Tag Archives: Freddy Rojas

New York Nine Finishes in National Final Four at NABF World Series

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For the first time since 2008 in Jackson, Mississippi the New York Nine Scout Team appeared at the NABF Senior Division World Series. This year’s sixteen team event was held in Struthers, Ohio at the beautiful Bob Cene Park. The 2008 club made a run all the way to the Semi-Final game, losing a heartbreaking 1-0 decision on a throwing error. The 2018 iteration that hoped to claim the first national title for the Nine boasts solid pitching and defense and a very capable but boom or bust offense.

The first game of the tournament saw the Nine play College Connect, out of Michigan. The Nine struggled to get going offensively as their offense was completely stifled by a legitimate knuckleballer with a mid 80s fastball and pinpoint control. With the aid of some defensive miscues, Connect posted a six run second inning and cruised to a 7-0 victory.

The 2nd game of the day saw the Nine playing the Ohio Longhorns. The Longhorns opened the scoring in the 2nd inning by plating 4 runs. In the bottom of the 3rd, the Nine scored 2 runs on a Jean Carlos Morillo walk, a Freddy Rojas, Jr. RBI double and a Chris Mondesi, Jr. RBI double. Joe Wozny, who came in in the 3rd inning, shut down Ohio giving the Nine the chance to come back and win the game. With two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning, Jesse Spellman and Joe Caba singled pushing pinch runner Tommy Tavarez to 3rd. JP Compres delivered the 2 out RBI single to cut the Ohio lead to 4-3. Wozny continued his dominant pitching and threw a clean top of the 7th with 2 strikeouts to give the Nine a shot to win. Pinch hitter John Garcia opened the inning by singling up the middle then Freddy Rojas, Jr. roped a single to center putting runners on first and second with no outs setting the stage for Chris Mondesi, Jr. Mondesi hit a line drive to the opposite field that got past the right fielder scoring Garcia with Rojas, Jr. racing home behind him to give the Nine their first win of the tournament.

The next day saw the Nine play the West New York Tigers under the lights in prime time. The Nine manufactured the first run with a Jeissy De La Cruz walk, stolen base and scoring on a wild pitch. In the 2nd, the Nine again took advantage of a defensive miscue when Joe Caba scored on an error. West New York got to Bryce Martino in the 4th inning when a few ground balls got through the infield after a Nine error. With 2 runs in and men on 1st and 3rd, JP Compres came in and threw three straight fastballs, each at or near 90 mph, to shut the door on the rally. The Nine came out in the bottom of the 4th and started to put the game away. Showing plate discipline, Nine hitters walked three times in the inning and Wilmer Polanco hit a 2 RBI double. The bottom of the 5th saw more of the same from the Nine. Nazir Mendez singled, Teo Estevez was hit by a pitch and Joe Caba singled to load the bases. Phil Li walked in a run and Estevez and Caba scored on wild pitches to make the score 8-2. The game ended when catcher, John Garcia threw an absolute seed to 2nd base to pick off a runner. The Nine struck out 10 Tigers, including 6 from Martino and 3 from Alejandro Soler.

The final day of pool play saw the Nine controlling their playoff seeding. With a win vs Diamond Hit Club, the Scout team would advance. In a game being broadcast live, The Nine opened scoring in the bottom of the first with De La Cruz hit by a pitch Martin Jimenez doubling him home on a long fly ball to center field. In the 3rd inning, De La Cruz hit a triple on a fly ball to right field and scored on an error by the SS. Jimenez also singled in the inning. In the 3rd inning, Freddy Rojas, Jr. singled home JP Compres, who singled earlier, on a fly ball to left field. In the 4th inning, the Nine once again plated a run when Jimenez singled to lead off the inning, followed by a Spellman walk and a Morillo RBI single. In the top of the 6th the Hit Club opened with a single and a FC error. Starter Jon Allcock was stellar through five plus strong innings. After a CS, a ground out, an RBI ground ball single to right and a walk, JP Compres came in to pitch with the score 4-1. Compres allowed a ground ball single to center and a walk to make it 4-3. With the bases loaded and the count 3-2 count, Compres induced a fly out to end the inning. Compres came back out for the 7th, striking out 2 and not allowing a baserunner, advancing the Nine to the playoffs.

