BANNER DAY: Members of the Princeton Little League squad are all smiles after they defeated Ewing 10-9 last Friday evening to win the District 12 Intermediate 50/70 tournament. Princeton will now compete in the Section 3 tournament in Middletown with its first game slated for July 5.

By Bill Alden

With the championship round of the District 12 Intermediate 50/70 tournament delayed by two days due to rainouts, the Princeton Little League squad was out of sync as it took the Farmview Fields last Thursday evening against Ewing.

Needing one win in the double-elimination competition to earn its second straight District 12 title, PLL couldn’t get its bats going as it fell 6-2 to Ewing to face a winner-take-all finale on Friday.

Princeton manager Rick Babich acknowledged that his players seemed sluggish as they played this first game since the previous Sunday.

“What really caught our attention was a lack of energy on the field; the body language on the field was disappointing,” said Babich, crediting the Ewing pitchers with hitting their spots as they held Princeton hitless. “The tempo was off; we kept harping on that. At the end of the game, we said, ‘Boys, you need to be locked in.’ These teams are gunning for you, these guys know we sit at the high seed and they are bringing their A-game.”

Babich left his players with a message, urging them to turn the page from the setback.

“The last thing I said to them was think about this loss and think about what didn’t work for us and what we could have done better,” recalled Babich. “You wake up tomorrow guys, it is a new day.”

As the players went through their pregame paces on Friday, Babich sensed a workmanlike mood around the squad as it got ready for the winner-take-all finale.

“In the batting cage there was no joking around, it was all business,” said Babich. “They knew they had a game ahead of them. We preached the whole time that ‘we need to focus, and we need you to lock in.’ From the minute they got to the batting cages, they were locked in.”

PLL needed that focus as the contest turned into a back-and-forth thriller which saw Princeton fall behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning and trail 4-3, 5-4, and 8-7 before scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth to go up 10-8 and then hang on for a 10-9 win.

With Princeton having struggled offensively on Thursday, it was critical to answer back in the bottom of the first as Babich’s son, Grayson, smacked a two-run single to knot the game at 2-2.

“He was struggling earlier on in this tournament; it was so big because we needed that momentum,” said Babich. “We didn’t want to end the first inning down 2-0. Grayson coming in and getting that clutch hit getting those two RBIs — you saw the spark plug that we needed.”

PLL got a number of clutch hits to stay in the contest as Adam Schwartz-Manocchio slammed two doubles with one RBI, Noah Prete smacked a two-run double in the fifth, and James Powers got the biggest hit of all, lining a three-run single in the sixth that gave Princeton the margin of victory.

“One through 11 contributed to this win,” said Babich. “Powers was close all game. All tournament he has been making good contact. It was a beautiful single to score three runs. Adam had two big doubles. Noah had a big hit. Roy Bellace had a big hit.”

Princeton starting pitcher Matthew Brophy didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled into the sixth inning, working through some jams.

“Matthew has been that workhorse that we have needed, we talk about being locked in and he sets that tone,” said Babich. “He was zoned in and locked in from the first moment. What I loved about it was that he bailed us out every time, he kept us competitive. He gave us 95 pitches, which is the max you can do at this age. This time, the team had his back. It is always about having your pitcher’s back.”

A pair of relievers came on for Princeton with Salvatore Taibi finishing up the sixth inning and Aiden Davidson closing the deal in the seventh.

“Aiden hadn’t seen the mound since we started the tournament,” said Babich. “We knew he was going to come in and we knew we wanted him late in the game. Salvo did what we needed; he is our set-up guy. I was proud of Aiden, eight of his first nine pitches were balls. We went out to him and said, ‘How do you feel, and do you think you’ve got this?’ He looked the coach in the eye and said, ‘I’ve got this.’ He got the next three guys.”

After recording the final out to earn its second straight District 12 Intermediate title, the Princeton players were elated and celebrated by mobbing Davidson and later raced around the diamond holding their championship banner.

“I am proud of the boys, they have worked so hard,” said Babich. “After yesterday, I was worried; it was who is going to show up and they all showed up. The communication, the cheering on the side; it was the full-on intensity that we needed and that lifts your players when you are trying to battle. I have been coaching these kids since tee-ball. It makes it extra sweet to be able to see them running around the field with the banner.”

With Princeton headed to the Section 3 tournament in Middletown with its first game slated for July 5, Babich believes that outlasting Ewing will steel his squad for that competition.

“I think the kids wanted this badly, they want to face the best,” said Babich. “I think Ewing showed us a lot of good stuff; playing Ewing twice has put us in a better position to compete. Our pitchers are going to be fresh. We are going to work hard. I said to the kids, ‘The good news is that we play, and the bad news is that we have got to practice this weekend.’”