The Trenton Generals weren’t the most popular team in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League when they debuted in the summer of 2012; mainly because they defied expectations by immediately winning games.
The low expectations have gone by the wayside, mainly because their winning ways haven’t.
On Aug. 4, Trenton defeated the Staten Island Tide to win the ACBL playoff championship after losing in the playoff semifinals its first two years.
“When we first came in, they thought ‘Here’s an expansion team, we’re gonna beat up on them,’” manager Jim Maher said. “The (Jersey) Pilots had been around forever, they said, ‘We’ll play them 10 times and beat them eight out of 10.’ They figured out pretty quick we were very good. There were definitely teams that didn’t like what we did.
“I’m really tight with the Staten Island coach, and he said if we were going to lose to somebody, I’m glad we lost to you,” Maher said. “We’ve made the league better, the new teams that have come into the league the last three or four years have been the better teams – us, Allentown, South Jersey and North Jersey. I don’t know how they can’t accept us now after winning three titles.”
Trenton has won its division all three years in the league, claiming the Kaiser title with a 25-14-1 record this year before beating the South Jersey Giants and Staten Island in the playoffs. The main purpose of a collegiate league is to give quality players a chance to play over the summer, but as Maher said “I’m very competitive, anything you coach, you want to win.”
“I don’t think we really knew where we would fit in the first year,” he said. “We weren’t real sure of the league, it was our first time and I was hoping we’d be competitive. Obviously we turned out to be more than competitive, winning 30-some games and losing out in semifinals.
“After that first year it became a case of ‘Yeah we want to win championships.’ When you win, kids want to be part of a winner. We’ve already been in touch with some kids who want to play for us next year. Winning breeds kids wanting to come here.”
Trenton’s run to the championship had a definite Hamilton Township feel to it. The roster contained Hamilton West grads Dave Osnato and Brandon Kirk, both of Mercer County Community College, Nottingham grad Luke Westerberg (Florence Darlington Technical College, in South Carolina) and BJ Dudeck (Virginia Military Academy).
General Manager Dave Gallagher and Maher are both Steinert graduates, along with pitching coach Mike Petrowski, who came on board late in the season. Petrowski is also the Broad Street Park manager while Maher formerly was Hamilton West’s head coach.
Gallagher has remained a low key figure, letting Maher handle most of the details.
“Gal is a little bit of a sounding board,” said Maher, who played with Gallagher at Steinert. “He helps with the recruiting process in the fall and deals with a lot of behind the scenes things, if we release a kid or cut a kid. He lets me do my own thing, checks in now and then to see how I’m doing. He feels comfortable he has someone he can trust.”
Osnato got off to a late start after suffering a wrist injury with Mercer, and then left early to play with a team of junior college all stars in a national tournament. He batted .279 with 10 RBI in 22 games.
“Dave really struggled in the beginning,” Maher said. “Coming off the injury he didn’t have his timing, then he really swung it well and had to leave. We weren’t the greatest offensive team and missing him the last month hurt us in the middle of the lineup a little.”
Westerberg started in the outfield and at catcher. He hit .231 with six doubles, a triple and 10 RBI. He was initially left off the roster, but an injury opened a spot and he came on to the team early in the year.
“I just wanted to try to stay fresh and keep myself in baseball mode; get some at-bats and stuff like that,” Westerberg said. “As the season went on, as a team, we bonded so much and it was just fun. It was like the (2013 championship) Carpenter Cup team. We were all really close.
“I think it helped me a lot. I’m trying to get better in college. A lot of the pitchers I faced were throwing in the low 80s and high 90s.”
Maher said Westerberg became a key addition, despite the fact his average wasn’t particularly high.
“Luke was a very valuable guy for us because he caught and played the outfield,” Maher said. “He’s an extremely competitive kid.
“Some of these guys learned they weren’t going to have the numbers they had in college. I don’t think they realized how hard this league is. You’re hitting with wood bats against guys throwing 85 and 90 every day, it’s not what you particularly see in college. Luke swung the bat really well early, kind of tailed off a little in middle and came back in the end.”
Kirk, who hit .223, had big RBI hits in both the playoff semifinals and finals.
“He was the same thing as Luke,” Maher said. “He started off hot, curtailed in the middle and got some big extra base hits for us in the playoffs.”
Kirk enjoyed the experience.
“Without a doubt, it’s the best baseball you can find around here,” he said. “It has great pitching, great kids. I had a great time. I would love to play again. I enjoyed it a lot.”
“Maher is a great coach. He just tells you how it is, he never lies to you. I learned a lot from him, I liked it a lot.”
Dudeck batted under .200 in 23 games, and Maher said “BJ worked hard and played some left field and right field for us. He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s only a freshman. Hopefully he keeps working and gets better.”
One of the last pieces of the puzzle was Petrowski, who joined the team after the BSP season concluded.
“There were probably 15, 16 games I had to coach myself,” Maher said. “The guy coaching with me got a fulltime job and couldn’t make it. Mike was only with me for nine or 10 games, but I let him call pitches in the playoffs. He’s a good young pitching coach and he’s going to be a good head coach.”
The irony of Petrowski joining the team to help push it over the top, is that he and Maher (who coached Petrowski at Rider University) were always busting on each other about what they did NOT do in their careers.
“After we won, Jimmy said ‘I can’t say anything anymore,’” Petrowski said with a laugh. “And I guess I can’t either.”
Although his stint was a short one, Petrowski feels it was a good career move.
“It’s a great thing to put on your resume’ coaching with Jimmy,” said Petrowski, who also calls the pitches for Hamilton West. “Eventually I’d like to coach college, and to have that experience is a great. It was a good group of guys.
“I didn’t call any pitches until the semifinals then all of a sudden he wanted me to call pitches. It was a little nerve wracking, but I’m always comfortable calling a game. And they all threw everything for strikes.”
Petrowski played in the Valley Collegiate League, with teams from Virginia and surrounding states, and feels the pitching in the ACBL was equal.
“I was really shocked when I got in the league to see how the pitching was,” he said. “I figured I’d see some low 80s guys. They were good; 85 plus almost every guy we ran out there and every guy we saw.”
The players themselves felt the opportunity was valuable in keeping them sharp over the summer and preparing them for fall ball. And although the main reason for playing college ball is to stay in a groove, the players still play the games to win.
“Without a doubt,” Kirk said. “You always gotta play the game serious. Especially if you want to win a championship.”
“I think once we went 10-0 at the beginning of the season, we had played pretty much everybody and we thought our team was pretty good and our pitchers were pretty dominant,” Westerberg said. “The whole experience was pretty cool. The championship was just a bonus – a cherry on top.”
The Hamilton Township contingent of the Trenton Generals was all smiles after defeating Staten Island for the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League title on Aug. 4, 2014. Pictured are pitching coach Mike Petrowski, Brandon Kirk, manager Jim Maher, Luke Westerberg and BJ Dudeck. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
