Stay alive with narrow win over Princeton
By: Justin Feil
Nashanth Galla is a fan of the New York Yankees, and names Mariano Rivera as one of the pitchers he admires.
Galla did his best Sandman impersonation one the Yankees wish they could see more themselves as he did not allow an inherited runner on third to score in the fifth inning and then pitched out of a bases-loaded no-out sixth inning to wrap up West Windsor’s 5-2 win over Princeton in the District 12 Little League 10-year-old Tournament losers’ bracket Tuesday.
"That’s probably the toughest situation I’ve been in," said Galla, who is playing for the all-stars for the first time. "I’ve been pitching three years. I started in AAA. I usually pitch in relief."
Galla was solid for an inning in West Windsor’s opening loss to Bordentown on Sunday, and even more impressive to earn the win Tuesday. After Josiah Foster worked the first 4Ò innings and struck out seven, he was lifted after a triple put the go-ahead run at third with two outs in the top of the fifth inning of a 2-2 game. Galla didn’t mind entering from his right field position to close out the inning.
"I feel nervous," he said, "but I know I can count on my team when I’m not pitching."
Galla induced a pop-up to shortstop to end the inning. West Windsor immediately put the winning runs on the board as James Nabial doubled then Foster followed with a single for the game-winning runs. Patience in the batter’s box led West Windsor to two more runs via walks.
"More than anything, scoring the third run right after they had tied it up helped our confidence," said West Windsor manager Andrew Foster. "They tied it up in the top of the fifth, 2-2. James doubled, and Josiah singled him in right away. More than anything, that helped get the confidence back."
Those insurance runs looked big as an error and two singles loaded the bases with no outs. The tying run stood at first.
"I was nervous and hoping to get an out," Galla said. "I hoped I’d shut them down. I was happy when we got the first out. That brought up my strength and made me more effective in the game."
The first out came when Galla fielded a comebacker and threw home for the force out. The second out was recorded the same way, and a pop-up to him ended the game.
"It was amazing composure for a 10-year-old," Foster said. "He settled down and got the outs. He got a comebacker right away. He set his feet, took his time and threw home. The next batter, same thing. The third out was a pop-up right back to him. He made all three plays like he was unloading the dishwasher, like it was routine. It was impressive to see."
West Windsor will take the outs any way they can get them. With the win, they were scheduled to play the Washington-Allentown loser on Thursday, with the winner scheduled to return to Nottingham 3 p.m. Saturday for the losers’ bracket semifinal. Princeton was eliminated with its second loss of the tournament.
Tuesday was its third game in three days after knocking Sunnybrae from the tournament Monday. In that win, Zack Tesone picked up the win on the mound by pitching 2Ð innings and allowing just one run on one hit. Rob Mooney had three hits and scored three runs to pace the offense. Alex Deutsch added two hits, while Mike Clancy drove in two runs.
"Princeton only made one mistake in the field," Foster said. "Their starting pitcher was very effective. He didn’t throw particularly hard, but he had great control and they fielded the ball well. It was a 3-2 game and then their pitcher had to come out after four innings because of the pitch count.
"It was really a 3-2 game. It was a lot of fun. They’re very well managed. They know what they’re doing out there."
Nabial led the Ward Field boys’ offense with two hits and two RBIs. Matt Duplak also had two hits and Josiah Foster, Sean O’Brien, Justin Kertes, Garrett Erickson and John Lappetito all contributed hits in the win. It was an encouraging recovery from their opening loss.
"It helps our confidence," the elder Foster said. "This is a quality opponent. It wasn’t like we didn’t have to make plays to win the game. We were much better in the field than against Bordentown. We had a little talk about taking your time and making sure of your throws. They really took it to heart and looked much more composed. They played a much better game in the field. And we did have nine hits."
Added Galla: "We felt a little down on ourselves (after Bordentown). When our coach told us, ‘I don’t care if we lose, 20-0, I want to see us have fun,’ it made us play our hardest."
And when the situation got to its toughest, West Windsor found an unflappable Nashanth Galla. He entered for the final four outs to extend their District 12 tournament.
"I like pitching better than the outfield," Galla said. "I like getting outs and making the game go faster so I can get to bat."
Earlier in the night, Cranbury-Plainsboro was eliminated from the tournament with an 8-1 loss to HTRBA. C-P finished the bracket play with an 0-2 record.
"The difference this time, is we didn’t get the big hit, and they only had two hits against us the first time," said C-P manager Ray Cella, whose team had beaten HTRBA, 13-3, in pool play. "They made all their plays. We had three or four errors in this game, it’s been our Achilles heel from the second game of the season on.
"Our defense is something we have to address. We’re scratching our heads right now as to how we can make this a better defensive team."
Even with the two-and-out, the experience of getting to bracket play should help the group as it continues down the road.
"I know I kind of downplayed it originally,"Cella said, "but yeah, because we hadn’t been out of pool play, this was a big step forward. From day one our goal was to win the district, to do that you have to get out of the pool.
"We went 3-1 in pool play, which was good. I would have liked to see us play better in the bracket. But it’s a small step forward and we have to build on it, hopefully when we play next week (in the Princeton Tournament) we’re going to build on it."
Packet Group writer Rich Fisher contributed to this story.

