in their lineup. The #2 seed Jaguars made it to the finals on the back of their pitching. As an example, Ryden Rubovitz & Aiden Treue combined on a 1-hit shutout in the semi-finals to get the Jaguars to the Championship.

The Championship began with pitcher Brooke Ploetner taking the mound for the Wildcats. Jaguars’ leadoff hitter, Aiden Treue, quickly was down 2 strikes to the veteran right-hander, but then on the third pitch of the game launched a shot to the outfield fence for a double. Zac Wanderer, who has been on fire at the plate of late, was issued a walk. Evan Hammer promptly ripped a single scoring Treue. With two sacrifice plays, Hammer also scored. The Jaguars were off to a good 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the first, the Jaguars went to one of their pitching aces, Evan Hammer, a flame-throwing righty. Unfortunately, just as the Jaguars had jumped out and scored a quick two runs, the Wildcats turned the tables and scored a quick two runs for themselves with a walk by Ploetner, a double by Alex Grapkowski and a single by Harry Eller. 2-2 after one inning.

In the second inning, the pitching battle continued. MSHYB pitching has strict pitch limits and as long as the Jaguars could keep their pitch counts low, they had a chance against the fearsome lineup of the Wildcats. The Jaguars’ Evan Hammer struck out the side while the Wildcats’ Brooke Ploetner did the same. The score remained 2-2 after two innings.

In the third inning, Krishna Gajipara lead-off for the Jaguars, but it was Treue who launched another double to center-left and scored when Wanderer knocked him in. In the fourth inning, the Jaguars’ Wyatt Dieckman started with a single, but was stranded on first base. However, not to be outdone, the Wildcats’ matched Treue’s run with one of their own in the 4th with hits by Brandon Koo, Stanley & Harry Eller. 3-3 after four innings.

In the 5th, Jaguars’ starting pitcher, Evan Hammer, was starting to get close to his 75-pitch limit and the Jaguars went to their next ace, Ryden Rubovitz, fresh off his incredible performance in the semi-finals. Similarly, Brooke Ploetner was replaced by Alex Grapkowski for the Wildcats. Both sides were held scoreless in the 5th. The tension was beginning to mount as 4th graders are only slated for six innings. 3-3 after five.

In the top of the 6th, the Jaguars made a push for a run and Rubovitz advanced to 3rd but was stranded there to end the inning. In the bottom of the 6th, with singles by Arjun & Grapkowski, the Wildcats now had a runner at third with one out and a chance to win it all. The Jaguars brought the infield in, and the crowd was on their feet, but Rubovitz took it up a notch and struck out the next two batters to send the game to extra innings.

In the top of the 7th for the Jaguars, Lucas Goldman walked, and Ivan Hartmann took one for the team with a hit-by-pitch, but the momentum had shifted to the Wildcats as their new pitcher, Harry Eller, entered the game. Eller struck out the next two and put out the fire. The Wildcats began the bottom of the 7th with a double up the gap. Next up was Leo, who similarly hit a shot to the outfield. As the lead Wildcat runner from second rounded third and slid into home for the win, bedlam ensued as the huge crowd charged the field in celebration. It was reminiscent of Chris Chambliss’s Yankee Home Run in the 1976 playoffs. However, in the chaos, it appeared that the lead runner had not touched third base. The Jaguars appealed and …… the runner was out! Still 3-3! However, Leo was still on second and promptly stole third. With one out, the Jaguars brought the infield in again. The tension was dialed up to 11. Rubovitz, the Jaguar pitcher, reared back and brought the heat striking out the next two Wildcat batters. Still 3-3 after seven innings.

The top of the eighth began for the Jaguars with a single by Hammer and a fly out to deep right by Rubovitz. Next up was Dylan Goldman who hit a flare to right for a double. It was now 2nd and 3rd with one out. With the infield at double-play depth, Jaguar Spencer Rosenstein stepped to the plate. The excitement was rising and the crowd was loud, but big-hitting Rosenstein surprised everyone with a squeeze bunt. Evan Hammer came racing down the line from 3rd. The pitcher, Harry Eller, scooped the ball in front of the pitcher’s mound, and the catcher braced himself at home. Fielding the ball cleanly, Eller made the short throw home. The ball, Evan Hammer, and the catcher all arrived at home plate at the same time. Hammer slid. When the dust cleared from the epic collision, Hammer was safe! The Jaguars took a 4-3 lead! Once again bedlam ensued, but there was still a half inning to go.

By now, Rubovitz had also exhausted his pitch count and the Jaguars went to Aiden Treue to try and close out this masterpiece. Treue came in throwing nothing but strikes and struck out two of the next three to win an incredible extra-inning MSHYB 4th Grade Championship for the Jaguars.