Glendora 12-Year-Olds Eliminated By Heights

BARRINGTON—It only took one bad defensive inning for tournament season to end on Thursday night.

Glendora committed two costly errors in the third inning, allowing their opponent, Haddon Heights, to score all five of their runs. The Heights pitching did the rest, holding Glendora's offense to just two hits and defeating them 5-1. The loss eliminated Glendora's 12-year-olds from the District 14 tournament.

“The plays in the field really killed us,” said Glendora manager Mark Lesch. “Our pitching was excellent, our guys hung in there and battled. That one inning we didn't make the plays and that was the difference in the game.”

The costly third inning began on a strange play at first base, where Glendora first baseman Raymond Steward got blocked by Haddon Heights baserunner Brooks Warren and was unable to grab the throw from pitcher Dante Masino. The error gave Heights the momentum they needed, as Warren would score on a sacrifice fly two batters later to give Heights the lead.

Later in the inning, with two outs and the score 2-0 in favor of Haddon Heights, a couple of misplayed balls in the outfield by Glendora added on to the deficit. With help from a triple by Heights' John Taylor, Glendora would allow three more runs to fall behind 5-0.

On the other side of things, Heights' starting pitcher Patrick Durkin threw 4 2/3 innings of no-hit ball. Glendora didn't get a hit until the bottom of the fifth, when Gian Liccketto, playing in his first game of the tournament because of an injury, laced a single up the middle.

“Our hitting let us down a little bit unexpectedly,” said Lesch. “But ultimately, it was the fielding that hurt most. If it was a 1-1 game, I think we'd eke out a run sooner or later.”

Outside of a slow start with the bats and one bad defensive inning, Glendora played quality baseball. Both Masino and relief pitcher Brandon Jones were effective on the mound, as Haddon Heights managed just four hits in the game, three of them coming in that critical third inning. Solid infield plays in both the fourth and the sixth inning by Glendora also prevented Heights from advancing runners to third.

In the sixth inning, with Glendora down to their final out, they were able to manage one run across the plate. took a 1-1 pitch and slammed it over the fence in straightaway center field for a solo home run to make the score 5-1. And while the run may have been too little, too late, it was proof of the fight and determination Glendora showed in the final three innings.

“I just felt amazed, really,” said McGettigan about his home run. “It really good to help the team get back up.”

In the end, Glendora's 12-year-olds won two straight games and were one of the final six teams left in the District 14 tournament. Still, this is a team that was obviously hoping to go much further.

“I think we're all disappointed,” said Lesch. “I think we could have went a little further, but I'm proud of the kids, they did a great job all year for us. They're a group of kids and they did everything we asked.”

“Last year when I was in 9-10 year olds, we won there,” said McGettigan, “but as far as we got, I think it was pretty good.”