Campbell gone for tournament as baseball squad eyes Final Nine
By: Justin Feil
LAWRENCE The West Windsor 12-year-old all-star baseball team passed its first test without Chris Campbell.
Campbell, one of two returning players from last year’s District 12 championship team, suffered a broken ulna bone when he was hit by a pitch from Nottingham’s Alex Fabian in the bottom of the first inning of Sunday’s 4-1 win in Pool C play. Campbell will miss the rest of the District 12 Little League Tournament, but the players didn’t miss a beat Sunday.
"It was kind of scary," said Pete Carman. "He’s one of our better pitchers."
Carman, who moved from second base to shortstop when Ben Ruta came in to relieve Campbell in the second inning and to third base in the sixth inning when Paul Balestrieri came on for the save, is one reason the team is optimistic.
"Pete is unbelievable," said West Windsor manager Dave Campbell. "He probably has the best hands on the team. He plays short when Ben pitches, second when Chris pitches, third when Paul pitches. He made a backhanded play at Trenton (on Saturday) that was lights out. And he had a big clutch hit there in the fifth. There were guys at second and third and he got them in. He’s a quiet kid, but he can play."
West Windsor will need a little extra from each of its players to make up for the loss of Chris Campbell. They got it Sunday to improve to 2-1 in Pool C and put themselves in position to reach the Final Nine. Campbell attempted a warm-up pitch in the top of the second inning, but the pitch lollypopped to the plate.
"I could tell there was something wrong," the elder Campbell said. "He couldn’t squeeze down on the ball. The kids stuck together and came through for him. They kind of fed off that to be honest with you. I was in the game, but I was a little preoccupied with it myself. The kids stepped up when they needed to and getting two runs in the first inning helped. And it was nice to get some extra runs in the fifth."
West Windsor scored twice in the first inning after Chris Campbell got out of two-on, no-out situation in the Nottingham first. Ben Ruta doubled to start things and Pat Boyle drove him home with a single. After Campbell was hit by a pitch, Carman kept the inning alive when he reached on an error. Boyle raced home on an ensuing wild pitch by Fabian.
"We beat them the last two years," Carman said. "They’re always tough. We thought we had them. (Fabian) threw against us last year in one of our games. We faced him before."
Ruta surrendered just two hits in his first three innings of work, then got help from the defense in the fifth as Nottingham put together four hits, but got only one run. With one out, center fielder Kevin Schattin scooped up a single and fired it to Ruta who fed Boyle to eliminate one potential run.
"I was trying to make sure it gets to his glove on a line," said Schattin, who plays outfield for his AAU team as well. He also made a diving catch for the inning’s first out.
Said the elder Campbell: "He’s got great instincts on a fly ball. The pitcher had him a little today, but it doesn’t bother him at all."
Nottingham scored once to cut the lead in half to 2-1. But the defensive play gave West Windsor momentum going into its half of the fifth. They built their lead with two more runs as Jack Liang reached on an infield single, Boyle singled and Carman smacked a double to the left-center gap.
"We knew we had more of a cushion," Carman said. "I knew he had a good curveball so I was waiting for a fastball somewhere over the plate and I just jumped on it."
With the win, West Windsor moved into position to reach the Final Nine. They host Lawrence 8 p.m. tonight. With a win, West Windsor would clinch one of the three spots out of its pool. They could finish as high as first in their bracket if Nottingham scores a decisive win over unbeaten Bordentown, which beat West Windsor, 4-3, in the district opener. West Windsor also could miss the Final Nine with a loss to similarly 2-1 Lawrence coupled with a Nottingham win. Nottingham and Bordentown play 6 p.m. tonight.
"We feel good now," Carman said. "After our first loss, we knew we had to win most of the rest of our games. This was a big one. This was probably our hardest game after our first one."
They all are a little harder now without Chris Campbell, but West Windsor showed its resolve in battling back from his loss to earn a key win Sunday.
"I’m real proud of the boys," his father said. "They came back. With Chris’s situation, the kids played tough. The team looks good, they look really good. They’re playing really nice baseball. In warm-ups they looked lights out. I knew we were going to play a good game. I don’t think they were in the game, the other team. I don’t think they had a shot today."