The West Windsor 12s won the Division 12 championship for the third time in its history. The team then left the comfortable confines of its home park, RJ Ward field, for Tinton Falls, and won its first two games in the Section 3 tournament.
The winner of Section 3 advances to the four-team state tournament, with a chance to move on in its quest to compete in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.
West Windsor lost its chance to advance after two losses to South Wall knocked them out of the Sectional Tournament. The first loss came on Thursday, July 20. West Winsor stranded 10 runners and fell, 5-0, to move to the loser’s bracket. There they won their next game, besting Brick American, 6-5.
That sent them to the championship game, with another chance to beat South Wall. Though they out-hit the four-time district 11 champions, they fell, 4-1. South Wall’s ace, Keith Adamkiewicz, allowed just one run in two starts against West Windsor.
West Windsor took its first two games in sectional play in very different ways. Game 1 was a slugfest, with home runs from Adam Charnin-Aker, Ryan Siegler, Joe Jensen, and Aaron Sherman helping the team to a 13-1 win over Freehold Township National. The game was pitched by Chris Campbell, one of two 11-year-olds on the team.
The second sectional game was a pitcher’s duel against Brick American, and West Windsor had its ace of tournament play so far, Siegler, on the mound and at his best. He allowed two hits and one walk, struck out four, and helped his own cause by scoring the game’s only run. He was driven in by a sixth-inning single off the bat of Isiah Edmonds.
The team was scheduled to play South Wall on Thursday, July 20, after the News went to print. If the team continues to win, it could win the Sectional championship as early as Saturday, July 22.
Head coach Dave Campbell says a victory in District 12 is hard to come by, since Mercer County is known for producing good baseball teams at all age levels. West Windsor was able to win this year by getting good production from a number of sources, most notably Charnin-Aker, who hit four home runs in the tournament.
Two of those came in the championship game against Nottingham. Charnin-Aker’s first home run came in the first inning, tying the game at 1-1. Nottingham scored two more before Ben Ruta, an 11-year-old, homered in the fifth inning to knot the game at 3-3. With two outs in the fifth, Charnin-Aker lived up to his baseball pedigree and proved he could once again come through in the clutch. (His father, Jack Aker, was a major league reliever for 11 years in the 1960s and ’70s, and has been closely involved in practices.)
Charnin-Aker’s final blast put his team ahead for good, 4-3. Siegler shut down the opponents, a perennial District 12 powerhouse, in the next inning. Before more than 600 fans, West Windsor’s team took a victory lap with the championship banner, a fitting way to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the township’s little league charter.
Dave Campbell coached these boys in the 11-year-old tournament last year, and coached a different 12-year-old team two years ago. He grew up in Hamilton, and played on a Nottingham team that was one game away from a trip to Williamsport. He has been a resident of West Windsor for the past eight years, and has coached little league teams for the past seven. “This year we were able to break through,” said Campbell. “Maybe we were able to catch a few breaks. Without a doubt, being the host team for the final nine, that ended up being one of those things that maybe tipped the scale. I was happy with the fan support in West Windsor.”
