The Mercer East squad celebrates after the District 1 title game. Andrew Aromando, Colin Buecker and Michael Griffin are pictured in the center row, left to right. Alex Matt, kneeling second from right, holds up his All-Tourney plaque.
Three years ago, a handful of players from Robbinsville Little League were given the opportunity to merge with some players from East Windsor and Hightstown to form a combined Babe Ruth 13-year-old All-Star team.
The move was made because Robbinsville did not have a Babe Ruth program, and the Hightstown-East Windsor Youth Baseball League program was beginning to lose numbers.
What was initially met with some trepidation, turned into a great life experience as well as a great baseball experience for the boys from both sides.
This year, Mike Griffin, Andrew Aromando, Alex Matt and Colin Buecker formed a valuable Robbinsville nucleus to the Mercer East 15-year-old All-Star team, which won its second straight District One title, finished second in the Southern New Jersey State Tournament and went 2-2 in the Mid-Atlantic Regionals.
Griffin, Aromando and Matt have been there from the start, and Buecker came on board this year.
“At first we were a little nervous because you have to meet new people,” Griffin said. “But after the first couple of games with the 13s we got to know them. It was good. Now and then we all hang out and have fun together.”
Matt and Aromando both felt it was basically the fear of the unknown.
“At first we really didn’t know what to expect,” Aromando said. “I played with some of the guys on a travel team but never really knew how all of us would fit together as a team. After the first year we didn’t do as well as we wanted to. The next summer we were determined to improve and we did that.”
“We were a little skeptical because we never played with all these other kids and never knew any of the kids,” Matt said. “But we knew some of the Robbinsville kids would be together so we could make new friends that way. All the East Windsor kids are our friends now, we made a good organization out of it.”
They sure did. After a winless campaign as 13-year-olds, Hightstown-East Windsor (as it was still known) stepped up as 14s to win District One, finish third in states and go 1-3 in the regions.
“We really came together our 14-year-old season and carried that momentum into this year,” Aromando said. “The first year we were just teammates and acquaintances. I wouldn’t say we were great friends. But the next year we became closer and we played better as a team.”
Which in turn, carried over to this year. Under their new banner of Mercer East, the three-town squad equaled or surpassed its 2012 effort in each of its three tournaments.
Manager Bill Wilmer, who hails from Hightstown, was more than happy to welcome the new players from one town over. In fact, he encouraged it three years ago.
“I was a very lucky person to be able to work with such soft-spoken young adults,” Wilmer said. “They came to us as 13 year olds, and you could tell they were going to be easy to develop into ballplayers.
“Their work ethic over the last three years has been second to none. Once the game started there was no doubt that each one of them would get the job done between the lines.”
Aromando batted .221 with eight RBI and four runs scored in 15 tournament games this summer, but his true worth was in doing the little things at the plate and excelling in the field.
“Andrew became one of our premier outfielders and had an outstanding run in left field this summer,” Wilmer said. “He made some spectacular plays in the heat of the moment when the game was on the line.
“He also became one of our better bunters in the middle of the lineup, always giving himself up for the good of the team.”
Matt, a solid contact hitter, batted .304 and also drew five walks while being hit by pitches six times. He drove in eight runs and scored eight.
“Alex Matt has played every out of every game at third base over the last two seasons in tournament play and I feel there was no one better at his age in the county at that position,” Wilmer said. “I could count his miscues on one hand in two years, and that’s playing in over thirty games. He was just automatic on put outs at third base.
“He was also a deadly hitter out of the five hole behind four other stellar batters. He led the team in sacrifices and was second in the least amount of strikeouts (six) so we knew runners would be advancing with him at the plate.”
Griffin was one of the team’s most reliable pitchers. In 31.0 innings he went 2-3 with a 2.48 ERA, 20 strikeouts and 12 walks.
“Mike Griffin has been a mainstay on the mound for us for three summers,” Wilmer said. “When Craig Monahan went down to injury this year he became our ace. There would be no other person I would want to give the ball to in a big game other than Griff.
“He is deceiving. He has a great 12 to six curve and can put some pop on his fastball for a 100-pound left-hander. If you hung a quarter on a string over the plate he could hit it with his fastball. That’s how deadly he is at hitting spots.”
Griffin was a big key to Mercer East winning the districts when he threw seven shutout innings in what would be a 1-0, eight-inning victory over Nottingham to start the post-season. He had a combined ERA of below two over the past two years.
“The team always played with a higher confidence with number two on the mound,” Wilmer said.
Buecker only had 19 at-bats and pitched just 4.2 innings but he was a key to one of Mercer East’s most thrilling wins over the past three years. Trailing Nottingham 10-3 in the sixth inning of the regionals Mercer East rallied for 11 two-out runs (all unearned) and a 14-11 victory.
Buecker helped set up the comeback with an outstanding job of long relief that kept ME from losing by the 10-run rule in five innings.
“He has one of the strongest arms for a 15-year-old in this area that I have seen in a while,” Wilmer said. “He is a true team player. Although not always a starter he was ready whenever called on.
“He understood his role and was ready in a moment. He shared time in right field with my son Bryan and was always the first to give up his spot for a substitute to get in the game with no questions asked. We made a pitcher out of him this summer and he responded with his calmness and drive to claim the big win over Nottingham.”
As the victories mounted for Mercer East, so too did the chemistry and camaraderie between Robbinsville and Hightstown/East Windsor players. One of their best activities were wiffle ball games at Griffin’s house, “which was perfect for a wiffle ball field,” according to Matt.
Hightstown’s Jake Simon says the games were about even but Matt said with a laugh “I’m pretty sure we had more wins.”
That’s what comes from friendly banter. And the Robbinsville players felt they made some close buddies in addition to winning some ball games.
“They’re really great friends,” Griffin said. “We made a lot of memories over the last three years and made some great friendships.”
Not just the players, but the manager as well.
“I will always have fond memories of these four young adults playing Babe Ruth baseball, but I don’t think they are finished making headlines,” Wilmer said. “I think all of them should be playing on the varsity level in Robbinsville next season. They are all team players and that’s the most important thing any coach could ask of an individual.”
Individuals who turned a skeptical situation into a memorable ride.
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