The Heavy Hitters 4 hailing from Elmer, New Jersey defeated the South Jersey Elite to claim a spot in the PG Super25 National Championship this weekend during the Mid-Atlantic Super Qualifier held throughout the southern half of New Jersey. Both teams entered the final game having not lost a single match up during the weekend.
Seizing the day was tournament MVP Austin Ludwick. Ludwick hit .474 during the tournament, knocking in four runs while showcasing impressive speed and baseball instincts, stealing eleven bags. Ludwick was solid defensively throughout the championship game and stole a base to hand South Jersey Elite a loss.
JD Wilson was stellar on the mound for the Heavy Hitters, going six strong innings. Wilson allowed only three earned runs, striking out nine and showcasing a low-80s fastball to go along with a tight breaking ball that rested in the upper-60s throughout the game.
Alex Rodriguez and Julio Sanchez led the way for the offense, combing for three RBIs and three runs scored. Rodriguez hit a 2 RBI double to seal the victory, extending the lead to four in the fourth inning. Sanchez was tremendous from behind the dish, showing excellent receiving skills and a quick release, holding South Jersey Elite at bay on the bases.
South Jersey Elite showed why they belonged in the championship despite coming out on the losing end. Johnny Ormsby went two for three, while Erich Hartmann went one for two with an RBI single. Starting Pitcher Jake Brogan showed a craft approach, lasting 4.2 innings and striking out three.
Each team went scoreless in the first, but the floodgates began to open for the heavy hitters in the second and third innings. A triple by Julio Sanchez led to an RBI groundout by Benjamin Woodruff in inning two, and a Jarrett Prokovsky double drove in one more in the third to make the score 2-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning.
The Heavy hitters pulled away in the fourth inning. After an error and walk, two runners moved into scoring position after a SAC bunt from Benjamin Woodruff. Alex Rodriguez capitalized with a two-RBI double, and a jam single to right field off the bat of Francisco Andino extended the lead to five.
Heavy Hitters tacked on two more after receiving RBI singles from Ryan Taylor and Julio Sanchez. After adding one more in the sixth inning, Justin Gonzalez-Arbona sealed the game with a scoreless top of the seventh to secure a super qualifier victory.