Dwyer delivers in No. 9 spot for all-stars
By: Justin Feil
Tim Dwyer finished off Hamilton Township Recreation Baseball Association on Monday.
The 12-year-old is accustomed to getting things started, as he did throughout the West Windsor recreation season, but moving from first in the lineup on his rec team to ninth with the all-stars is a change he has adjusted to quickly in District 12 Little League Baseball Tournament play.
"I’m usually first, but I don’t really care," Dwyer said. "As long as I get to bat."
Dwyer has proven to be a reliable hitter out of the No. 9 spot for West Windsor, which stayed alive with an 11-1 four-inning win over HTRBA on Monday in the losers’ bracket. Dwyer walked in his first at bat of the game during a five-run second inning, then with one out and the bases loaded, he slammed a double to end the game by the 10-run mercy rule.
"That last at bat, I was a little nervous because there were two strikes," Dwyer said. "I just tried to wait on the ball and then make contact."
Making contact can be a lot to ask of some 12s teams’ No. 9 hitters. West Windsor doesn’t think of Dwyer as its last hitter, but its first.
"Tim is our No. 9 hitter, but I tell him, when we get to eight, it’s 1, 1, 2 because he’s such a good hitter," said West Windsor manager Dave Campbell. "He’s been pulling through the last couple games for us."
The win over HTRBA came 24 hours after a draining 7-6 loss to Washington Township in which Dwyer sent the game into extra innings with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning.
"It was pretty hard to put it out of our heads, but we had to," Dwyer said. "We tried to come back strong. We had to put that to the side and start winning again."
West Windsor bounced back in perfect fashion Monday, and after Tuesday’s scheduled day off, they got another day off when rain pushed back Wednesday’s scheduled losers’ bracket semifinal against Bordentown to Thursday. With a win, West Windsor would play the loser of the winners’ bracket final between Washington and Nottingham 7 p.m. tonight at Lawrence. They will have to win to advance to the championship, then beat the winners’ bracket winner twice on Saturday for the district title.
"It makes it tougher for us, but we’re just going to have to fight our way out of it," Dwyer said. "We just have to keep winning to get to the championship."
Dwyer figures to help with his bat and his glove. Like his batting position, his position in the field is different from that of his rec season.
"I play shortstop usually," he said. "I’m still learning how to play right field, but I’m pretty good with it. It’s just new."
One thing that is not new is winning for West Windsor. Their fifth pitcher, Jack Liang, made his first appearance of the Final Nine tournament Monday and held HTRBA to three hits one a bunt single while striking out six.
"Jack pitched a great game," Campbell said. "He pitched 45 pitches for four innings. He had six strikeouts, no walks and scattered a few hits. It’s a big win for him. We have so many pitchers, my guys put the work in, they’re throwing, but they’re not getting work on the mound as much. They’re only getting in games every three or four games which is good in the long run. It keeps their arms healthy.
"We have other guys. Tim throws. Kevin Schattin throws, and also Joe Bensky throws. Those kids haven’t even thrown an inning yet, and they all throw nice too. When we need to go deeper, we have the arms. They throw nice."
The hitting, too, has not been a problem. Ben Ruta continued his impressive district series by going 3-for-3, falling a home run shy of the cycle. Ruta also drove in three runs. Kevin O’Connor had an RBI single. West Windsor took advantage of eight walks to go with nine hits Monday. Top to bottom, West Windsor has been potent at the plate.
"The kids are really just hitting," Campbell said. "It’s a strong hitting team. We had maybe one game where we didn’t get at least six hits. One through 11, they can hit it hard. So I’m not too worried about who throws against us."
Like last year’s district championship team from West Windsor, this group has been able to score runs in bunches. It’s just done it in a different way, and the bottom of the order has been even better this summer.
"I think they were a little surprised because the bottom of the order is coming through a lot," Dwyer said of district opponents. "They’re giving us a lot of pitches down the middle that we can hit. We’re doing really well at hitting. We’re staying back and hitting the ball."
Added Campbell: "If you’re trying to compare teams, the long ball, that’s the only difference. Last year, we went to the long ball a little more. That can turn momentum fast. This team, they can all hit the long ball, it has only happened for a few boys so far. Ben is swinging a nice bat right now. Jack Liang, he’s going to be big for us. He’s starting hit his stride. Once he does, he’ll lead us in a big way."
With the hitting, pitching and fielding coming together for West Windsor, they are hoping they can return for a shot at the championship Saturday. Monday was the first step with a big win over HTRBA to bounce back from their first loss in the Final Nine.
"The kids showed up ready to play," Campbell said. "I wanted to see how they looked getting out of their cars. Everybody looked good. There were no down faces. I knew we were in good shape."
Especially when Tim Dwyer got to the plate to finish off the win.