The Quarter-Finals of the NABF World Series saw the Nine face off against Troy Post 43 Legends, from Ohio. In another live broadcast, The Nine started off the scoring in the bottom of the 1st. Freddy Rojas, Jr. singled to center field, followed by a Chris Mondesi, Jr. RBI double to left. Martin Jimenez immediately hit a line drive single to left to bring in Mondesi, Jr. Wilmer Polanco led off the 2nd with a triple to center, followed by a Jeissy De La Cruz RBI line drive single to center. De La Cruz stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch during Rojas, Jr. at bat, who then walked. Mondesi, Jr. followed with a walk during which Rojas, Jr. stole 2nd and De La Cruz scored on a wild pitch. Jimenez made it 5-0 with an RBI single to left that scored Rojas, Jr. After a sac bunt, Mondesi, Jr. scored on a passed ball and John Garcia drove in Jimenez with a ground ball single to left. In the top of the 3rd, Troy scored on a wild pitch with 2 outs. The Nine capped off their scoring in the bottom of the 4th after Jimenez opened the inning with a walk, followed by a Spellman walk, a Morillo fly ball RBI double to right and a Garcia 2 RBI ground ball single to left making the score 10-1. DJ Flug was outstanding pitching into the sixth, allowing no earned runs. Troy managed to close it to 10-6, but it was too little, too late as Kristian Castro got the final outs to move the Nine along to the Semi-Finals on Sunday.

The Semi-Final game pitted the Nine against the first team they played in the tournament, College Connect. Both teams matched zeroes through the first five frames. Joe Wozny was brilliant, firing 5 innings with 2 hits, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Unfortunately for the Nine, Wozny tired in the 6th and after a quick fly out, Wozny allowed a walk and HBP and gave up an RBI double and after an intentional walk to their Texas Tech bound switch hitting catcher. A 2 RBI ground ball single put Connect up 3-0. In the 7th, the Nine got runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs but failed to push across a run. With the loss the Nine once again finished in the National Semifinals.

NABF National Senior Division President Derek Topik stated, “There were some really competitive teams at the NABF Senior World Series this year in Struthers, Ohio. One in particular, the New York Nine, showed a lot of enthusiasm and talent this past week. The Nine played hard all week and showed why they were deserving of a spot at the World Series. I really enjoyed watching them play at a high level all week.”

NABF World Series Notes:

Martin Jimenez was named to All-Tournament Team and hit .433/.500/.500 with 2 RBI and 3 runs

Jesse Spellman got on base in all 6 games and had a .529 OBP with 5 walks, leading the team in both

Jeissy De La Cruz had a .478 OBP with 4 runs scored and 4 HBP

Joe Wozny threw 10.1 IP with 8 K and .968 WHIP

Alejandro Soler threw 5 innings with a 0.00 ERA

DJ Flug threw 5 innings with 6 Ks and a 0.00 ERA

Kristian Castro threw 5 innings with a 0.00 ERA

Bryce Martino threw 3.2 with 6 Ks

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New York Nine Win East Coast Championships at Baseball Heaven

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The New York Nine Scout Team ended the 2017 summer season in grand fashion winning the Blue Chips East Coast Championship at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, Long Island. In their final three Baseball Heaven tournaments, the Scout team went on an incredible 17 game winning streak, finishing those tournaments at 6-0,6-0 and 5-0 respectively.

The tournament opener saw the Nine face the Long Island Titans (who finished the tournament 3-1), beating them by a 6-2 score. In the first inning, Danny Alfonzo was hit by a pitch for the 11th time this summer, which is a new Nine record (the previous record held by Ricardo Espinosa, stood since 2006). With two on, Carlos De La Cruz took an 0-1 fastball and drove it out of the park. The very next batter, Oliver Fernandez, went back to back, hitting his first home run of the summer. With the score cut to 4-2, in the 6th inning, Danny Perez hit the longest home run of the summer, which scouts in attendance said would have landed in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium. The very next batter, one Carlos De La Cruz hit his second home run of the game putting the Nine comfortably ahead 6-2, where the game finished. Austin Cole fanned four in his final start for the Nine, while Matt Demartini pitched a perfect 2 2/3, striking out four in the win.

In game two of pool play, the Nine faced a tough New York Grays team and their hard throwing righthander John Rodriguez. Daniel Alfonzo opened the scoring in the top of the first inning hitting a missile into the left centerfield trees plating Freddy Rojas for a quick 2-0 lead. The Grays quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first on a two out, two run single and took the lead in the second, 3-2. After an Alfonzo leadoff double and a Danny Perez walk, Carlos De La Cruz singled to center plating Alfonzo. Perez scored when JP Compres reached on an error. In the fourth inning, Shawn Harrison led off with a walk and forced at second on a Preston Milano groundout. Angel Presinal singled to push Milano to 2rd and Alfonzo singled on a fly ball to right to score Milano. Perez then hit a long double to center field to score Presinal and Alfonzo, giving the Nine three runs in the frame. The Grays cut the lead to 7-4 in the fourth and the Nine completed their scoring on a Jesse Spellman single, Harrison walk, Presinal RBI single, Rojas walk and an Alfonzo RBI groundout. Anthony “Ace” Costa was superb considering the lack of strike zone, tossing a CG and striking out 6.

