Legion team snares second playoff bye
By: Justin Feil
The way that Rich Gawlak sees it, the Mercer County American Legion League season was make-up for the West Windsor-Plainsboro team. Though WW-P North reached the Mercer County Tournament final and WW-P South had more wins than all but one team in the Colonial Valley Conference, their seasons ended too early.
"Coming into the Legion this year, (WW-P) North and South both had tough years," said Gawlak, the WW-P catcher who graduated from South this spring. "From South’s point, going out in the early rounds of states and not winning the division title made us really hungry. We knew we could play with these teams. North had a tough year also (in not making the state tournament). We were both hungry."
WW-P ended its MCALL season in satisfying fashion with an 8-6 win over Hamilton Post 31 on Thursday. It was their second win in two meetings against the league regular-season winners. With the win, WW-P clinched the second spot behind Hamilton and received a bye for the start of the playoffs. They’ll open the district playoffs Saturday, against an opponent to be determined as of Monday morning. Had WW-P lost Thursday, they would have had to face Ewing in a playoff game to secure the No. 2 spot.
"I think if we had to go in and play the playoff, we would have been all right," Gawlak said. "But it was good to get the win (Thursday). We swept the first-place team and we also swept Broad Street (Park) twice. We save our arms by winning that game.
"Going into districts, we have to go into it looking to win it and get to the final eight," he added. "We’re going in on a roll and we’re getting J.T. Hutchinson and Tim Woodhull back."
Gawlak, who had his own struggles in the high school season before coming on late, helped pick up the slack for the vacationing pair with two hits Thursday and he was intentionally walked before Ted King blasted a three-run home run to open an 8-0 lead off Post 31 ace Matt Perks. Earlier in the game, Jono Chirumbolo also hit a three-run home run.
"The high school season was tough for me," Gawlak said. "It was right at the end when I got going. It was one little thing my hands were too far up. I watched video of it and saw it. I wound up moving them at the end of the year and I finished up 10 for 14. All season, people were telling, ‘You have to do this,’ and ‘You have to do that,’ and nothing worked. I went back and looked at videotape and changed it. It carried me into Legion and it’s been great.
"That helped, and I started hitting the ball and I got some confidence back. I was so down during the high school season. We were winning and it was all right, but then when we started losing I felt bad about being in the lineup since I wasn’t helping at all."
He’s been a mainstay in the WW-P Legion lineup this season, as well as a consistent backstop for the squad’s pitching staff. He’s batting .373 with 19 RBI this Legion season.
"Sometimes that’s baseball. In that short of a season, he pressed a bit. I knew he’d come out of it," said WW-P manager Don Hutchinson, who also was Gawlak’s South coach. "I knew he’d have a good summer. Even when he didn’t hit for us, he was valuable behind the plate. He does so much as catcher. He calls every pitch. He controls the entire staff, so he’s valuable even when he’s not hitting. And when he is hitting, he’s even more valuable."
Thursday, Gawlak called the game for pitchers Doug Caracappa and Cody Warner, who combined to hold Hamilton’s bats in check. It helped that WW-P staked Caracappa to an 8-0 lead in the fourth inning.
"I think that relaxed the guys a little bit," Gawlak said. "Doug pitched a big game for us. He pitched well."
WW-P believes it can go far in the playoffs if it continues to get solid pitching to go with a strong offense. Both have come along as the Legion season has progressed.
"We’ve played very well," Hutchinson said. "We had two bad defensive games all year. Our ERA is something like 2.33, which is a phenomenal ERA for a summer Legion season. Hitting comes and goes. We’ve got the big hits in big games. We jumped all over a good pitcher (Thursday). He may be the best around, and we got 11 hits, and every one of them was a hard-hit ball."
It’s proof that WW-P is coming into the playoffs in perfect shape. After opening the season 2-2, WW-P found its groove to close the season with wins in 15 of its last 18 games.
"I think our attitude just changed," Gawlak said of the 17-5 club. "We knew we were good going into the season. I think we took it for granted. After the first four games, we were 2-2 and we looked at it and said that we shouldn’t be playing this way. We’re a team filled with heart and I think it showed."
And having gotten back on track, WW-P doesn’t want the winning to end in the regular season.
"We made the league playoffs last year but we didn’t go to districts," Gawlak said. "I’m pretty sure that 1999 is the last time we won the district. That’s the last time we won the league. This will be my first time in districts, so I’m excited."
And before Gawlak begins his collegiate career at Mercer County Community College, he’s hoping for a big finish to this Legion season, though with the new rules that allow 19-year-old players, he may be eligible for one more Legion year.
"If I can play, I’ll do it," he said. "I haven’t given it that much thought. It’s good baseball though, and as long as I wasn’t playing somewhere else, I’d do it. This year has been satisfying. But I’m still hungry. I want to go and make it to that final eight."
It would make up for a difficult high school season for Rich Gawlak, and it would certainly make up for a high school season that ended a few games shy of the goals set by both WW-P North and South.