SJ Sports: Little Leagues Do Mt. Laurel Proud

One little league team winning a title for a town is impressive. Two is in the same summer is remarkable.

The nine- and 12-year-old baseball teams in the Cal Ripken Little League made memorable runs in their respective tournaments. Both teams advanced through the state tournament and eventually captured regional crowns.

John Doulong coached the 12-year-olds and is also one of the members of the league's board of directors. He realizes just how special this past baseball season was in Mt. Laurel.

"It's the first time that I can recall any team from Mt. Laurel winning the states," said Doulong. "We were thrilled to do that. To go on to win the regionals was really breaking new ground."

The 12-year olds received several of their toughest tests in their own district. The locals almost dropped their opening game, but held on to beat Northern Burlington, 10-9, after the visitors loaded the bases in the last inning. Next was border-rival Marlton. Mt. Laurel took the first game, 9-8, but lost the second contest by a count of 8-3. In the deciding game, Mt. Laurel bounced back to take the district flag with a 3-1 win.

"We definitely learned how to win tough games," Doulong said. "If we had lost that first game, we probably wouldn't have made it out of the district. Marlton has a fantastic team and they're about as good a team as we faced before we got to the World Series."

The state tournament was held in Millville and the locals had an easier time against the rest of the teams from New Jersey. Mt. Laurel went a perfect 5-0 in the tourney and took the crown with back-to-back victories over Montgomery.

Next up was a trip to Solomons Island, Maryland for the regional tournament. Mt. Laurel opened up with wins over Western New York and Pennsylvania as they advanced to the winners bracket to face the hosts from Maryland. Mt. Laurel took the first game, 3-2, but lost the second game, 13-6. Once again, Mt. Laurel was forced to take the field for a winner-take-all contest. The locals came through with a 9-5 win, and the regional crown belonged to Mt. Laurel. The locals moved onto the Cal Ripken Little League World Series where they lost three of four games, but the experience of reaching the World Series was unforgettable for the area stars.

"We lost our first game to the team that went on to win the World Series," Doulong said. "We feel that we actually outplayed them. We realized that we could beat teams like the ones we faced."

The nine-year olds also had a memorable run. Mt. Laurel easily won the district tournament by outscoring their opponents, 34-7, in three games. Mt. Laurel dominated in the state competition by going 4-0 and capturing the crown with an 18-8 victory over Montgomery Township.

The locals lost, 6-5, in 12 innings to Pennsylvania-Central Perkiomen in the regional opener. They bounced back with six straight wins, including two over Emmonton of Maryland, to win the regionals. The team that had played a 12-inning marathon and two doubleheaders in a five-day span had captured the crown. Head coach Bill Royds gave plenty of credit to his team as well as the parents who supported them throughout the title run.

Climbing The Ranks
Former Lenape High School pitcher B.J. Benik is opening some eyes in the Chicago Cubs farm system. The former Indian completed the season in the Cubs' advanced Class A affiliate in Daytona after spending the first half of the season in single A Lansing. Benik finished with a record of 2-2 in Daytona. He started in all five games that he pitched in and went a combined 23 2/3 innings. Benik's most impressive statistic in his Daytona starts was his strikeout/walk ratio. Benik struck out 14 hitters and walked just three.

Before getting the call up to Daytona, Benik emerged as Lansing's top pitcher. The former Lenape star racked up a record of 6-2 as a starter with an astonishing 1.34 ERA, the top earned run average in the Midwest League. He pitched his first complete game on July 20 when he blanked Dayton, 7-0.

Benik began the year as a reliever for the Lugnuts. He went 1-1 with a 1.61 ERA out of the bullpen and eventually worked his way into the rotation. He finished 2-1 with a 1.70 ERA in the month of July.

Benik continues to develop as one of the CubsÂ? top pitching prospects. His performance may earn him a trip to Chicago's Double A team in West Tennessee next spring. If Benik continues to pitch the way he has this season, his final stop may be Wrigley Field.

Target Practice
Sue Burns knows there is a bull's eye on the back of the girl's soccer team at Lenape. The Indians' head coach guided the locals to the top spot in the South Jersey rankings last fall en route to an Olympic American Division championship. This season, the rest of the Olympic Conference teams have Lenape circled on their schedule. It is the price the Indians have to pay for emerging as one of the top teams in South Jersey.

"We've actually had that bull's eye for a couple of years now," said Burns. "It's very difficult, especially in our conference. It doesn't matter who we play. They just want to knock Lenape off the top spot."

The Indians finished with a record of 18-3 last season. They advanced to the finals of the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs before falling to Brick Memorial in the title game. For the players that have returned from last year's campaign, there is plenty of motivation to get back to the championship this fall and go one step further.

"The girls are always striving for a championship," Burns said. "Brick is an excellent team and it's always a great game when we play them."

Senior Jamie Weist, one of the top midfielders in South Jersey, leads the Indians. Weist has been a fixture at center midfield since she was a freshman. Ashley Corkery is also one of the top players for the Indians.

"The goal isn't just to make it to the South Jersey finals," said Burns. "The goal is to make it to the state finals. We have a good group of girls back this year and I think we'll still be pretty strong throughout the rest of the season."

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

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Author: Ed Benkin