Advance as 14s district runner-up
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
HAMILTON — The Montgomery 14-year-old Babe Ruth all-stars won the game they needed to win.
And although the team would have liked to have won a game or two more before concluding the District One tournament, Montgomery got the win it needed.
With a 9-1 win last Thursday night over Hamilton in the losers’ bracket final at Switlik Park in Hamilton, Montgomery not only got another shot at Nottingham, but also secured itself a berth in the Southern New Jersey State Tournament.
Montgomery lost to Nottingham, 6-1, on Friday night. But because Nottingham is hosting the state tournament, Montgomery gets the District One berth in the state tournament, which begins Friday at Veterans Park in Hamilton.
”We knew that game was a must win,” said Ryan Carmon, the winning pitcher in the win over Hamilton. “That was much bigger than today. That got us into states. Today was just to see who gets the trophy.”
Nottingham got the trophy, but Montgomery still lives to play another day. Carmon saw to that by limiting Hamilton to one run on four hits in the win in the losers’ bracket final. He struck out seven and walked just one.
”He pitched great,” Montgomery manager Rich Charlton said. “He had seven strong innings. He only walked one. Our defense helped him. And we hit, so he was never pitching from behind. He was on cruise control and was very effective. That’s the way we win. We’re not overpowering by any stretch, but we need to hit.”
Carmon helped his own cause at the plate with three hits, while Chris Leach, Rich Charlton and Ryan Bruvik each had two hits. Bruvik drove in three runs in the game. But it was the mound work by Carmon that was most impressive in the win.
”I tried to throw strikes and have them put the ball in play,” he said. “I had confidence in my fielders.”
The next night, Montgomery got in an early 3-0 hole against Nottingham and eventually dropped a 6-1 decision. As well as Montgomery played the night before, it just couldn’t get the offense going on Friday.
”We played great,” Charlton said of the win over Hamilton. “We hit the ball. We pitched excellent and we played solid defense. Our game is to get on base, do some running and make something happen. (Against Nottingham) we just couldn’t get our game going.
”We’re excited to be going to states and we want to make it look like we belong there and we’re not just some team.”
Added Carmon: “For all of us, it’s our first time in states. We’ll approach it like we did yesterday and try to stay focused. Hopefully we can play well and win it. In the beginning of the season I knew we had a chance to go to states and it came true.”