Chirumbolo helps WW-P Legion stay alive

Baseball team hopes to take two Tuesday

By: Bob Nuse
   Jono Chirumbolo never expected the transition to American Legion Baseball to be quite so smooth.
   Chirumbolo, who just completed his sophomore year at West Windsor-Plainsboro High North, finished his first full season in the Mercer County American Legion League by being named the league’s Rookie of the Year. He batted .474 with a team-high 25 runs batted in.
   "During the high school season I was in a slump or I was just very cold," Chirumbolo said. "Once the Legion season started I was hitting the ball better. I found a better stance. And I think it might have been because we started playing every day and I was able to get into a good groove."
   For Chirumbolo, that groove has continued into the District 2 state tournament. On Sunday he had three hits as West Windsor-Plainsboro stayed alive with a 9-7 win over Wayne. On Monday, he went 6Ò innings and was the winning pitcher as WW-P topped Nutley, 16-3. With the win over Nutley, WW-P needs to post a pair of wins today in order to advance to the state final eight.
   WW-P will face the loser of Monday’s Edison-Cranford game at 4 p.m. today in Union. With a win, WW-P would face the loser of Monday’s Washington-Roselle game for the right to advance to the state final eight.
   WW-P opened the District 2 tournament with a 12-3 loss to Washington Township on Saturday.
   "We’re still in it and that’s what’s important," Chirumbolo said after Sunday’s win. "We play our best when the games mean the most. At the end of the regular season we needed to beat Hamilton 31 to get into the state tournament and we did that. Now we know we have to win on Monday and then twice on Tuesday.
   "We have enough pitching depth to do it. You need a lot of good pitchers in these tournaments and we’ve got good pitching."
   In Sunday’s win, Alex Goldberg and Doug Caracappa combined to beat Wayne. WW-P jumped out to an 8-0 lead after four innings, then held off a late charge from Wayne with Caracappa earning the save for Goldberg.
   Goldberg pitched the first six innings, allowing five runs. Caracappa pitched the final three innings, allowing just one earned run.
   "We got a lead and then Alex and Doug did their job," Chirumbolo said. "It’s tough with the nine inning games. We know we have to win three games in a row. We’ve done that before."
   Chirumbolo had three hits Sunday and drove in a run. Alex Katz had two hits and was one of three players — along with Evan Cheresnick and Ted King — to drive in three runs. They provided plenty of offense to back up the solid pitching.
   For Chirumbolo, just being able to contribute to the team’s success has made this a special season. And the Rookie of the Year award was verification of a fine season.
   "I wasn’t expecting it because I had played some last year," said Chirumbolo, who saw limited action as a 15-year-old last year. "But I didn’t have enough at bats last year so I was still considered a rookie this year. I was happy to get the award."
   Now he’d like to cap off the season with a trip to the state final eight. If WW-P was able to get past Nutley on Monday, that would mean just two more wins today.
   "I think we have the pitching depth to do it," Chirumbolo said. "We know we can score runs. If we pitch the way we can, we can do it."
   In Monday’s win over Nutley, WW-P jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Nutley chipped away to make it 5-3 in the seventh. Tim Woodhull relieved Chirumbolo and got out of the inning thanks to a diving catch in the outfield by Alex Hoppe. WW-P then scored 11 runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away. Woodhull hit a grand slam and Ted King also homered in the ninth. Woodhull pitched a scoreless eighth inning and David Caruso pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
   So for one at least one more day, WW-P played well enough to move on. With two wins today, it would advance to the final eight, which begins Saturday in Denville.