GOLD STANDARD: Princeton Little League (PLL) player Brady Goldsmith takes a swing in the District 12 Intermediate 50/70 tournament final last Wednesday against Lawrence at Farmview Fields. Goldsmith provided some clutch hitting for Princeton in the contest, going 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI as PLL fell 10-9. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
As the Princeton Little League (PLL) team hosted the District 12 Intermediate 50/70 tournament last week at Farmview Fields, it provided plenty of drama.
In its opener of the double-elimination competition on June 22, Princeton trailed Lawrence 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning and scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and two in the seventh to earn a 4-3 walk-off victory.
Two days later, needing a win to earn the title, Princeton fell behind Lawrence 5-0 in the top of the first but chipped away to draw within 7-6. PLL, though, was unable to push across another run as it fell by that score.
Last Wednesday evening in the “if-necessary” decisive contest, PLL jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first only to yield five runs to Lawrence in the bottom of the frame. Lawrence extended its lead to 10-5 heading into the seventh but Princeton kept battling, scoring four runs but couldn’t add any more as it fell 10-9 to end its quest for the District 12 title.
PLL manager Brett Shaver credited his players with fighting to the final out.
“We battled back in the seventh inning, they had us down to our last strike three times and we kept putting it in play,” said Shaver.
“The boys were taking a strike and being patient. To play three close games, it was like a college World Series thing. It was crazy. It was back and forth. We were one or two pitches away from winning.”
Shaver’s son, Michael, and Reggie Wright helped power the PLL batting attack as Shaver went 3-for-3 with a homer, a double, two runs and two RBIs on Wednesday and Wright blasted a homer in the 7-6 loss a day earlier.
“This is Michael’s last Little League game in Princeton, he has been here since T-ball,” said Shaver. “This was the most dialed in he has been at the plate. That might have been his first home run on any of these fields over the fence in a game. Reggie is an unbelievable athlete, we timed the kids and Reggie ran a 6.6 60 as a seventh grader. Our 13-year-olds hit well. It was nice to see Michael and Reggie get home runs in this.”
PLL got some gutsy mound efforts as Brady Goldsmith and Kameron Padgett handled the pitching duties in the 7-6 loss while Conan Odell and Ewan Dunn took the ball on Wednesday.
“Brady came out and threw as well as he can throw,” said Shaver, noting that Goldsmith went five innings and didn’t give up any runs after the first. “He held it together and came back and pitched great. Kam came in and pitched awesome. Conan maybe didn’t have his best stuff today but he battled through it. He got better throughout the game. Then Ewan came in, it was the first time he has pitched in one of these tournaments and he was one or two feet away of getting out of there with no runs.”
After it was over, the Lawrence fans and parents showed their appreciation for PLL’s fighting spirit, giving the Princeton players an extended ovation as they received their silver medals.
“We walk away with heads up and really happy with the way they battled, that is the message,” said Shaver. “Some of the boys on these teams play with each other and against each other; it was very competitive, but high class the whole time.”