(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) CONTACT POINT: Marquis Henderson of the Princeton-Cranbury Babe Ruth 13-year-old all stars makes contact last Saturday in Princeton’s 4-0 win over Ewing in the Babe Ruth District One tournament. While Princeton got eliminated from the district tournament on Monday, the club has high hopes as it wraps up the summer with tournaments in South Brunswick and Hillsborough over the next two weeks.

Babe Ruth 13s Utilize Constant Effort In Developing Tournament Toughness

Bill Alden

Facing elimination in the Babe Ruth District One tournament last Monday evening, the Princeton-Cranbury 13-year-old all stars got off to a good start in their clash with Hamilton.

With Jeff Gleason displaying some crafty work on the mound and Zach Tesone, Gideon Friedberg, and Stephen Majeski leading the offense, Princeton jumped off to a 3-0 lead after two innings.

“I like the way we started,” said Princeton manager Jim Tesone. “I liked the spark we seemed to have.”

Unfortunately for Princeton, Hamilton caught fire in the top of the third, scoring 12 runs to seize the momentum of the contest on the way to a 20-3 win.

While Princeton’s players were disappointed by the turn of events, they didn’t stop fighting, hustling to the final out.

“Ben Danis ran hard to first in the last inning when he could have jogged,” said Tesone.

“The guys were chasing the ball in the outfield. Our last pitcher, Chris Munoz, did all he could even though the score was lopsided. Our third baseman, Zach Tesone, was still playing great defense and hitting the ball well.”

With Princeton having played six games over the last week at the East Brunswick Slugfest tournament in placing second there, Tesone acknowledged that his players may have been fatigued as they took the field Monday.

“We had a fabulous tournament,” said Tesone, referring to the East Brunswick tourney which saw the team get good pitching from Gleason, Danis, Tesone, Alex Deutsch and John Reid with Friedberg, Jack Buyske, and Aidan Bitterman providing an offensive spark.

“We played a lot of baseball and used up our pitching in an effort to do well there. It left us a little thin here.”

Princeton proved to be heavy on character last Saturday as it rebounded from a loss in the title game of the East Brunswick in the morning to blank Ewing 4-0 that evening in the District One tourney.

“We had a tough morning,” recalled Tesone. “We bounced back; I was very proud of the guys. That is when we used our last bullet in pitching. Ben Danis went out and pitched a brilliant game.”

In Tesone’s view, intelligent play has been a hallmark of the club this summer. “We pitch well, we play very smart defense, and then get the occasional timely hit,” said Tesone. “We are not going to beat you 14-12 but if the game is 6-4, I like our chances.”

Tesone likes his team’s chances as it wraps up the summer with tournaments in South Brunswick and Hillsborough over the next two weeks.

“I am proud of how the boys have played throughout this summer,” asserted Tesone.

“I look at the overall picture of how they are doing. I have always mentioned to the boys that if you put your effort out there, win or lose, you walk off the field with your head held high. Effort is what we measure, not the outcome. We look at all that and I like the promise of what it leads to for the next two tournaments.”

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