Two Steps From Williamsport: Blackwood’s Little Leaguers Made Us Proud

There’s a version of this story that ends with a trophy, and that version belongs to Bayonne, who beat Blackwood Kiwanis 9-3 to win the New Jersey Little League state title and punch a ticket toward South Williamsport. But that’s not the only story worth telling, and around here it might not even be the best one. Because the summer Blackwood put together — the second trip to the final four in three years — is the kind of run a Camden County town remembers long after it forgets the final score.

Let’s start with what these kids actually did. Blackwood Kiwanis came into the Joe Graziano State Tournament as the District 14 champion, which already puts them in rare air. Thirty-two districts feed into this thing. By the time the field got to Cresskill, it was down to four teams — Cresskill, Bayonne, Nottingham and Blackwood. Four. Out of everybody. And one of those four was our team, a group of 11- and 12-year-olds from right here in Gloucester Township, playing baseball in the second week of August with the whole state watching.

What the final four actually takes

I’ve covered enough youth sports to tell you what that final four means, and it isn’t luck. It’s a spring and a summer. It’s a coach who ran the same rundown drill forty times because the forty-first is the one that shows up in a state tournament. It’s a pitcher’s father charting pitch counts on a clipboard so nobody’s arm gets overused. It’s moms in folding chairs behind the backstop who learned the infield fly rule out of necessity. Getting to the final four the way Blackwood did takes an entire town deciding, quietly, that this matters.

The final against Bayonne didn’t go our way. Nine to three is a real score, and Bayonne earned every bit of that state title — they’ll represent New Jersey at the Metro Region Tournament in Bristol, Connecticut, which runs August 8 through 14, with the winner advancing to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, from August 19 to 30. That’s the road, and Bayonne’s on it. Good for them.

Why this isn’t a loss

Here’s what I want the kids from Blackwood to hear: a runner-up finish at the state level is not a loss. It’s an achievement most players who ever put on a Little League uniform never come close to. Reaching the final four for the second time in three years isn’t a fluke — it’s a program. And this is where I’ll get on my usual soapbox, because youth athletics don’t fund themselves. The fields get maintained by volunteers. The uniforms get paid for by local sponsors — the Kiwanis name on the front of that jersey isn’t decoration, it’s a community organization deciding that kids’ baseball is worth investing in.

What’s coming home is better than a trophy and lasts longer: a group of kids who found out what they’re capable of, and a town that remembered why it loves this game.Jake Sullivan

Two steps from Williamsport, and only getting started. That’s a summer worth cheering. See you at the field next spring.

Based on reporting from Community News, Yahoo Sports, and Little League Baseball.