West Deptford 10-11s Fall in Sectionals, See Season as Success

It’s a tough reality to accept, but at each age group, only one Little League team that competes during the All-Star season and reaches the elimination round won't end its season with a loss.

It’s that reality that the West Deptford 10-11 All-Star team was forced to accept after falling 10-2 to Erial ended its season Saturday night.

While the team was disappointed that it lost back-to-back games in the Section 4 tournament, the players had no reason to hang their heads after representing the town so well, winning a District 15 title.

“We weren’t real disappointed, because we felt like anything after winning district championship is gravy for these guys,” said manager Gus Knestaut.

West Deptford came out swinging in the top of the first, and built a 2-0 lead on thanks to a leadoff single by Casey Schramm and RBI hits from Adrian Mason and Cole Malsbury.

However, the lead was short-lived, as Erial scored four runs in the bottom of the frame, thanks in part to two walks and two errors, and never looked back.

“We went up 2-0 in top of the first, and I don’t know if the air came out of our balloon, but we couldn’t get out of the first inning, and after that it was all downhill,” Knestaut said.

West Deptford’s offense continued to produce baserunners, but could not get anyone around to home plate. It got the leadoff hitter on in all six innings, but it wasn’t enough to keep the team from elimination.

“We hit the ball the entire game,“ Knestaut said. “Every time we hit the ball, we seemed to hit it at them.”

Friday’s loss represented the end of this season, but the weeks prior showed the future looks great.

“A lot of these kids are already talking about winning districts again as 12-year-olds,” Knestaut said. “That says something to what we are building here.”