Milton Majors win state championship
The Milton Major League All-Stars are going back to Bristol, Conn., for the third straight summer, as they defeated Newark National 9-1 to seal a spot in the Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament.
The Milton squad garnered 13 hits in the game. Gage Joseph delivered a line-drive homer in his first at bat, Jase Mitchell delivered an RBI double, and Nolan Barry hit a two-out, bases-loaded single. “Doubleman” Noah Wells slammed a two-run double off the fence, while winning pitcher Tyler Jacona hit a two-run single. The team batted around in the fourth inning.
Jacona went 3-for-4 from the plate. On the mound, he delivered five strikeouts in the game, while giving up just one walk and one run.
“I just wanted to keep the energy up,” he said. “I just wanted to get it over with. I was trying to get my curveball to work, and it worked perfect. I tried to get it to change and move.”
Jacona was quick to praise his teammates for having his back.
“It feels great to have this team behind me,” he said. “It’s a great defense. It feels awesome to be state champions again. I just want to go to Bristol and win some more games.”
A shining performance was turned in by Milton second baseman Jackson Isaacs.
“I feel good about my defense,” said Isaacs. “Since I was 6 years old, I’ve been really practicing my defense. I’m really proud of it.”
He also delivered with a hit on a Newark National outside fastball.
“I feel like the bats are the key to this team,” said Milton manager Paris Mitchell. “We’ve got very good pitching. We gave up very few runs in districts and states. When we hit the ball like we did tonight, we’re a very tough team to beat. That’s always been the key for us.”
Not only is Milton getting hits from its starters, but its bench has been swinging the bat well, too.
“We’re getting help from every single kid,” Mitchell said. “It’s amazing. Luke [McCarthy] hit one off the fence, Noah [Wells] stays hot, Gage [Mitchell] continues to lead. It’s a really nice thing to see. Baseball is a team sport, but it’s really cool to see the players have their individual successes on top of the entire team together.
“The bats this year have been designed where there aren’t as many home runs, so the defense becomes that much more important. When you’ve got defense like we have and when you’re not giving bases for free, you’re not going score against us.”
Mitchell feels that his team will have a successful trip to Bristol no matter what happens along the way.
“Who knows what will happen next for us,” said Mitchell. “I feel that these boys are going to play good baseball and represent the town of Milton, Sussex County and the State of Delaware well. I think everybody is going to be proud of what they see.”
The squad will head to Bristol, Conn., for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Aug. 4-11. Milton will represent Delaware against teams from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.
