Phelan likes Babe Ruth chances
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Ted Phelan knows his team is just a play or two away from contending for a championship, so he is quite happy to be playing for one this week.
Phelan, the manager of the West Windsor-Plainsboro 15-year-old Babe Ruth all-stars, saw his team finish third at the District One tournament that concluded this past weekend. The team lost two games in the tournament, both by one run, but still advanced to the Southern New Jersey state tournament, which begins Thursday at Moody Park in Ewing.
”We lost under some unfortunate circumstances,” said Phelan, whose team will open play in the tournament Thursday at 6 p.m. against Brick American. “In the loss to Hopewell-Ewing we gave up two earned runs and against Nottingham we lost and only gave up a couple earned runs. We pitched well enough to win in the games. We just didn’t hit in the Hopewell-Ewing game the way we had been. If we had hit like we did the rest of the tournament we could have won that game.”
The tournament winner, Nottingham, advanced to the SNJ tournament, while the runner-up also advanced. Because Hopewell-Ewing advanced as the host team, WW-P took the runner-up slot in the bracket.
WW-P lost its opener to Nottingham, 7-6, and then battled back through the losers bracket by defeating Trenton, Hamilton and Mercer East to reach the losers bracket final and guarantee a spot in the Southern New Jersey state tournament. Both losses the team suffered in the tournament came by one run.
”Our guys at the top of the lineup have really been hitting the ball,” Phelan said. “That has been our biggest strength and we are four or five pitchers deep. We just have to play a little better defense than we have been.
”Matt (Phelan), Danny Demouth, (Steven) Schilder and Tommy Pecora, they have hit big. They are probably hitting .500 as a group. They have really hit well. And we have also had contributions from some other guys as well. The biggest change we had over last year is we have gotten more contributions at the top of the lineup.”
As 14s, this group also advanced to the SNJ tournament, dropping its two games by a total of three runs. This year the group comes back a year better and a year more experienced.
”I think the guys were surprised to be in states and didn’t know what to expect last year,” Phelan said. “I think taking the mystery out of it and realizing they were there and can compete with those other districts will help us this year. And having someone like (Schilder) as the ace is a big difference. He has varsity experience under his belt and his composure on the mound has made big difference. He has really blossomed for us.
”Steve is making a big contribution at the plate and on the mound, which is the biggest difference and change over last year. That has helped us out in a big way. It has helped mature him and helped the team perform better.”
In addition to having a team with more experience, WW-P also has a manager in Phelan that is as experienced as they come at this level. This year will mark the end of a 15-year run as a manager and coach in post-season all-star play.
”It started in 1999 with the Little League all-star team with Ryan and since then it has been 15 years with either baseball or softball all-stars,” Phelan reflected. “It is a little bittersweet. This year I have Ryan coaching third base and these kids have benefited from him helping out and coaching every night. I think that has helped with their confidence and demeanor and they get better every day. Him helping with them has made a world of difference. It has made a big difference with the overall confidence these kids have played with.”
The WW-P roster is comprised of players from West Windsor, Princeton and Plainsboro. The Princeton players are Eric Weiss, Joey Studholme, Aaron Lichtblau and Pecora. The rest of the roster consists of Theodore Yasson, Michael Tom, Nathan SantaMaria, Mark Palmer, Alex Mitchell, Jordan Blassingame, Matt Phelan, Schilder and Demouth.
With a win in its opener on Thursday, WW-P would advance to face Mt. Laurel on Saturday at 10 a.m. A loss on Thursday would send to the losers bracket, where it would play a 7 p.m. game on Saturday against the loser of the game between Nottingham and Gibbsboro-Voorhees