Tri-County Men’s League Gears Up For Baseball Championship
The championship of the Tri-County men’s baseball league will take place this week when the Washington Township Senators meet defending champion Pitman in the best-of-three championship series. It will be the second consecutive year these two teams will be meeting in the finals. Pitman, which was known last year as Cherry Hill/Pitman, beat the Senators in dramatic fashion last year when Luke Lesch hit a walk-off two-run homer in the 12th inning in a 7-5 victory to win the series 2-0.
Here is the schedule this week with all three games to be played at Pitman’s Alcyon Park.
Game 1: Monday, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary) 7 p.m.
This is a league that consists of many current and former college stars. Many of the players have competed in South Jersey high schools and colleges.
This is a wooden bat league, and the two finalists will be playing for the coveted Carter Cup.
Here is a look at the teams.
Pitman
This is a franchise on certified roll. Known previously has either Cherry Hill/Pitman or Cherry Hill, the team is now called Pitman, and it is making its fourth consecutive appearance in the championship series.
In 2023 and 2024 Pitman lost to the Roughriders of Haddonfield in the championship series before winning last year over the Senators.
One of the big leaders for Pitman is greybeard Chris Rollins, a 2005 Winslow Township graduate who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of high school. He didn’t turn professional out of high school, deciding to compete for Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester. Rollins eventually played minor league baseball for the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres organizations and also spent several years playing independent baseball.
Rollins, who is the current pitching coach at Rowan University and who turns 40 next month, has remained an effective performer. This year he is 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA, with 45 strikeouts in 26.6 innings pitched.
His cousin Lucas Rollins, a former standout at Collingswood and St. Joseph’s University, is another key pitcher with a 2-2 record and 1.86 ERA.
Lesch, who played at Gloucester Catholic and Rider University, is among the team’s threats at the plate, although he enters the championship series batting .241.
This season Pitman earned a bye into the quarterfinals and won that series over the Roughriders, 2-0. Pitman then earned a 2-1 series win over Garton’s of Vineland in the semifinal. The deciding game was a 5-1 win as Chris Rollins earned the victory pitching five innings of 1-hit ball, and Lesch hit a home run and single while driving in two runs.
Washington Township Senators
This will be the Senators’ third time in the championship series appearance since joining the league in 2013. and they are looking for their first Carter Cup title. Besides last year, the Senators were also in the 2014 championship, losing to Garton’s of Vineland.
The Senators won their opening series 2-0 over the Burlington Township Pirates. They then won the quarterfinal series over CHBR/Third Base, 2-0. In the semifinals, the Senators again earned a 2-0 series win over the South Jersey Grizzlies. The clincher was a 2-0 victory as former Washington Township standout Nick Evangilista earned the complete-game win. That improved his record to 5-1 with a 1.67 ERA.
The Senators offense is led by shortstop Phil Sedalis, a former standout at Deptford High and Rowan University. This year he is batting .389 with four home runs and 21 RBIs. He is also 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 10 innings pitched.
It should be a great series, culminating matters in this highly competitive 11-team league.
Washington Township Senators / Marc Narducci
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Author: Marc Narducci
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