West Deptford Juniors Fall Short of Title

The West Deptford Junior League All-Star team certainly made a case as to why it was deserving of a right to represent District 15 in the Section 4 Tournament next week.

However, Saturday just wasn’t the team's day.

West Deptford saw its postseason run come to an end at the hands of Glassboro, who won Saturday’s final, 7-4, in Deptford to advance to the next stage.

“I’m proud of my boys,” said West Deptford manager Ivan Cuevas. “They played a real good game, tough game and came up short. We got a good group of kids in West Deptford and it is an honor to coach for them.”

West Deptford entered the championship having demonstrating the ability to excel in all three phases of the game, but things never quite materialized Saturday.

Glassboro took a 1-0 lead on the first on a bloop single that fell in shallow right. West Deptford got that run back quickly in the bottom of the frame thanks to Isaiah Easterland’s legs. Easterland made it to second when his two-out grounder to short was thrown away. He then stole third and was able to stroll home when the catcher’s throw bounced into right field.

Glassboro took back the lead in an unconventional manner in the second, as Robbie Villect scored on a dropped third strike that made its way to the backstop. The strikeout would have ended the inning.

West Deptford again battled back in the bottom of the inning, this time getting a big swing from Josh Blackiston. The West Deptford first baseman blasted a solo shot to left center to tie the game at 2-2.

Unfortunately for West Deptford, the game started to get away from them in the third. After an error in the infield and a fly ball that went uncaught put runners on first and second with no outs, Jimmy Schmittinger connected on a three-run home run that gave Glassboro a 5-2 lead.

Even after the big homer, West Deptford refused to go away. The team scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to close to within 5-4. Easterland singled and scored and Philly Mattalucci drove in Blackiston with an RBI single.

“These kids belong here,” Cuevas said. “They are All-Star hitters.”

Glassboro tacked on a solo runs in the fifth and seventh while the West Deptford offense finally ran out of gas.

Despite the loss, Cuevas said his players had nothing to hang their heads about. Only one team can get out of the district, and on Saturday, that team was Glassboro.

“After the game I told them they played a hell of a game, just came up short,” Cuevas said. “We lost today, but we won throughout the season to get here.”