Having already clinched their pool, the Nine played an early Sunday morning contest against the CGI Braves out of Long Island. DJ Flug got the start striking out four, allowing two hits and no runs. Eury DeJesus fanned two in his inning of work, and Mario Medina worked a perfect inning striking out a batter. The Nine once again jumped on the board early as Carlos De La Cruz, who you may have heard of by now, hit another three-run homer. In the second, Shawn Harrison, Elvis Torres, Nick Hernandez and Angel Presinal all walked to start the inning. Freddy Rojas scored Elvis Torres on an RBI and Danny Alfonzo‘s sac fly scored Hernandez. Carlos De La Cruz reached on an error, scoring Presinal, leaking the Nine out to a quick 7-0 lead. The bottom of the third saw more of the same as a Nick Hernandez walk plated Jesse Spellman and a Presinal ground ball single to center scored two. Danny Alfonzo added an RBI on yet another HBP. With this win the Nine moved into the quarter finals as the 4th seed.

On a drizzly, rainy day, the first game of the playoffs saw the Nine take on the fifth seeded Freedom Baseball out of Long Island. Starter Wellington Belen was solid, fanning five in five plus innings while giving up three hits. In the top of the sixth, after a walk and double chased Belen, Freddy Rojas got consecutive ground outs to Shawn Harrison, who did not convert either out at the plate and Freedom ended their inning up by two. Mike Garcia held the game where it was with a perfect seventh setting the stage for one of the greatest moments in Nine history. With one out Carlos De La Cruz singled on a line drive to left, followed by a Rojas flyout to left. With an 0-1 count, pinch hitter Jesse Spellman did this:

What is unclear in the video is the leaping attempt by the left fielder to rob him of a home run. This is similar to the final play of the 2016 season where Oakland Athletic draftee, Nate Webb put a bases loaded fastball over the centerfield wall in Charleston, South Carolina only to have it brought back. Fortunes would be different this time as Spellman’s shot caromed off of the glove of the left fielder falling over the fence for a home run, tying the game at 2. With score still knotted at two in the 9th inning, the bases were loaded with one out. Reliever Brayan Garcia punched out two consecutive hitters with fastballs in low 90s to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, with the bases loaded, Angel Presinal hit a fly ball over the left fielders head scoring pinch runner, Braulio Melo to push the Nine into the semifinals vs. the Body Armor Titans, the tournament’s number one seed who had not allowed a run all tournament.

That streak ended quickly as Francisco Soriano lasered a 3-1 fastball into the parking lot in right center giving the Nine a quick 1-0 lead. The Nine scored another run in the top of the second when Oliver Fernandez singled to right center, and when trying to throw out Jeremy Bueno, the center fielder threw the ball into the dugout, giving each player 2 bases. Starter Chris Pichardo battled the rain all game, allowing a run in the bottom of the second and another In the bottom of the third, when he escaped further danger by getting a shallow fly out to center, leaving the bases loaded. After a brief delay due to driving rain, the Nine came out swinging with a Danny Perez fly ball single followed by Elvis Torres running for Perez. Freddy Rojas lined a single to right and Jeremy Bueno‘s single to center plated Torres. Rojas scored on a Fernandez force out and Braulio Melo scored on a Shawn Harrison single, which was followed by a Leury Tejada single scoring Harrison. The Nine plated four runs in the frame giving them a 6-2 lead. In the bottom of the 5th, Body Armor cut the lead to 6-3 on a deep double to left. Chris Pichardo was incredible the rest of the way, with the hard fought complete game victory. The win was Pichardo’s 8th, a New York Nine record, and 14th victory in the past two seasons. This was also the Body Armor Titans second loss all summer. As the rains fell again the tournament was halted, and co-champions were declared. The Nine were the only five win club in the tournament and beat the number one seeded playoff club in the process. It was a fitting ending to a fantastic summer. The final record for the Scout team was an outstanding 33-9-3.

Tournament notes:

Angel Presinal led the team in batting average and OBP and had a line of .500/.588/.571
Carlos De La Cruz slugged 1.000 for the tournament with a team leading 3 home runs and 8 RBI
Shawn Harrison led the team in walks with 6 and had a .538 OBP
Danny Alfonzo set the Nine record for HBP in a season and got hit with 2 pitches this tournament. He hit .417/.500/.833 with a team leading 5 runs scored.
Oliver Fernandez slugged .889
Danny Perez hit .333/.500/.667 including the longest home run of the season, and his 3rd on the season
Anthony Costa led the team in strikeouts with 6 and had a 63.2% ground ball rate
Brayan Garcia struck out 75% of batters faced
Matt Demartini struck out 50% of batters faced
DJ Flug had a groundball rate of 71.4%
The Nine averaged 7 runs per game and hit .306/.437/.545 as a team
The Nine allowed an average of 2.2 runs per game and struck out 32 in 32.2 innings.

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