In an Olympic year, sports have seen an increased presence on the international stage. But now the stage will come to West Windsor.
As summer ends the township will host an extraordinary Little League match-up with the 12-year-old West Windsor all-star squad playing a “friendly” game against Lugazi, a team from Uganda, on Monday, August 27, at around 2:30 p.m. at RJ Ward Field. Admission is free. The field is located at the intersection of North Post Road and Indian Post Road. Visit WWLL.org for updated information on the exact starting time.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh made an announcement about the game at the Monday, August 20, Council meeting. “This is the first time for a nation still developing in baseball to come to West Windsor,” Hsueh said.
Lugazi is fresh off of two noteworthy contests in the Little League World Series, held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Although Lugazi lost both its games there, the impact of being the first African team to ever play in the L.L.W.S. has been documented in global sports circles, on ESPN, and in the New York Times.
Richard Stanley, part-owner of the Trenton Thunder, helped bring baseball to the Uganda in 2004 as an outgrowth of his volunteer work. Stanley is an assistant coach for the 11-year-old Ugandan team.
The team’s appearance in Williamsport sparked many requests for coaches to travel to Africa and teach baseball in the third-world country. The team’s manager, Henry Odong, told the media covering the Little League World Series that the general secretary of Nigeria sent him a message that “all of Africa is watching them play.” A record crowd showed up at Uganda’s first game in the tournament, and all the merchandise bearing the team’s logo and referencing baseball in Africa sold out by the second morning of the competition.
But why play West Windsor? Stanley arranged for Lugazi to receive a special welcome at Trenton’s Waterfront Park before the Trenton Thunder’s home game on Monday, August 27, at 6:30 p.m. But to further spread the message of goodwill in their country and all of Africa, Lugazi will play other games just as friendly competition.
“The West Windsor Little League team has a nice relationship with the Thunder, so when they were looking for some teams to scrimmage, they thought of West Windsor,” says Eve Gelade of Hereford Drive in Princeton Junction, whose two sons have just begun their baseball journeys with the West Windsor Little League. Gelade is a volunteer handling public relations for the special game.
Gelade spent much of her career in public relations for the fashion industry in New York City, where she also used to run a women’s clothing store. She attended New York University for college. Six years ago she and her husband Scott came to West Windsor to raise their family.
The Gelades’ son Alexander is entering kindergarten at Maurice Hawk Elementary, and he finished his first season of T-ball with the West Windsor Little League. Her younger son, Oliver, will be starting T-ball next spring. A neighbor whose sons play in the West Windsor Little League recommended it, and Gelade got her oldest son started in 2011.
“We have always pitched to him in the backyard, so he decided to sign up for T-ball. He also went to some clinics with the WWLL and they were great, so he decided to stick with it,” Gelade said.
There is one more potential little slugger on the way as Gelade is expecting her third child in January. Gelade’s husband is a television producer, and he recently worked on the ABC show “Time Machine Chefs.”
Tickets for the Trenton Thunder game against New Britain on Monday, August 27, are available at a discounted price of $10 on WWLL.org/store. Admission includes an all-you-can-eat promotion for hot dogs, hamburgers, or cheeseburgers.
#b#Donations#/b#. In response to overwhelming support for the Ugandan team shown in Williamsport, American Little League officials provided information for people interested in making monetary donations to baseball in the African country. All donations can be made through the Uganda Little League website: www.ugandalittleleaguebaseball.org.
Ellen Vogt, president of the West Windsor Little League, added that donations for the “Pitch in for Baseball” campaign will also be accepted at the game at Ward Field. Meanwhile preparations abound. Gelade says families, staff, and volunteers from West Windsor’s Little League plan on making Monday afternoon’s game with Lugazi a memorable experience at RJ Ward Complex.
“I know our team will give them a souvenirs, and we are going all out with field preparation, announcing the game, the official scoring, and a fan base atmosphere,” she said.
Lugazi won the Mid-East and Africa Regional Little League Tournament to qualify for this year’s Little League World Series. On Friday, August 17, Lugazi battled South American champions from Aguadulce, Panama, in their debut and lost, 9-3. They were then eliminated from the L.L.W.S. by Mexico on Saturday, August 18. Gelade said that Lugazi will stay in Willamsport through the weekend and come to town fresh on Monday, where the locals are ready to welcome them.
“West Windsor has a good group of kids who are eager and excited to play. I don’t know how Uganda will match up with us, as (in the World Series) they were playing at a very high level of competition. Their last two games could be very misleading, but I do know our players will give them a very competitive effort,” she says.
