West Windsor 12s baseball looks deep

Defending champs open on Thursday

By: Justin Feil
   Winning the District 12 Little League Baseball Championship last summer figured to raise interest in the West Windsor Little League team, but no one could have figured how much.
   "We had 42 or 43 kids want to play all-stars," said Dave Campbell, last year’s manager who returns for this year’s team. "Part of it is from last year’s success. It’s just a really deep group. It was so hard to pick, much harder than last year. The team is probably a little deeper than last year. The talent level is real solid all the way through. Last year’s team was solid too."
   So solid that it claimed West Windsor’s first district crown since 1991, long before anyone on the team was even born. Now this year’s team will try to follow suit with just two returning players back from last summer’s banner boys. They open pool play 6 p.m. Thursday against Bordentown at Nottingham.
   "The team is kind of a new team," Campbell said. "I don’t think anyone will recognize the team from past years. There’s a nucleus of four or five players then there’s a handful of kids that stepped up and weren’t around with the team last year."
   Returning from last year are Chris Campbell and Ben Ruta. Both played key roles in the title run. Joining them as they look to defend their crown are: Paul Balestrieri, Joe Bensky, Pat Boyle, Peter Carman, Mike Duplak, Tim Dwyer, Jack Liang, Matt McCann, Kevin O’Connor and Kevin Schattin.
   "We have a lot of infielders," the elder Campbell noted. "We’ll be moving them into the outfield for all-stars. We’re heavy with infielders. I’ve always felt if you play the infield, you can make the adjustments easier than an outfielder moving to infield.
   "We have good pitching. Jack Liang is a righty who throws hard. He had a great season during the league. Chris will pitch. Ben Ruta will be pitching. Paul Balestrieri was the mainstay for the 11-year-old team. He’s throwing real well. We have a lefty in the mix, Mike Duplak, and he’ll get some time. A lot of kids can pitch. Everybody pretty much throws strikes. Catching will be big for us."
   Boyle and McCann will be the primary backstops for West Windsor. Campbell believes the ingredients are in place for another district run.
   "I’ve talked about it," he said. "I’ve told them that there’s a lot of similarities with this team and last year. I think they feel comfortable (as defending champions). I didn’t use it as a pressure button. They’re their own team. They know they’re all nice ballplayers. The whole team through the lineup hits well and defense should be a strong point.
   "It’s all about good pitching and timely hitting. They all watched it and saw it last year. I think they want to experience that whole thing for themselves. It takes a lot of luck. It’s a funny tournament. There is a little luck. You have to get some breaks."
   West Windsor certainly did not get a break in its pool based on the 11-year-old tournament results of a year ago. They will play in Pool C along with Bordentown, North Trenton, Lawrence, Nottingham and West End. Bordentown, Nottingham and West Windsor are three of the final four teams from last year’s District 12 Little League Tournament at the 11-year-old level. Allentown, who plays in Pool A, won the tournament last year.
   "Bordentown is the real deal; Allentown is a very good team and you never know but I’m sure Nottingham is solid," Campbell said. "We should be right in the mix with our pool. Three teams are advancing, and I’m hoping we can sneak out of pool play."
   The top three teams in the pools will move on to the Final Nine that will be hosted by Lawrence Little League beginning July 5. Campbell feels more relaxed heading into the tournament after enjoying a successful run last year. It’s a chance of a lifetime he is hoping this year’s team gets to experience as well.
   "It’s hard to say how it’s going to play out," he said. "I’m happy with the team. Everybody seems to get along well. We should be able to hit the ball out of the ballpark occasionally. That’s always nice when you can pick up some runs like that when it happens.
   "The practices have been going great. We kind of got a late start with so many (players) out. We had a mini-tryout and got that out of the way. We’re getting there. We’re working on certain situations and getting to those little more detailed things now."
   The hope is that the big things come later for West Windsor Little League, as they did last year.