The West Windsor-Plainsboro Babe Ruth 13-year-old All Star Team ended its playoff run on August 9 with a loss in the quarterfinals.
The 10-5 loss to North Syracuse, the Western New York state champ, eliminated the team, which finished with a 3-2 record, from the Middle Atlantic Regional tournament.
WW-P scored first in the game, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning against North Syracuse when CJ Markisz scored on a wild pitch. Markisz had singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a ground out. WW-P increased the lead to 2-0 in the second after a bunt single by Pat Tso, a hit by Markisz, an error, and sacrifice fly by George Revock.
North Syracuse broke through in the top of the third, scoring five runs on three hits and two errors. WW-P sored a run in the bottom of the inning.
North Syracuse put the game away in the fifth, scoring two more runs to make the lead 7-3. WW-P was not helped by the fact that the team left runners on base through the first three innings.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the field and that really hurt us,” said WW-P Coach Brian O’Leary, referring to his team’s five errors. “Then their pitcher did a nice job.”
Before the August 9 loss, WW-P had a good run in the tournament. The team opened the tournament with a 20-4 win over Piedmont, Delaware, on August 4, and then defeated South Shore of Metro, New York, by a score of 10-3 on August 6.
But the following day, in a meeting of undefeated teams, WW-P lost to Blue Valley, Pennsylvania, 21-8. The team bounced back, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 9-1 win over Niskayuna, New York.
