Surprising WW-PN eliminates defending champ South
By: Bob Nuse
It turns out the West Windsor-Plainsboro High baseball team had plenty to play for after all.
While the Knights were disappointed that they fell just short of qualifying the state tournament, they have taken away some of the sting with a run through the Mercer County Tournament that landed them in Monday night’s final. WW-P North, the No. 11 seed in the tournament, was scheduled to face top-seeded Steinert in the championship game at Waterfront Park.
The Knights reached the final with a 5-0 win over defending champion WW-P South on Saturday at Mercer County Park. Cody Warner tossed a three-hitter and allowed just one runner to reach second base as the Knights improved to 10-12 on the season. The win also avenged a 6-4 loss to the Pirates that the Knights suffered earlier this season.
"It was a bitter disappointment for us when we did not make the state tournament," said North coach Bob Boyce, whose team scored three runs in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead, which turned out to be more than enough for runs for Warner. "We have a lot of talent on this team and we expected to make the state tournament. After we fell short we refocused on the county tournament."
The Knights opened play with a 9-2 win over Nottingham, then followed that up with a 4-0 win over McCorristin. Reaching the finals was a thrill in itself. But to get there by beating South made the win even more special.
"Once we didn’t make the states, this was our next goal," said Warner, who allowed just four hits and walked one to improve to 5-2 on the season. "We wanted to get as far as we could in the county tournament. To get to the finals, especially by beating (South) is pretty special for us."
The Knights reached the finals by playing one of their best games of the season. They scored an unearned run in the first inning, then added three more in the second, with Jono Chirombolo driving in a run and also scoring a run in the inning. With some early run support, Warner settled in and did the rest.
"I know they have a good hitting team and I just tried to keep them off balance as much as possible," said Warner, who struck out two batters and allowed only one walk. "I know a lot of those guys and we play together in the summer. So it helps me that I know how to pitch to them. I tried to mix it up as much as possible."
"Cody was the story of the game," said South coach Don Hutchinson, whose team fell to 15-3 with the loss. "He’s a good pitcher and he did a good job moving the ball around. We weren’t able to do anything against him today. We didn’t even get a runner to second base until the seventh inning. I think the credit has to go to North. They played a great game and Cody did a great job.
"We’re not hitting the ball as well as we’re capable of, but we’ve been doing the little things that you need to do to win games. Today, they were doing those little things and that’s why they won the game. We just need to come back out and get ready for the states and the conference race."
North doesn’t have a state tournament to look forward to, but the Knights did put together a nice run to get to their first MCT final.
"The kids did a real nice job," Boyce said. "We’re playing a lot of young kids right now. I think it looks good for us for next year, but we’re also playing for this year as well."
Fortunately for the Knights, they have put together three of their best games in the MCT. And Monday night they found themselves in a position to play for a championship.

