Making it to the District 12 championship game is not an easy task. It’s even harder when you are in the losers’ bracket, and harder yet when you play four games in five nights, one of them against a team that defeated you twice before.##M:[more]##
The West Windsor Little League 10s overcame all those obstacles to come in second place in the District 12 tournament, making it the third time in the last decade that one of West Windsor’s teams have done so.
And although the championship game ended with a loss to Nottingham, 4-2, coach Brian O’Leary says his team carried the momentum into the Lawrence tournament, with its opening win on July 22 against Bordentown, 13-3. The team was scheduled to play July 24 against Lawrence. It then faces Ewing on Saturday, July 26, at noon, and Sunnybrae on Monday, July 28, at 6 p.m. The games are all played at Lawrence. O’Leary says he is expecting his team will advance out of that pool play.
In order to make it to the District 12 championship game on July 19, West Windsor had to face Robbinsville, which defeated West Windsor 11-8 in final play, and 13-8 in pool play. But West Windsor turned around and handily defeated Nottingham, 16-2, on July 18.
O’Leary says pitcher Kevin Murphy simply had a great game. “He really changed speeds a lot, and it confused them,” O’Leary said. “He had them off balance.”
In addition to strength in the bullpen this year, the team also spent the entire off-season focusing on its hitting game. It paid off, especially with the team’s other three standouts. Murphy hit .500 and had six doubles, while Kyle Siegler batted .621 with two triples. George Revock hit .555 with three home runs, and Justin O’Leary hit .533 with two home runs.
O’Leary says his team worked with Jerry Salzano, one of the best hitting instructors in the area, to improve for this season. The team’s coaching staff also made hitting a main focus at practice, including Dan Jordan, a regular season coach, who would throw against the team during practices. “He throws really hard, and it helped them get ready for the games,” said O’Leary.
“To my knowledge, it’s only the third time in the last 15 years where any one of the district’s teams made it to the championship game,” says O’Leary, adding the other times were in 2002 when the 10s advanced to the championship game, and in 2006, when the 12s won the whole tournament.
In the Lawrence tournament, the team will face Bordentown, Ewing, Lawrence, and Sunnybrae in pool play before heading on to a Final 8 and then a single elimination round. The team should have no problem against the latter two, as it defeated both of them by 10 runs in the District 12 tournament, says O’Leary.
WW LL 8s. But the 10s weren’t the only West Windsor All-Stars to see the spotlight this month. The 8-year-old all-stars won seven straight games to capture the Lawrence Tournament championship on July 12 with a blow-out win over Nottingham, 11-0. Pitcher Ben Goldstein pitched more than three shutout innings, and Brian Murphy drove in four runs.
