HTRBA Catcher Joe Lemly and Pitcher Tyler Dunmeyer celebrate. Photo by John Blaine.
By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com
July 9: One of the unsung heroes in HTRBA’s march to the District 12 title was catcher Joe Lemly.
In Little League, a solid defensive catcher is incredibly important due to the number of balls that bounce in the dirt. Many a game has been lost due to runners scoring or advancing on wild pitches.
But Lemly was rock solid behind the plate for HTRBA. His absence was noticeable in game two of districts when eight Nottingham runners advanced on six errant pitches that went to the backstop.
“Joe’s probably one of the best athletes on the field,” manager Tim O’Sullivan said. “We tried him out in centerfield in practices, and really he can go get any ball out there as well.
“But we felt it was a little more important that we had him behind the plate so we could throw the pitches we wanted to throw. We wouldn’t have to suffer when we were ahead in the count. We could throw a ball in the dirt because he’s got some cat like reflexes back there and he’s really good behind the plate.”
Lemly, who added two hits and a run in the title-clincher against West Windsor, prides himself on his defense.
“Pretty hard,” he said when asked how much he focuses on his catching. “I work on it every practice, blocking the ball, locating it.”
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While HTRBA’s offense was lauded throughout districts by virtue of scoring 50 runs, the pitching was pretty impressive in its own right. Hurlers Uriel Sanchez, Nick Csillan and Tyler Dunmeyer allowed just 16 hits and eight runs in four tournament wins.
“It really was great,” O’Sullivan said. “We knew we had good pitching going in, and we had Nick ready to go today if we needed him.”
Good pitching is where it all starts, and it was supported by timely hitting and excellent defense as HTRBA was on top of its game throughout the tournament.
“I think we were,” O’Sullivan said. “Once we got past Robbinsville, where we didn’t hit much but still won, we felt good about ourselves and thought we’d come out and put a good game together today, which we did.”
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While it’s always nice to play in the sectionals, it’s even nicer to do it at home, which is where HTRBA will be. The entire Section 3 Tournament is at Van Horn Field.
“That means a lot,” Lemly said. “That gives us the home field advantage”
“That’s big,” Dunmeyer added. “We know the field, so that’s key. We know the dirt spots, the mound.”
And with all the HTRBA fans close by, the players are looking for a nice turnout.
“We got amazing support at districts, I couldn’t believe it,” Dunmeyer said. “I can’t wait to have the games at home and have all the fans there.”
With that, he had a message for Hamilton Township’s Little League faithful.
“Come to the sectionals, have fun, cheer us on and watch us play some baseball.”
Cole Given also chipped in, saying, “Come out and watch HTRBA play.”
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Just call him Nick “Large” Csillan “With Pepperoni”.
Names are always butchered by PA announcers in little league and high school press boxes around the world and most people usually have fun with it. So we will too.
Kevin Stanford does an outstanding job announcing districts at Sayen Park and makes the kids feel special with his “Touch ‘em all!” home run call. But Stanford also had one of the more comical mis-pronunciations with Csillan’s name. Pronounced “Sill-on”, Nick was being introduced as Nick Sicilian.
“I kept telling him to go hit me a slice,” O’Sullivan said.
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This is the fourth 12-year-old District 12 title for HTRBA. In 1996 it won sectionals, in 1998 it lost to Todd Frazier’s Toms River World Series champs in the sectional final, and in 2004 it won sectionals and states.
