Sitek aids all-stars on mound, at plate
By: Justin Feil
Mark Sitek wasn’t fazed by a delay or by a sixth seeding.
The suspension of the 11-year-old all-star’s District 12 Little League Tournament Final Six opener Tuesday only delayed about 20 hours a 4-3 win over Bordentown for West Windsor to Wednesday.
"I felt good in the beginning of the game," Sitek said. "I felt that we were going to win."
Sitek had a big hand in the outcome, both offensively and defensively as sixth-seeded West Windsor upset No. 4 seed Bordentown. He did not allow a run while pitching the final two innings when play resumed Wednesday. At the plate, he ended the game when he drove a pitch for a fielder’s choice to win the game.
"I knew it was the time we’re going to get it," Sitek said. "We’re more confident in the beginning of the lineup."
With power and speed up top in the order, West Windsor had the right combination for the win in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out, Andrew Clayton and Scott Feryus drew walks. Sitek than delivered a ball that Bordentown tried to initiate a double play.
"Feryus slid hard into the bag at second, causing the fielder to throw errant to first," said West Windsor manager Mark Sitek. "Clayton is so speedy I had him going all the way."
Added his son: "It feels good. Real good."
After playing up a level in years past, Sitek is finally with his own age group. He is one of the leaders for a team that was scheduled to play Thursday against second-seeded Ewing.
"We won our last two games by one run," said the elder Sitek. "We played fairly error-free ball and played together as a team. We play a tough Ewing squad. If we play smart baseball, make plays, we have a shot. They have some big hitters on their team. We’ll pitch Ben Weiner and he has two wins for us already."
After Wednesday’s win, Mark Sitek has a win as well. His two innings came in the final two innings of a tied ball game with no room for error. He allowed just two base runners, but neither could score.
"I felt good," he said. "My change-up was working."
West Windsor also received solid performances in the five innings Tuesday leading up to the resumption of play. Those contributions kept them in the game until its completion.
"It was well played," said the WW manager. "Nick Meduski had a good game behind the plate. It was a tight game. The big difference was when Christian Waters came in, I’ve never seen him pitch before, and he threw five solid innings. He was the big difference. He played well beyond expectations. He did well. Feryus had a triple. Sitek had a double. Everybody played well.
"We had a couple big cut-off plays. Feryus threw a guy out at home plate on (relay) throw by Will Feehan."
With both teams playing well, it was shame they couldn’t complete it Tuesday. Little League rules prohibit a game from beginning an inning after 11 p.m. It forced the teams to resume the action Wednesday.
"It’s tough. You can’t really warm up a lot," the elder Sitek said. "For both teams, it was tough. There was no momentum going into today. We came in and basically Christian Waters pitched the first half and did a great job. Mark Sitek came in and pitched two shutout innings. He got the win. And he drove in the winning run."
On the heels of its last one-run win in pool play, the undermanned and underdog West Windsor 11s repeated the performance to propel themselves into the winners’ bracket semifinals. The trick now is playing well enough to stay there.
"I think we’re pretty confident," the younger Sitek said. "It’s tough for us. We only have nine people."
Those nine are happy to take the wins any way they can, whether they are thrilling one-run games, landslide wins or even victories that span two days. Just as long as they enjoy a win.

