By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
The Hillsborough 13U Gold team saw its summer run come to an end, but not before it made history by advancing farther than ever as a group.
Representing the Northern New Jersey in the Babe Ruth Mid-Atlantic Regional in Atlantic Shore, Hillsborough finished second in Pool A before bowing out against Millville in the bracket play quarterfinals Monday. The loss ended a run that saw Hillsborough claim its fourth straight District 10 championship followed by its first state title to reach regionals.
“It was incredible,” said Hillsborough manager Kevin Levonaitis. “I’ve been coaching for many years. I played in the states six times and never won it. It was a great experience. The quality of baseball gets a lot higher. There are not a lot of errors. Teams are playing well.”
Hillsborough was right there with any of them. In the state tournament, they met a tough challenge from Roxbury head on in the semifinals and came out with a 4-3 win. They topped Cranford, 10-3, to win the Northern Jersey title and start the Babe Ruth tournament 8-0-1 heading into regionals.
“I think the kids realized that they had the opportunity to do really well,” Levonaitis said. “I think they really felt deep down that this is the year. The two additions to our team were playing well. The seven from last year were playing well and the two additions made it as complete team. We played Roxbury, and that was kind of the state final. They played phenomenal defense and we didn’t hit all that great, but we played smart baseball.”
Members of the Hillsborough team included: Pat Cassidy, Nick Fox, Milan Jain, Sean Levonaitis, Matt Michinard, Joey Mistretta, Andrew Rygiel, Andre Scheflin, Will Schokoff, Mike Swetz, Jason Wolff and Arex Wyatt.
“This year, we picked up two kids who weren’t on our team before,” the elder Levonaitis said. “Jason Wolff and Milan Jain, they kind of filled the void of the positions we were lacking and completed the team.”
The group felt good about its chances as it began, but things didn’t start out that smoothly. There was no indication it would be a state championship and regional contending team.
“Our season started off really bad,” Levonaitis said. “We play in the United States Baseball League. We’ve always done really well. We always go into the playoffs 11-2 or something like that. We were 2-5 at one point. Every year in the past we never won the USBL. This time, we ran the table and won the championship.
“It seemed the kids peaked at a better time. We won the districts four years straight, but it seems when we get to states, we just play horrendous. Maybe it was the later start. I guess the kids weren’t burned out and they were ready to go.”
Levonaitis can put his finger on the turning point in the season. At 2-5, he and his coaching staff sent the team to center field to sit and decide as a team if they were willing to put in 100 percent effort and play at a higher level.
Said Levonaitis: “They turned their season around and started doing well.”
He saw his team start to perform up to their potential, and they carried the momentum from their regular-season turnaround into the postseason Babe Ruth play. They were clicking in all areas as they marched through the district and state tournaments.
“We’re pretty balanced,” Levonaitis said. “We play very good defense. We hit well. This is the kind of time where we have our four or five core hitters that we expect them one inning to do really well. In the past, we had some kids that didn’t hit that well in the lineup. This year, everyone did pretty much OK. If three kids weren’t hitting, these other three were. It was kind of balanced like that.”
They played at the top of their game through the start of Pool A play. They ripped the Maryland champion, 21-4, last Wednesday, then last Thursday stopped Eastern New York, 7-2. On Friday, they stayed perfect with an 8-4 win over the host Atlantic Shore team. With their pitching thinned through the first three games, Hillsborough got a nice effort from Swetz in a rare pitching appearance, but the Metro New York representative, Paulino, won, 12-6, in the showdown for first place in the pool. Their second-place finish put them up against Pool B third-place finisher Millville.
“They played great right up until the last game,” Levonaitis said. “We fell apart in the first inning. We were really disappointed. They got down, 6-0, and they were like deer in headlights.”
But this group advanced farther together than any previous summer. It is something that they can build on as they move forward. Most all of the team is heading into eighth grade this year, and the next level of baseball is on their horizon. It’s a talented group that proved this summer that it can play up to its potential, and the future looks brilliant.
“They’ve been together for four years,” Levonaitis said. “They have won four straight District 10s. They know each other. We changed some positions this year, not many. They get bigger and stronger and faster. They move around a little. Athletically, they’re very talented. They all play multiple sports. Six of them play football, one of them plays hockey, almost all of them play basketball. It’s a good group.”
