SPRINGDALE — More than 40 teams arrived in Northwest Arkansas for the Premier Baseball National Sophomore Championship.
No two teams came from more opposite ends of the map than Waco, Texas, and Team New York.
The two 16U clubs combined for more than 24 hours of travel time before they ran into one another in an nine-inning battle Wednesday that saw Waco scratch out a 9-8 comeback win in extra innings on the first day of pool play at the Tyson Sports Complex.
The contest featured several key moments, but none as crucial as 15-year-old Devin Lavato’s walk-off single that capped a four-run ninth inning for the Waco Storm.
“We have a lot of young guys on this team and (Devin) is one of them,” Waco coach Evan Mayeux said. “That was a tough spot with two outs and he came through for us. If we hadn’t gotten the run in, we could have only hoped for a tie and we needed a win.”
Waco trailed 5-0 midway through the contest. New York starter Morgan Gray held the Storm to just one hit through the first five innings, with Waco stranding seven baserunners.
Despite surrendering only one hit during his five innings of work, Gray issued seven walks, bringing his pitch count to an early plateau.
The New York bullpen did its best to keep the lead, but Waco’s Mason George brought the Storm to life with a two-run double that tied the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh. It was a prelude of things to come.
“This was a tough loss any way you look at it,” New York coach Pat Manganaro said. “We had a big lead and then blew it. That was tough, but blowing it the second time was even tougher.”
Manganaro was referring to the ninth inning, when his team took a three-run lead, only to see it evaporate in the bottom of the inning.
New York pulled ahead in the top of the ninth on a double by Chris Giglo and led 8-5 with two outs.
Just when it looked as if the Storm had run out of chances, Blayton Managan crushed a two-run home run that cut the deficit to one, setting the stage for Lavato’s game-winning single just two batters later. Managan also picked up the pitching victory.
“Going into that last inning my mindset was just for us to get base hits,” Mayeux said. “These guys never gave up and I am as proud as I could be that we pulled this one out.”