Montgomery 14s earn back-to-back wins

Healthy Ruhlman returns for district champs

By: Justin Feil
   It was impressive that D.J. Ruhlman was able to play up on the Montgomery 14-year-old all-star baseball team that won the Babe Ruth District One baseball championship last year.
   In addition to being just 13, Ruhlman also wasn’t at full strength, yet was able to contribute.
   "Last year, I had a stress fracture in my elbow," Ruhlman said. "I played second base. Last year, I was able to bat. I couldn’t throw that much. It limited me from pitching and playing anywhere else besides second base."
   Ruhlman was worried that it could cost him his quarterback job last fall. He returned healthy just before football, however, and is back healthy for the Montgomery 14s baseball team this summer, back with a group that he grew up playing with in the township. He is enjoying this summer’s reunion on the diamond.
   "I looked forward to playing with this group," said Ruhlman, who has pitched and played shortstop. "I see them every day in school. They’re all my friends. Last year, I had to come on to the 14s and make all new friends and meet all new people."
   The group that won a pair of games in the Southern Jersey State Tournament as 12-year-olds is hoping to continue to push toward the district finals of the Babe Ruth 14s tournament. Montgomery remained alive with two convincing wins in the losers’ bracket. Monday, Ruhlman was 4-for-4 in a 16-4 win that eliminated West Windsor-Plainsboro. Tuesday, he was the winning pitcher as Montgomery eliminated Trenton, 14-1.
   "We hit pretty well in the later innings," Ruhlman said. "We were making solid contact and the pitching has been good. We only let up a couple runs. Overall, it’s a good effort.
   "I thought I pitched pretty well. I was able to get the fastball over. And when I needed to, I was able to get the curve over."
   Rain pushed back the losers’ bracket matchup against Ewing to Thursday after deadline. With a win, Montgomery would play the loser of the Nottingham-Hightstown winners’ bracket final 6 p.m. tonight. The winner advances to the championship game 6 p.m. Saturday with the if-necessary game scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Hopewell Valley.
   "I think we’re all right," said Montgomery manager Tom Leach. "We have enough pitchers to get us through. It’s nice to have a little more time to rest our better pitchers. The kids are hitting the ball now. That gives our pitchers a little more room to maneuver."
   After scoring a total of five runs in their first two games of the District One Tournament, Montgomery has scored 30 combined runs in its last two contests. Nothing, other than the output, has changed.
   "At this age, hitting seems to be contagious," Leach said. "All we need is a few hits at the beginning of the game and we can get going. It doesn’t seem to matter who the pitcher is."
   Trenton started the hardest-throwing pitcher that Montgomery had seen yet. It didn’t matter, however, as they were able to get to him with big third and fourth innings to erase a 1-0 deficit.
   "It’s also a combination of hitting and running," Leach said. "We only had eight hits. (Tuesday) night, we did it for our feet. If we got a guy on first, he managed to get over to second or third.
   "When we lost to Hightstown, I think they had five hits and we had 11. We weren’t aggressive enough on the base paths. When you need hits to score, it’s a different story. It’s a little harder."
   Montgomery is feeling more confident that it has the offense to go with a strong defense that has permitted less than three runs per game on average. Ruhlman likes the way the team is built for a run to the championship.
   "We have pretty much all the same kids (from the 12s team)," he said. "There are a couple new kids like Dane DiMartino. It’s changed a lot for us, being in the losers’ bracket. You play day after day. In the winners’ bracket, you get some time off. It’s a lot harder in the losers’ bracket. Your pitchers don’t get as much rest. You have to win every day. If you lose a game, you’re done. We’re really confident. We have another new guy from two years ago, Ryan Carmon, who’s helped."
   Ryan Bruvik allowed just two hits and one run to WW-P before Carmon pitched the final three innings Monday. Other members of the Montgomery team are: Kevin Brune, Rich Charlton, Steve Columbero, Nick Covello, Pat Guma, Jeff Jordan, Jason Kalvin, Chris Leach, Sachat Madhugiri, Mike Reynolds and Adam Verducci. Having Ruhlman, whose 7-for-7 batting streak was finally snapped Tuesday, back has helped as well.
   "Last year was the only year he wasn’t with them," the elder Leach said. "Of the 13 kids on this team, nine have pretty much been playing together since they were about 8. And there are four who have been wonderful additions that are new to the team.
   "We thought we’d be competitive. We knew Hightstown and Nottingham have been the strong teams all the way through. I think we have a reasonable shot at either one."
   Ruhlman is happy to be at full strength to take on the district’s favorites. He and his Montgomery teammates are ready for the final challenges of the tournament after back-to-back convincing wins.
   "It’s been confidence and seeing the ball good and knowing if we make good contact, we’ll win the games," Ruhlman said. "We’re getting more and more used to it as every game goes on."