Western Monmouth 15s finish second in state

In just their second year of existence, the Western Monmouth Babe Ruth 15-year olds have accomplished a lot. After winning the District 6 title on their home field in Millstone, the team entered the state tournament in Gibbsboro looking to continue their success. The team is drawn from Allentown, Millstone and Upper Freehold.

As Manager Don Wood pointed out, "Some of these guys have been playing together since they were 7-8 years old. Every year we did a little better than the year before, but this season was special. We had great outings from our pitchers, the lineup hit from top to bottom, and the defense was very solid. It was great to see the boys play so well."

In the States, Western Monmouth continued their success, winning their first two games, 15-3 against District 5 champ Pennsauken, and 13-3 against District 3 winner Pennsville. In both games the formula was the same - keep the opponent away from a big inning and give the bats a chance to do some damage. The first three batters in the lineup, shortstop Josh Howell, center fielder Mark Maiorano and slugging first baseman Alex Francescone were on base consistently. The rest of the lineup did their part to keep things going, and the result was usually the same - runs.

On July 26 Western Monmouth ran into a strong Mount Laurel team in the winner's bracket final, and went down to defeat 12-1.

"Mount Laurel was a very good team, but we didn't play well that night," Wood said. "We only had two bad innings in the field during the entire postseason. One of them was in this game and it cost us."

The loss put the team into a Saturday elimination game against District 1 champ Hopewell Valley, with the winner advancing to the championship game against Mount Laurel.

"We wanted this game bad," said Wood. "When we started our league, we wanted to be in District 1, because that's where all the other teams from the CVC (the high school league) play. We would have been the 11th league in the District, so the powers-that-be placed us in District 6. The boys wanted to show that they could play with the best teams in our area, and they did."

Western Monmouth defeated Hopewell Valley, 9-4. Thomas Koontz pitched a complete game for the victory, and was helped by timely hitting from Howell, Maiorano, Francescone, third baseman Donny Wood and left fielder Doug Ticse.

The win put Western Monmouth in the championship game - a rematch with Mount Laurel. Although Western Monmouth stayed close for five-plus innings, actually leading 2-1 early, their second bad inning defensively came up in the sixth inning, and Mount Laurel pulled away for a 12-2 victory. Western Monmouth finished as state runner-up.

"We had a great run," said Wood. "We went 6-2 in the postseason, won our district, and made it to the finals of the state tournament. The 'A-Town High Gang' proved that they can play with anyone. I look for this group to continue to have success as they go through their high school careers. Allentown High hasn't made the state baseball tournament in a long time, but I think that will change very soon. With the success of this group, the Babe Ruth 13s (also District 6 champs) and the Little Leaguers, we are on the 'baseball map' to stay. "