CLIFTON PARK WINS ENY STATE TITLE
Plainsmen 13s top Tuckahoe 10-3 at home
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » As you get older you tend to appreciate things a little more.
When you have something and then lost it, if you are lucky enough to find it again, or in the case of the Clifton Park Plainsmen, win it again, there is nothing sweeter.
The Clifton Park Plainsmen are bigger, stronger and have an even better appreciation of their upcoming trip to the Middle Atlantic Regional after capturing the 13-yearold Eastern New York Babe Ruth crown Monday afternoon with a 10-3 win over Tuckahoe at the Clifton Common.
The core group won an Eastern New York title at 11-year-olds to advance one-year after previously hosting the Mid-Atlantic Regional as a 10-year-old group and participating as the host team.
Last year was a valuable lesson learned.
“We had a lot of time to think it over,” Plainsmen starting pitcher Jimmy Mulligan said. “Last year in the semifinals we were re-
ally focusing on the championship game when we should have been focusing on the game right in front of us.”
He took the advice of teammate Nick Rex before the game to calm himself.
“I took it just like a normal game, it’s just a game with a special name, just like any of the other pool play games, we played our same game,” Mulligan said.
The big left-handed thrower gave up just two runs in his five and onethird innings of work, scattering eight hits, striking out three and walking three in the win.
“After I was pitching for a while the fastball started losing a little velocity, so my catcher, Ben Paquin started giving me more off-speed pitches changeup and curve and I really think it worked,” Mulligan said. “Especially the bottom of their order surprised me; they were getting around on the fastball too.” The advice and calls from behind the dish from Paquin paid off.
“They were reaching out a lot, not expecting it, they were waiting for a fastball, they just didn’t see it coming,” Mulligan said.
Nick Rex came on to close out the contest for the Plainsmen, giving up a run late, but securing the MidAtlantic Regional berth in Somers Point, New Jersey.
Tuckahoe scratched a run across in the top of the first only to see it matched by Clifton Park after Mason Courtney reached on a single and scored on Ayden Harrison’s RBI groundout.
A thunder delay gave both teams a rest from the heat and the Plainsmen returned rested and ready, plating three runs in their half of the second inning.
Mulligan led off with a single before Paquin and Robby Hicks took free passes to first base. Nick Barrese delivered a two RBI single to plate Mulligan and Paquin before Hicks scored on a passed ball for a 4-1 lead.
Tuckahoe cut the lead in half in the third before the Plainsmen took advantage of four consecutive walks to score twice and add to its lead, 6-2.
Mulligan helped his own cause with an RBI single fifth before returning to the mound for a memorable sixth inning where he watched a teammate struggle defensively.
Ayden Harrison should have had an easy out at first on Tuckahoe’s Sam Gramaglia’s grounder to second, but he bobbled the throw from second baseman Lorenzo Lombardo and found himself along with his 6-foot 2-inch frame in the batter’s running lane.
Harrison’s physical error and body language necessitated a call to the dugout and Coach Mike Courtney for a spirited, one-sided conversation.
“As they get more mature you have to figure out how to work through adversity and I think that’s what we try to work with the kids,” Mike Courtney said. “You can have better conversation with them, you can get at them a little bit more, you can get on them a little bit more and if you do it in that constructive manner, but then challenge them to turn the page and get after it, that’s where you start finding success.”
After getting out of the inning without giving up a run Harrison found himself at the plate with bases loaded, just minutes after making an avoidable error and getting an earful from his manager, what is the 13-year-old expected to do, but deliver a three-run double to score Barrese, Mason Courtney and Lombardo for the final three runs and deliver a 10-3 lead.
“Yes, I shouldn’t have dropped that ball,” Ayden Harrison said. “Coach called me over and gave me a good speech. It really helped me and then I just wanted to go and make something happen.”
Harrison deposited his double into left field and earned the accolades from his teammates in the dugout. “It felt really good, to deliver that for this team, it means a lot that they picked me up like that,” Harrison said.
Mike Courtney expected nothing less.
“With the age increase, with the kids wanting to win and understanding what it means to win and lose and now that they have lost they understand that,” Mike Courtney said. “If they can just turn the page and those boys that are able to do that have a lot of success and he was able to turn the page and he ripped one right down the line.”
With hotel reservations secured and travel plans in the works for the Mid-Atlantic Regional, Courtney knows that his more experienced, bigger athletes will have to prepare for the next challenge.
“You get down to the Mid-Atlantics and the pitching is going to be up a notch,” Mike Courtney said. “The runs are going to close in a little bit, games are going to be a little bit closer, everything is going to be a little bit grittier, we’re going to have to find ways to win, maybe play a little small ball, a little more than we played during this tournament.”