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SPORTS: Florence’s Fillmyer fuels Post 26’s fire

By Anthony Williams, Special Writer
   When a parent makes a grandiose comparison about their child’s athletic abilities, we often take it with a grain of salt; but when Bordentown Post 26’s Head Coach Tom Dolan compares a player’s efforts to future MLB Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, one should take notice.
   After all, Coach Dolan might know a thing or two about baseball, having managed Bordentown Post 26 for the past 14 years and leading the players to three league championships in the last five seaons. For Coach Dolan, such comparisons don’t come often, and never come without merit.
Florence’s Heath Fillmyer, 18, plays the game with such passion and intensity that he’s earned one of those rare comparisons from Coach Dolan. Many people may be wondering what it is Fillmyer does that garners such praise, but the easier question is what doesn’t he do.
   ”Heath is a special player,” Coach Dolan said. “He plays solid defense, pitches for us, is a reliable bat, and a great team leader. He makes Derek Jeter-esque plays for us, and it won’t surprise me when he gets taken in next year’s major league draft.”
   Whether it’s in the field, on the mound, or at the plate Fillmyer is a natural born leader and demonstrates a maturity beyond his 18 years.
   ”I think the draft talk is more of coach’s speculation,” Fillmyer said. “There are teams looking at me, but I’m just one of seventeen hard working players on this team. I try to keep my head small and work hard so good things happen for us.”
   Ever since his junior year at Florence High School, Fillmyer has been making good things happen all around him. He ended his high school career by helping the Flashes capture their second consecutive Central Jersey Group I Championship this year, and was a member of Post 26’s league championship team in 2011.
   Most recently, Fillmyer has added to his already impressive resume, helping Post 26 jump from fourth place to second place in the league standings behind an impressive 6-1 run over its last seven games to improve its overall record to 17-8 entering the final week of Mercer County American Legion action. Neither Coach Dolan nor Fillmyer were able to provide exact numbers on the budding star’s statistics, but both were certain he was batting better than .600 over the same stretch.
   ”He sees the ball well and gives us disciplined at-bats every time he comes to the plate,” Coach Dolan said. “As a coach, you enjoy the opportunity to spend time with a kid that possesses the skills and personality like Heath.”
   Over the past two seasons, Fillmyer has earned the trust of his coaches and teammates, serving as the team’s starting shortstop and closing pitcher this year.
   ”It feels good knowing that coach has faith in me and trusts me with the game on the line,” Fillmyer said. “I enjoy the pressure of having the ball in my hands during the most important part of the game, and it makes things a lot easier when your team backs you up like mine does.”
   As the 2012 regular season draws to a close, Fillmyer is beginning to set his sights on the future. Post 26 has clinched a post-season playoff berth, having finished in the top five of the MCALL, and hopes to capture one of the top two spots to secure home-field advantage at Mercer County Park for the upcoming district tournament.
   ”We have a lot to prove this year,” Fillmyer said. “We lost a lot of talented players from last year’s team and we struggled early. I feel like we’re just starting to find our rhythm and can make the World Series if we continue to play the way we’ve been playing.”
   Before, Fillmyer and Post 26 get a shot at the World Series; they have to finish the regular season, and defense of their 2011 league championship, against Hamilton Post 31 and Broad Street Park Post 313. Currently, Post 26 sits one game out of first place, trailing West Windsor-Plainsboro and tied with Hopewell Valley Post 313 for second.
   Regardless of how these final two games end, Post 26 will be representing the MCALL in district play somewhere, as it is statistically impossible for them to finish outside of the top five.
   At the conclusion of this year’s American Legion Baseball season, Fillmyer will be attending Kean University, a Division III school, in the fall as a member of its baseball team. As of right now, Fillmyer anticipates returning to Post 26 in the spring-summer of 2013. However, Fillmyer did acknowledge there is a chance he might not be back.
   ”Coming back for my final season of eligibility is definitely on the agenda,” Fillmyer said. “But, if another opportunity comes along, as Coach Dolan has hinted at, I’ll have to re-evaluate the situation then.”
   No matter what roster Fillmyer ends up on next year, he’ll always be a part of Bordentown Post 26’s history.