GOLD STAR: Princeton Little League player Brady Goldsmith unloads the ball in action last weekend in the District 12 Intermediate 50/70 tournament at the Farmview Fields. Last Friday, Goldsmith, a rising seventh grader at Princeton Middle School, pitched 5 2/3 innings on the mound with two strikeouts and went 1 for 2 with a walk at the plate in a losing cause as Princeton fell 5-3 to Lawrence to get knocked out of the double-elimination competition. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

Brady Goldsmith didn’t want it to end.

With the Princeton Little League (PLL) squad having lost 7-0 to Nottingham last Wednesday to start action in the District 12 Intermediate 50/70 tournament, Goldsmith and his PLL teammates had their backs to the wall in the double-elimination competition as they faced Lawrence last Friday at the Farmview Fields.

“We were just trying to stay alive,” said Goldsmith, a rising seventh grader at Princeton Middle School. “It was just get the win to keep playing.”

Goldsmith had matters in his hands as he got the start on the mound for Princeton. In taking the ball, Goldsmith wasn’t looking to overpower Lawrence.

“It was get people out and get ground balls towards the defense,” said Goldsmith. “I trust them a lot, especially my catcher Jake [Lutz].”

While right-hander Goldsmith gave up a run in the first inning, he got into a groove as the game went on.

“I felt like everything was working today, both my fastball and my curve ball,” said Goldsmith, who ended up going 5 2/3 innings with two strikeouts and three walks, yielding six hits and three runs.

After being shut out against Nottingham, Princeton got off to a fast start offensively as it plated two runs in the bottom of the first. Star catcher Lutz belted a triple to drive in a run and then scored on a ground out.

Lawrence responded with two runs in the second to go ahead 3-2. Princeton knotted the game at 3-3 in the fourth after Lutz smacked a single and scored on a wild pitch.

In the top of the seventh, Lawrence took the lead with two runs.

Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Lutz ripped a line drive that was snagged by Lawrence. After another out, Goldsmith batted and kept Princeton alive as he grounded a single up the middle.

For Goldsmith, coming through in the clutch was a confidence builder.

“It was big for me,” said Goldsmith. “I have been bragging this whole season about not striking out. Last game I struck out two times and went 0 for 2. This game, I went 1 for 2.”

Princeton, though, was unable to capitalize on Goldsmith’s hit as it fell 5-3.

While the loss was disappointing, Princeton manager Eric Fitzgerald was proud of way his squad bounced back after the loss into opener.

“We knew we faced a very tough pitcher with Nottingham,” said Fitzgerald. “The boys knew that we were going to have a shot in this game. We knew we were going to put the ball in play and hit and field and we were going to have a good fight on our hands.”

The first inning rally was a good sign for Princeton. “It was huge, right away we wanted to get on the board,” said Fitzgerald. “The top of our lineup is very strong. We knew we were going to be able to put a little pressure on them and we did. We won that first inning.”

Fitzgerald credited Goldsmith with producing a strong performance on the mound.

“Brady was fantastic,” said Fitzgerald. “He was throwing a lot of strikes, he mixed his pitches very well. He had 85 pitches; he almost went six innings for us.”

Although the bottom of the seventh inning didn’t go
well for Princeton, Fitzgerald had no qualms with his team’s effort.

“I thought that was going to be a triple, that is just how baseball is,” said Fitzgerald of Lutz’s blast. “Everybody was putting the ball in play, nobody gave up. We just didn’t have a couple of balls drop our way
which ended up happening in the end.”

Fitzgerald saw good progress from his players in the wake of the loss to Nottingham, who went on to win the tournament.

“I thought our fielding as much better, we made the majority of the plays in the field,” said Fitzgerald. “Our pitching was better, we threw a lot more strikes than we had in the first game and a pitching staff. We had like 140 and something pitches through seven innings and in this game we were able to get through with something like 110. I like that the kids were up there aggressive at bat. Everybody was up there looking to swing.”

Looking ahead, Fitzgerald is upbeat about the program’s prospects.

“We have a very young team. We had three 13-year-olds and the rest of them are 12 or 11, so we have a lot of kids that are probably going to come back next year,” said Fitzgerald. “I told them to continue to work hard, use the offseason to improve, learn from the mistakes that we made out here, and come back stronger next year.”

In Goldsmith’s view, the squad showed plenty of improvement from game one to game two.

“It was a lot better,” said Goldsmith. “We came out fighting and energetic. Everybody did great, all of us.”