AAABA 2023

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Brooklyn-2 Cougars two-way player Thomas Michael Marshall went the distance in a 139-pitch outing and also went 4-for-4 at the plate in a 3-2 victory over New Brunswick in Pool C play on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Sidman, Pa.

SIDMAN, Pa. – Wednesday morning’s AAABA Tournament Pool A contest between Brooklyn-2 Cougars and New Brunswick had an old-school feel to it.

A well-contested game played at a brisk pace of 121 minutes?

Two starting pitchers going the distance, each totaling over 115 pitches and both batting for themselves at the plate as two-way players?

Wednesday’s game might as well been played in a time machine.

Brooklyn and New Brunswick competed urgently from the first pitch until the 255th.

Brooklyn right-hander Thomas Michael Marshall escaped two bases- loaded jams in the contest and went 4-for-4 at the plate as the Cougars edged New Brunswick 3-2 at Forest Hills Junior-Senior High School to earn the top seed out of Pool A.

Both teams advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals with matching 2-1 records. New York also went 2-1, but allowed 29 runs compared to Brooklyn-2’s nine and New Brunswick’s 17 runs.

Brooklyn-2 meets Martella’s Pharmacy at noon at Sargent’s Stadium at the Point. New Brunswick plays three-time defending champion New Orleans at St. Michael at noon.

“I’m very happy for my teammates and I,” said Marshall, who threw 88 of his 139 pitches for strikes and posted seven strikeouts. “We knew it was a tough matchup today. We knew we had to win to get in. I had great defense behind me. There were a couple jams I got in, and they got me out of it. I couldn’t be more happy for all of us.”

Both teams laid it on the line for a chance to advance in a competitive game throughout.

Nineteen hits were totaled, but Marshall and New Brunswick right-hander Matt King kept both offenses at bay and provided quality innings for their teams. Marshall backed up teammate Cole Peaslee’s 146-pitch no-hitter on Tuesday in a 9-1 victory over Altoona-2 Johnston Realty quite well.

“We needed to win to get in,” Brooklyn manager Eric Jaume said. “If was big for us because we really needed this game more than they did.

“Tommy came out and he was shoving. He threw a great game. He was also (4-for-4), what more can you ask for? I had someone ready today, but Tommy was telling me I better not put anyone in because he’s going the full nine. He wanted to top the performance from yesterday. He threw less pitches than the guy yesterday. We gutted it out.”

Marshall achieved his own goal heading into the crucial start against the 2021 tournament runner-up.

“My goal today was not to top him," Marshall said of following Peaslee. "I knew it was pretty much impossible. I just wanted to eat up as many innings because I knew being the third starter right now, I probably won’t be pitching in the playoffs. My goal was to make sure we had pitching going into Thursday.”

Brandon Polanco added three hits, including a double, for Brooklyn. Joan Peralta tripled among his three hits and scored twice. Luis Reyes added two knocks.

Kyle McSorley led New Brunswick by going 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Trevor Wallace added two hits.

King scattered 13 hits and allowed two earned runs, while collecting five strikeouts. He threw 89 of his 116 offerings for strikes.

Each team left 11 runners on base. New Brunswick manager Glenn Fredricks appreciated being a part of Wednesday’s contest.

“There was nothing new school about that game,” Fredricks said. “Nothing. There was no nonsense back and forth between the teams. Everybody kept their focus on their own guys. It’s a pleasure to coach in this kind of atmosphere, in a game like this where two pitchers are getting after one another. Runners all over the basepaths all day, but both guys bending but never breaking.

“Both guys were leaving it all out there on the mound and both guys giving their team a chance to win.”

With the score tied at 2-all in the seventh, Brooklyn went ahead. Peralta singled, and moved up on a groundout. An errant throw to first base on Marshall’s infield single allowed Peralta to race around from second to score.

Brooklyn took the first lead in the second inning. Marshall doubled and came in on Reyes’ RBI single to right.

New Brunswick answered with McSorley’s two-out double to left-center field in the bottom half.

In the third, Peralta tripled to the right-center field gap and came home on Myles Vazquez’s RBI groundout to first.

The Matrix tied the game on McSorley’s second two strike and two out RBI knock to left field in the sixth, two innings after leaving the bases loaded.

New Brunswick had a chance to tie or take the lead in the eighth. A single, hit batter and intentional pass to McSorley loaded the bases with one out. Marshall got a three-pitch strikeout and induced a fly out to left to end the frame.

“That was an adrenaline rush, definitely,” Marshall said. “The adrenaline pushed me through.”

“Their guy closed the door in the eighth when we had bases loaded,” Fredricks said. “That’s the game. That was our one opportunity there to win the pool.”

Wednesday's game was played with plenty of passion on both sides.

"They play with a lot of heart," Fredricks said of Brooklyn. "They’re well-coached and I appreciate the way they play the game.”

Being in sync with catcher Peralta paid dividends for Marshall.

“The key was our catcher," Marshall said. "He was calling all the pitches, framing it good. He got me a ton of calls, definitely on my fastball, slider and changeup.”

King stepped up on short notice and competed hard for his teammates.

“Tyler (Tilton), who was supposed to start today, got nicked up in yesterday’s game,” Fredricks said. “He wasn’t able to go today, so we had Matty King step up, take the ball and ran us out there for nine innings.”

Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.

Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.

A four-run bottom of the second inning helped the Zanesville Junior Pioneers produce a 7-5 victory over Brooklyn-1 SAYO Grays on Wednesday morning at Haschak Memorial Field.

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