Newtown Jr. Legion Prep Baseball Takes Third in Bucks County Division

By Wendy Mitchell:

Newtown Jr. Legion Prep team manager Jim Miller told Patch Monday that although his team did not take first place, they had a lot of heart and soul throughout the season.

The Junior Legion Prep team finished in the Bucks County division in 3rd place with 12 wins, 11 losses and 1 tie. They played second place Northampton, beating them in a best of three series 2 games to 1. They won a 1-game state play-in game vs. Valley out of Hazleton. The game was played in Pottstown and Newtown won 3 to 0 over the course of 2 days due to a thunderstorm.

They advanced to states but still had to play the first place team in the Bucks division, Lower Southampton, to determine the division champ. Lower South beat Newtown 2 games to 1 in a best of three series. Both teams advanced to states, Lower South as division champs and Newtown due to winning the play-in game. Eight teams advanced to states. Newtown drew a game against Westchester and lost 7 to 6 on Saturday, then unfortunately lost to Liberty out of Allentown 12 to 9, causing the team to be eliminated.

Miller said of the experience, “We had a great run as our team got hot when it mattered.”

The team faced some tough challenges over the course of the series. The lead-off hitter and center fielder broke three ribs in the division championship game vs. Lower South after being drilled by a pitch in his back. Another player was out of town, so the team went to states with only 9 players, “which is tough,” Miller said.

During the game vs. Liberty Newtown’s third baseman slid into third base, spraining his ankle in the 6th inning and had to finish the game hopping on one foot.

Despite these challenges, Newtown’s Jr. Prep baseball team still had fun. Miller said by the end of the series, the team created a nickname, the “Newtown Noodoldez.”

“The kids would laugh every time they said it, so it sort of stuck. We even had it printed in the state program, “Newtown Noodoldez,” Miller said.

“Our team has a lot of heart and they gave it their all, but fell a little short in states. All in all it was a fantastic season for these boys, to end up 1 of 8 teams in the state championship for Jr. Legion Prep,” Miller said.

Photo credit: Jim Miller