Little Tigers rally to win MCT baseball opener
By: Justin Feil
Matt Welsh is starting to pitch the way he’d always envisioned.
The Princeton High baseball team is starting to play the way it had wanted to from the start of the season.
Welsh fired a five-inning no-hitter in a 12-0 win over Trenton on Thursday to improve to 3-4 this season and earn his second victory from the mound in two days.
"My fastball really had a lot of pop to it," said Welsh, who picked up the win in relief in a 9-8 decision over West Windsor-Plainsboro North on Wednesday. "My curveball was dropping well. That was strikeout pitch. That was best I felt this season."
The good feelings were running rampant after the Little Tigers followed up Welsh’s no-no with a 6-4 comeback win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South in the Mercer County Tournament opening round. PHS was trailing by two runs, down to its final strike when it rallied to top the Pirates for the second time this season, both times behind the stellar pitching of Jake Horan.
"It was tough," said PHS head coach John Miranda. "We haven’t beat them in 10 years. I told their coach, of all the years, this is the year we have to come back and play you again right after we beat you for the first time. They had the revenge factor. Always tough when have higher seed. They were the fourth seed, we were 13th. But we definitely weren’t going to sneak up on them this time."
This time the Little Tigers stared a potential states-squashing loss in the eye and came back. Anthony Bernazard raced home with one run on a wild pitch. Robby Begin, who worked a walk after getting two strikes on him, eventually also scored on a wild pitch before Mark Madden eventually delivered a two-run single for the deciding margin.
"I told the kids, this is about as exciting as you’re going to get," Miranda said. "Two outs, 0-2 on Begin and Bernazard scored on passed ball. That’s about as close as you’re going to get to being in the parking lot. It was exciting."
The win did two things for the Little Tigers. It put them into the MCT quarterfinals against Hun, a winner over Hightstown on Saturday, in a game scheduled for Thursday. Every game this week has the feel of a tournament game for the Little Tigers, who were 7-8 heading into Monday’s scheduled game against Allentown. Friday is the state tournament cutoff date for being .500 or better.
"I’m thinking since we’ve been on this winning streak of three games, that helps our confidence," Welsh said. "We easily have the ability to win the next two games. We just need our players to step up against Steinert and Hun on Thursday. Hopefully that will help."
PHS faces Morrisville, Pa., today, then Steinert on Wednesday and Hun in the MCT on Thursday. It’s a schedule that will test the arms of the Little Tigers. None have felt better than Welsh’s, who’s turned around his season after a 1-4 start.
"I didn’t feel as confident as I do now," said Welsh, a junior. "In the beginning of the season, I started kind of rough. I feel good now."
Welsh is getting his first taste of big-spot pitching this year after seeing spot duty last season. But Welsh’s big upside matches his 6-foot-5 frame. He one time struck out 18 batters in a middle school game. He mowed down 12 Trenton hitters Thursday.
"Matt has pitched regularly for us this year," Miranda said. "He will start middle of the week next week for us. Right now, he’s been pitching well and he’s getting better and getting more confident. He’s got really good stuff. We’re hoping he continues to develop. He’s 6-5. He has tremendous potential. He has a good live arm. He’s just starting now to come into his own."
So are the Little Tigers. They’ve been playing hard all season, and the results are starting to show. Their three-game win streak allowed them to bounce back from the dismal outlook of a 4-8 squad.
"When we were 4-8, our coach talked to us," Welsh said. "He told us this could be the season we could make states. This could be the year we far go in the Mercer County Tournament. After that, we realized it was possible."
"It’s a testament to them," Miranda said. "Right now the chemistry is good. We have the right mix of young guys and old guys. We have senior leadership and then we fill in the rest with sophomores."
Welsh is a bit of a rarity as one of the juniors counted on to contribute this season. He always expected big contributions this season of himself.
"I thought I’d be in the No. 2 role," Welsh said. "My goals this year were to pitch in the starting rotation and have a winning record, which hopefully will come by the end of the season."
If Welsh continues to throw as he did last week, that shouldn’t be a problem. Nothing was stopping him Thursday. His PHS teammates even ignore the unwritten rule of not talking about the no-hitter during the game.
"After my walk, they knew my perfect game was gone," said Welsh, who surrendered just a third-inning walk. "They were fooling around abut the no-hitter."
Welsh still delivered a masterful performance, just one day after the Little Tigers had fought back for another win.
"For him, it was a real nice game," Miranda said. "He had to come in at the end of the day before when we had the win at West Windsor North. He had to pitch two innings there. And he came back to pitch another good game. This team, they have a lot of spirit. They have that real tough mentality. They’ve been playing very hard recently. Not always well, but hard."
Welsh is starting to throw his best at an ideal time for the Little Tigers, who need wins any way they can get them. He attributes his success to two dramatic improvements.
"Definitely in my speed and accuracy," he said. "Last year I couldn’t place the ball where I wanted to. Now I can place the ball where I want to and hit the corners."
The added dimension of his looming body frame makes Welsh all the tougher to hit. Thursday, Trenton found out first-hand as they became the first no-hitter victim of his baseball career.
"It took me a while to realize how spectacular it is to pitch a no-hitter," Welsh said. "My teammates all helped me out. They played good defense."
It all clicked in that dominating showing against Trenton and the comeback win over WW-P South that followed. It’s perfect timing for the Little Tigers, who hope to ride the momentum to wins in three out of their next four games and punch their ticket to the state tournament.

