By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
The Hillsborough Junior American Legion baseball team is heading to the state tournament after getting a taste of the intensity of the one-and-done environment.
Hillsborough won the Pyramid Baseball League regular season to secure the top seed for the Pyramid playoffs, but then needed nine innings over two days to finally dispatch Belvidere, 3-2, Tuesday in the playoff semifinals. Hillsborough had gone into the day anticipating having to win against Belvidere and then knock off Warren Hills in the Pyramid playoff finals, but Warren Hills forfeited its final to preserve its pitching and players for the state tournament. Whether it played the final or not, Hillsborough felt like a deserving champion.
“I’ve told our players, who they’re representing, it’s a proud baseball tradition at Hillsborough,” said Junior team manager Paul Millar. “Everyone knows that. The opposition knows that. The opposition should feel that in tight situations that they’re playing Hillsborough. They’re tough, quality players that enjoy playing and they all bring something different to the plate.
“I could rave about all 17 of them,” he added. “They’re there every game. We’re probably the only team that doesn’t have to worry about not having enough.”
Only the top two teams advance to states from the Pyramid League. Hillsborough was facing the chance of not advancing when they trailed, 2-1, in the final inning against Belvidere. That’s when Ryan Watson provided the first of his two huge hits, a two-strike single to tie it and force extra innings. The game had to be suspended due to darkness after eight innings, and when Hillsborough returned, Chris Melphi set down Belvidere in order in the ninth to earn the win when Watson delivered the game-winner, a two-strike bases-loaded single that scored Christopher Stroup.
“Had we lost this,” Millar said, “it would have been very frustrating.”
Millar wanted to see his team rewarded for its play and dedication all season. The veteran coach enjoyed his chance to work with them in the regular season, and he is looking forward to seeing how they do in the state tournament. They will play the second seed, Cherry Hill Black, at 1 p.m. Saturday at Eastern High School. Warren Hills will play Gloucester in the other South Jersey semifinal. The winners meet in a game that follows with the South Jersey winner playing the North Jersey winner next weekend.
“I told them, go down to South Jersey, they have no idea where Hillsborough is, so you have to leave your mark there,” Millar said. “It was a good experience for me — they knew their routine. They got their early. They were there an hour and a half early and they did their thing and got ready. It was a loose dugout.”
Players on the roster include: Patrick Cahill, Christopher Coutts, Harrison Coutts, Patrick Demare, Sean Jackson, Matthew Kuc, Mark Kwiatek, Matthew Lasala, Christopher Melphi, Syed Mumtaz, Kyle Rich, Michael Shokoff, Matthew Spalluto, Christopher Stroup, Zach Tynan, Ryan Watson and Kyle Wengryn.
“We ended up in first place at 12-3,” Millar said. “The second-place team we beat two out of three times. We had the higher winning percentage than the rest of the league. We played each team three times. The scores were quite competitive. We didn’t blow anyone out. And no one blew us out. We lost two games by a run, and the only game we lost worse was when we committed about six errors and lost 8-2 to Del Valley. As I preached to them, you learn from your mistakes. They’re quite a resilient group of kids.
“We tried to get everyone in and have quality playing time and opportunities,” he said. “At given points, there were different players with walk-off singles. They all had a chance to shine. They all were learning.”
It was the focus of the year as Millar worked to help push along the future of Hillsborough High School. He used a deep staff and talent across the field to win the league.
“We use roughly eight pitchers,” Millar said. “They’re a nice group. We wanted them to gain experience. (Monday) night, I used six pitchers in eight innings. We planned on playing a final (Tuesday) and planned to use at least three of them. They all were competitive and they learn from that. I think we had one complete game all season. That was last Monday when we were out of pitchers. He threw 80 pitches and beat Belvidere, 3-1, that night which was really nice.”
There were plenty of bright spots over the regular season, and plenty of contributors in all facets of the game.
“Hitting, we sprayed the ball around,” Millar said. “Harrison Coutts, he had a phenomenal year of hitting. He probably batted about .450. He put the ball in play, and we talked about bunting for hits. I’d suggest it at times. They would do that. They played small ball. They learned it’s fun.
“Defensively, the kid Watson at first base is phenomenal picking balls. If it’s in the dirt, he’s getting it. We talk about his job is to making your infielders look good. Coutts is a big outfielder, he runs like a deer. There were no glaring weaknesses. Syed Mumtaz, he did an admirable job at shortstop this year. We weren’t worried if the ball was going to be hit anywhere. They defended very well. We made as few mistakes as possible. I told them, you don’t win games, you lose them.”
Millar liked how the group worked together and were attentive to his instruction. He preached respect for teammates, coaches, opponents and umpires. The Junior team responded to it all and played the right way on the field.
“I was more than happy to do it,” Millar said. “It was a respectful group of kids. We thoroughly enjoyed working with these kids. They made very few defensive mistakes. They learned. They followed instruction. They picked up things quickly. They gained a lot of experience.
“The parents were wonderful,” he added. “They were very supportive. They were there to enjoy the game. I would get a little feedback at times. They liked how things were conducted. You usually get the negatives. It was quite refreshing. You could tell the boys enjoyed themselves and they enjoyed each other. That’s part of being a good teammate. We wanted them to respect themselves and each other and be good teammates.”
They have the makings for a bright future with Hillsborough. Some of the juniors team will be combining with the Hillsborough Senior Legion team to make next year’s varsity at Hillsborough High School. The Senior team lost, 8-1, to Broad Street Park 313 and 9-3 to Atco Post 311 to bow out of the District 3 state tournament. The Junior team goes into states after winning 80 percent of their regular season games with a consistent approach.
“We didn’t see any home runs hit,” Millar said. “We’re not a long ball group. They’re aggressive. We ran the bases well, stole a lot of bases. Defensively, the pitching staff did a good enough job. Realistically we had first and third maybe 12 times. That means the pitching staff didn’t walk a lot of guys. There weren’t many times I had to go out and remove a pitcher. They all had an approach with what they wanted to do, how do you set up guys. Coach (Eric) Eden did a good job of working with them over the years, and I wanted them to learn that on their own.
“I tried to tell them to try to slow the game down. A couple moved up to a couple times. Watson was up, and I asked him what was different, and he said, the game is a lot faster. So I said, how do you handle that, and he said, I try to slow it down. It’s baseball. It’s a slow, methodical game. You try to slow it down where it doesn’t take hold of you.”
Millar watched his team grow through the summer, and Tuesday they were able to get a hard-fought win to extend their season. It gives them the chance to play together at least one more high pressure game as they gear up for what lies ahead.
“I expect them to step in next year and contribute at Hillsborough (High School),” Millar said. “It’s a very good experience with these kids. They’re dedicated. They enjoy playing baseball. They work at it.”
