By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher MARGATE — Billy Jackson is a ballplayer. The kid can just flat-out play ball. He’s one of those guys you can put at any position on the field, or any spot in the batting order, and he’s going to make plays. He did a little bit of everything this spring as a junior at Rutgers-Camden, batting .268 as an infielder and also going 6-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 64 innings as a pitcher. Last year, he turned in a gritty effort on the mound in the Atlantic County Baseball League championship against mighty Margate, but Hammonton lost by one run on a walk-off single in the final inning. At this year’s decisive Game 5 of the championship series on Tuesday night, Jackson figured it was time to get a little revenge with his bat. With one out in the top of the fifth and visiting Hammonton trailing 3-2 after four solid innings from Margate starter Jason Downey, Jackson got a 3-1 fastball from reliever Jared Lenko in his wheelhouse and hit a no-doubt, 3-run home run high and deep over the left field fence to give Hammonton a 5-3 lead. Hammonton tacked on three more runs in its half of the seventh to stretch the lead to 8-3 before hanging on for an 8-5 win. Hammonton’s championship snapped a three-year title run by Margate, and was the first Hammonton had won since 2001. Margate's Scott Evangelist watches his RBI double down the left-field line during Tuesday's decisive Game 5. Margate’s Scott Evangelist watches his RBI double down the left-field line during Tuesday’s decisive Game 5. “They are a heck of a team, but when we come together as a team we can play ball. It feels awesome. I’ve been in the league for about 15 years and this is my first time winning it, so it feels great. This is special,” said Mejia. Mejia won an NCAA Division II national championship during his days at Tampa University. He said that while winning the ACBL title isn’t quite on the same level, it was still a special feeling. “It’s up there. Obviously, in college it’s a little different. You get a nice ring and everything,” Mejia said. “But this is great. This is what we are playing for at this age. We knew it was going to be tough. Margate is a great team and you can’t take anything away from them.” “Probably the biggest game in high school was the Diamond Classic, and that was the first time we had ever won it, and this is pretty comparable,” Jackson said. “We wouldn’t have wanted to have to beat any other team. Margate is the best team in the league. It felt good to win it.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]