West Windsor reaches Final Four

Softball all-stars win final three games

By: Justin Feil
   In reaching the Final Four of the District 12 Little League Softball Tournament, the West Windsor all-stars showed they can overcome plenty.
   They overcame a slow start to the tournament in which they lost their opener. They overcame the loss of Jeanine Asay, one of three returning players from last year’s District 12 championship team. And they overcame any doubts they could return to the Final Four with a relatively inexperienced crew that is down to just nine healthy players.
   "Some of us had doubts," said West Windsor third baseman Katelyn Black. "Once we figured out how to overcome our bad inning, we knew we could overcome being doubtful about losing.
   "We have been doing much better every game. We’re fielding cleaner than in the beginning. We’ve gotten to know each other better. We’ll back each other up better. If someone doesn’t know where the play is, we help them know where to go."
   As a result of its growth, West Windsor is going to the Final Four. They earned the second-place berth for Pool B with an 11-1 win over Allentown in four innings Sunday. Elizabeth Sugar had a pair of hits and she, Dana Kong, Black, Hye-Jin Kim, Anjelica Sitek, Sarah Hagen, Jennifer Mykietyn and Melissa Bergman all drove in runs.
   They open Final Four play 8 p.m. Wednesday against Pool A top seed, likely to be Washington, at Florence.
   "After we played Lawrence, everyone calmed down," said Kim, who had a pair of hits in Sunday’s win. "After we beat Florence, it was even more relaxing."
   West Windsor opened the tournament with a 12-4 rain-shortened loss to Florence. They haven’t lost since as they took narrow 4-3 wins over Lawrence on Friday and an 8-4 win over Florence on Saturday.
   "We were pretty confident," Kim said. "We were really nervous, but we realized they shouldn’t have won (the first game). We had a couple defensive errors that put us in a hole."
   Florence ended up earning the top seed out of Pool B with a 4-1 win over Lawrence on Sunday. West Windsor could earn a rematch if both advance to Thursday’s 8 p.m. winners-bracket final.
   "I think we’ll do very good," Black said. "The whole team confidence is up knowing that we can overcome, and we can overcome bad innings. If our pitcher is down, we can help them. And if anyone is down, we can help bring them up."
   West Windsor showed that in bouncing back with three straight wins. The last was earned when they jumped out to a 6-0 lead to back the pitching of Hagen. West Windsor then brought in Sitek, who gave up just three hits in three innings of work.
   "It was different than it was last year," Black said. "Now we have a different team. We knew most of the girls last year. Our coach knew what everyone could do. We had more experienced girls on our team. This year, we’re also overcoming that. It was a little harder this year, knowing we had some different pitchers and different players."
   With Asay doubtful for the tournament after injuring her knee in a collision in the Lawrence game, Black and Kim are the lone players who have played in a Final Four before.
   "It’s very exciting because you’ve actually made it past pool play," Kim said. "Also, there’s more pressure. After you lose two games, that’s it. And the teams are much better too.
   "We all depend on each other," she added. "It’s more of a team thing. Last year was more of a pitcher’s thing. No one actually hit them. They were really good. This year, it’s more defensive and everyone relies on each other."
   For the first time in the tournament, there was no big inning defensively for West Windsor. It’s a sign that things are coming together at the right time.
   "I think there are some teams in our district that are good teams that can represent the district anywhere," said WW manager David Black. "We have to play hard and get that edge. I don’t think any team has an edge. It’s just what team is playing its best. I really hope that we’ve played better and seeing we’re gelling and maturing every inning."