EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — Will Hickman allowed seven runs all season long for the Mainland Mustangs but was thrown into unfamiliar territory after a first-inning grand slam helped put Mainland in a 5-0 hole.
Hickman and the Mustangs took the adversity head on and battled all the way back to defeat Egg Harbor Township High School 9-6 on May 19 to claim their second Cape-Atlantic League title in three years.
With a large home crowd behind them, the Eagles had everything going for them after Max Buzby sent a pitch flying past the left field wall that emptied the bases and the Eagle dugout. Hickman said after the game that he was cognizant of the loud crowd but had to “keep working” to stay in it.
The senior put everything behind him and earned his title of ace pitcher in the following innings by allowing only three hits and zero walks for the remainder of the game.
Asked about his performance following the grand slam, Hickman said, “I think it was just a testament of character, and I really embodied Mainland baseball today and was super resilient. Being able to trust the eight guys behind me and my catcher in front of me helped a lot. Even the at bats we put up every inning just kept me going and gave the fuel to settle in and work toward winning the game.”
Hickman has been the main guy on the mound for the Mustangs all season, boasting a 9-0 record with four complete games. His coaches and teammates had no doubt he would bounce back.
“He is our number one,” Mainland head coach Billy Kern said.
“His numbers show it and his approach and his tenacity was on display today,” Kern said. “I think he went 33 pitches in the first and 33 over the next four to five innings.”
“Obviously they had the most perfect first inning they could have asked for, but we knew we had our guy on the mound,” senior Jake Blum said. “I knew that was going to hold right there and there was nothing more they could have gotten after that inning and the zeroes across the board don’t surprise me at all.”
While Hickman was chewing through EHT batters, the Mustang offense got to work on the pitchers.
Hickman struck first with an RBI single in the second inning that served as an appetizer for the fourth and fifth innings, when he watched Blum and the offense do all their damage.
At the leadoff spot, Blum led the comeback push going 2-for-4 at the plate and batting in two runs. He also scored once in each inning as the whole Mustang batting order came up to the plate in consecutive stanzas.
John Franchini hit a clean bunt to get his fourth RBI of the tournament after his three-RBI game in the semifinals helped Mainland take down the defending CAL champion St. Augustine Prep.
Blum’s RBI single and a bases-loaded walk by Bradley Delaney brought down the deficit to 5-4 as the momentum was fully on the side of Mainland.
EHT struggled with walks the entire game and the biggest beneficiary was Delaney, who drew three walks in the game and was hit by a pitch.
After an eight-pitch inning by Hickman, the Mustangs were similarly handed two quick outs to start the fifth. The last out of the inning did not come without a heavy cost, however, as Blum eventually tied the game at 5-5 before Anthony Nodado batted in the go-ahead run.
Mainland faced three different pitchers in the stretch as EHT searched for a way to stop the bleeding.
Colton Donohue added one last run to give Mainland a solid 8-5 lead. The senior got on base four times in the game, going 2-for-3 at the plate and drawing two walks.
During the Mustangs’ push for the lead, the game had to be paused for 20 minutes after the home plate umpire fell due to the excessive heat. Once he was taken care of by the training staff, play resumed and both teams’ pitchers had to warm back up after the break.
Kern said he had some concern for how the extended break would affect Hickman and had an early relief plan in place but never had to use it. He would finish the game by surrendering only one more run in the seventh inning after the Mustangs were already up 9-5.
“I’ve thrown a lot of complete games over the course of the season and being able to be confident in myself and to have that experience already made me feel all the better staying in,” Hickman said.
In the fifth year of the CAL tournament, the Mustangs picked up their second title in the tournament era and Kern reflected on what that meant to him and the team around him.
“I am really proud of the Cape-Atlantic League and what the baseball has been like for the last decade, so any time you can be the last team standing it is a testament to these kids and how well they’ve played,” Kern said. “I can’t be more thankful for the coaches who said yes after one phone call that I needed them. I just can’t say enough about them putting everything aside to give these kids a season they deserved, and these kids have responded in kind.”
“It means a lot winning the CAL and obviously there are some strong teams across the board,” Blum said. “Winning in the semis at Prep was a big confidence booster for us. Coming in here, we played our hearts out and came out with a big win.”
The season for Mainland is far from over as they have a week to prepare for the NJSIAA playoffs. The Mustangs’ 15-8 record earned them the seventh seed in the South Jersey Group III bracket and a home game against 14-9 Lacey High School in the first round. Game time is set for 4 p.m. May 27 in Linwood.
By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
