By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Mike Santoro was hoping for a solid outing from Alex Mitchell and the junior delivered on Wednesday.
Mitchell picked the win and Mack Palmer notched the save as West Windsor-Plainsboro High North topped WW-P South, 4-2, in the first of back-to-back games between the two teams.
“Our pitching hasn’t really been up to par the last couple games,” said Santoro, the WW-P North head coach whose team improved to 4-3 with the win. “Alex pounded the zone today. We have been walking some guys and having some issues throwing strikes and things like that. We played Notre Dame tough the last two games.
“We started 3-1. We had a good win against Hamilton West in a pretty tough situation. Mack (Palmer) had a bases loaded nobody out in a save situation and he got out of it. He’s taken the closer role but with a lot of games coming up he might be seeing some more time as a starter.”
Mitchell knew his pitching wasn’t quite what he had hoped for in his first two starts, but he delivered in the rivalry game between the two WW-P schools.
“I really wanted to have a good outing,” said Mitchell, who improved to 2-1 on the season. “I wanted to get a good outing under my belt. We had two tough games against Hamilton West and Notre Dame, which I pitched in. This time I just really wanted to get a win against our rivals. We know so many guys on their team.
“I was thinking less. The last couple games I was thinking too much. Coach (Justin) Ely talked to me yesterday and said, ‘don’t think as much.’ I tried to take that today and try to just pitch the ball.”
The Knights jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then held on as the Pirates chipped away at the lead.
“Alex has had his ups and downs but he is always a guy that is going to stay calm and collected,” Santoro said. “He really showed that today.”
Mitchell pitched just under 40 innings on the varsity level as a sophomore last year and followed that up with a summer of American Legion baseball. It’s made him a far more experienced pitcher this season, which is a benefit for the Knights.
“I would say me and Steven Schilder are the two leaders of the pitching staff,” Mitchell said. “In the summer I got to see competition above the varsity level which helped me, especially as a sophomore. I just try to play baseball.”
At 4-3 heading into Thursday’s scheduled game with the Pirates, the Knights have hopes of this being a special season.
“We have really good hopes for this year,” Mitchell said. “I have been looking at the schedule and I feel like there are no games we can’t win. I feel like we can finish with a winning record and make the state tournament.”
