Mathieu Roy is starting to make his name with the big boys now. He’s a junior leaguer no longer.
Roy went 3 for 3 Sunday at the plate and scored three runs in the second championship game, leading his New York Gremlins to a 9-4 victory over the Hill United Chiefs of Clifton Park, N.Y., as the Gremlins captured the ASA Men’s Major Fast-Pitch National Tournament crown at Brookside Park.
Getting 14 hits in 22 plate appearances for a .626 batting average in four days, Roy was an easy pick as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
“It’s a really great feeling and we knew we had to win two big ones against Hill United, who were undefeated (4-0) before today,” said the mild-mannered Canadian. “We were just playing it one pitch at a time, one game at a time.”
The 23-year-old, who played junior ball a summer ago, showed off his skills at the plate and on the base paths in the tournament.
New York had its work cut out for itself Sunday, needing to win four straight games after falling into the loser’s bracket Saturday afternoon in a 3-1 loss to Hill United and pitcher Adam Folkard in the winner’s bracket semifinals. The Gremlins then went on to take a 3-0 win over P.A. Power Saturday night, sending it into Sunday’s action.
On Sunday, the Gremlins earned wins over the Kegal Black Knights of Fargo, N.D.. 5-2, and echoed that with a 4-3 triumph over the Minnesota Angels.
In the first championship game, New York took a 7-4 win over Hill United as lefty Andrew Kirkpatrick bested Folkard on the mound. Kirkpatrick fanned seven and didn’t walk a batter, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits in six innings before Bryan Newton came on in the seventh to close the game out.
Folkard got six strikeouts but issued an uncommon five walks, yielding seven runs (two earned) on seven hits.
Roy went 1 for 1 in the first championship game with a double and three walks, scoring two runs. Wayne Laulu singled twice and plated one for New York. Steve Mullaley homered and doubled and drove in a pair for the Chiefs, with teammate Brad Ezekiel adding a solo home run.
In the second title game, Hill United posted three runs in the top of the first to go up 3-0 as Brad Ezekiel led the game off with a first-pitch home run off Newton. Jason Hill and Mark Johnson followed with RBI doubles for Hill United.
Roy singled to center in the bottom of the inning for New York and later scored on Travis Wilson’s single to center to cut the lead to 3-1.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Gremlins exploded for six runs to take a commanding 7-3 lead, sending 10 players to the plate, with the big hit of the inning a grand slam by Blair Ezekiel off Folkard. Wilson smacked three singles and drove in four runs for the Gremlins.
“Really, I think the key was when they scored those three runs in the first inning and we could have gone down as tired as we were, but we came back and got one and then had that big inning,” Bruckert said. “We were patient with Folkard and had really good at-bats with him. We hit strikes and took balls and if he was going to walk us, we’d take those.
“He’s a great pitcher, probably as good as there is in the game, just like (Kirkpatrick), who gave us two good games but couldn’t go the last one.”
Folkard was lifted after two innings for Mitch Hardy who threw well, fanning two, walking two and giving up two runs on four hits.
But Hill United was never able to generate much offense the rest of the game. The team had trouble with Newton ( four innings, three runs, eight hits, four strikeouts) and reliever Jeremy Tracy (one run, two hits, one strikeout), who tossed the final three innings.
“We played well, right up until the last couple of games, obviously,” said Hill United pitcher and coach Mike Joseph, who said the current Chiefs’ team has been together just this year. “It started with just some local guys and we ended up friends with Adam Folkard and Nick Shailes and kind of went from there, asking some friends to play and here we are today.”
“We rode Adam quite a bit and he played in every game for us and eventually, a guy’s going to get tired, but he did a great job for us,” Joseph added. “These guys are all a great bunch of guys who are out here to have fun.”
With their 4-0 finish Sunday, the Gremlins went 7-1 in the tournament.
“It was a hard effort playing that many games in one day, playing late the night before and to come back with four on Sunday, but it’s a great team effort,” Bruckert said. “We have 18 guys on the roster and I think we used 16 (Sunday) and that’s what it’s going to take.”
In the loser’s bracket finals where the Gremlins topped the Minnesota Angels, 4-3, Kirkpatrick fanned 10 and relinquished three unearned runs on four hits to earn the win over Juan Potolicchio who whiffed three, giving up four earned runs on 10 hits.
Tracy tripled, singled twice and scored two runs for the Gremlins, with Roy adding two singles and an RBI.
In the loser’s bracket semifinal, the Gremlins topped the Kegal Black Knights, 5-2. Newton got the mound win for New York with 13 strikeouts and two walks, yielding two earned runs on six hits to best Gerald Muizalaar, who fanned eight, walked one and gave up five unearned runs on four hits.
Roy tripled, doubled and drove in two to pace the Gremlins and B.J. Gulick (RBI) and Mike Armitage each singled twice for Kegal.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 1
Hill United 011 002 0 — 4 6 2
NY Gremlins 410 002 x — 7 7 2
Hill United multi-hit players: Mullaley (HR, 2b).
NY Gremlins multi-hit players: Laulu (2-1b).
RBIs — Mullaley 2, Br. Ezekiel; Casley, Kirkpatrick, Laulu.
Other 2Bs — Mathieu.
Other HRs — Br. Ezekiel.
WP — Kirkpatrick (SO-7, BB-0)
LP — Folkard (SO-6, BB-5)
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 2
Hill United 300 000 1 — 4 10 1
NY Gremlins 160 002 x — 9 9 1
Hill United multi-hit players: Br. Ezekiel (1b, 2-HR); Johnson (2b, 2-1b); Thompson (2-1b).
NY Gremlins multi-hit players: Mathieu (3-1b); Wilson (3-1b).
RBIs — Br. Ezekiel 2, Hill, Johnson; Bl. Ezekiel 4, Wilson 4.
Other 2Bs — Ellsworth, Hill
Other HRs — Bl. Ezekiel.
WP — Newton (SO-4, BB-0)
LP — Folkard (SO-2, BB-4)
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