From a small town in Bergen County, New Jersey, with a population of just around 10,000, a group of Hillsdale students achieved unprecedented success. The 14U Hillsdale Hawks baseball team qualified for the 2023 Junior Little League World Series (JLLWS) in Taylor, Michigan. The team consisted of players from the freshman and sophomore classes at Pascack Valley.
Hillsdale was one of the 12 teams to qualify for the tournament and represented the entire East Region, yet Hillsdale’s path to the JLLWS was a tall and difficult task.
“Obviously the process to get there involved a ton of tournament play beforehand,” shortstop and PV freshman Drew Kirkby said. “We had to win the district tournament, the sectional tournament, and the state tournament. There’s a lot of traveling [involved]. It can get tiring at some points and also take a mental toll on not only the players but the parents and coaches.”
Two years ago in 12U, the team was in the New Jersey State Tournament and on track to make the Little League World Series in Williamsport. However, the team was knocked out of the tournament by Toms River East Little League.
This past summer, Hillsdale took revenge, knocking out Toms River East in the state tournament.
“A great moment of the whole [process] was beating Toms River in the state tournament,” second baseman and PV sophomore Ethan Rettew said. “We lost to them during 12U, and they knocked off our regional chances.”
In the preliminary tournaments leading up to JLLWS, no team defeated Hillsdale. At the Regional Tournament, which qualified them for the JLLWS, Hillsdale outscored its opponents 37-8 in four games.
While being aired on TV, the players enjoyed the experience and what it was like to be on the big stage.
“[I think] the media experience was amazing,” Rettew said. “We all got interviewed at one point, which was pretty cool. The fact we were all on TV and our names were being said felt amazing. It was cool to represent our whole town and our families.”
Hillsdale opened up the tournament against Elmhurst Youth Baseball/River Forest Youth Little League of Illinois, who represented the Central Region. Hillsdale took the opening round victory, 4-2, behind starter Max Stalb who pitched 2.2 innings and set the tone with 5 strikeouts.
“I had the defense backing me up,” Stalb, a current PV freshman, said. “Before the game, I didn’t warm up too well, but when I went out there, I felt confident, and I was doing better.”
This first win meant the Hillsdale Hawks were one step closer to winning the JLLWS, giving the team confidence heading into the next one.
“Knowing we could hang around with these teams gave us a good confidence booster for the rest of the tournament,” left-fielder and PV freshman Evan Gallucci said. “It was very important to win the first game. It set the tempo through the tournament. It [was] a good feeling.”
Two days later, Hillsdale’s next game was against Irmo Little League of South Carolina, who represented the Southeast Region. In this defensively minded game, Hillsdale scored two runs early and won the game by a final 2-0. In the game, Rettew had Hillsdale’s first, and game-winning, RBI. The victory would make Hillsdale the only team with a 2-0 record in the tournament at the time.
“I always have to take the first strike,” Rettew stated. “To be honest, I was looking to take a walk, and I worked a 3-2 count, and eventually saw the pitch I wanted and got a hit.”
Confidence was high heading into the squad’s third game against the defending champs Taylor, Michigan—winners of the 2021 Little League World Series in Williamsport.
This game, though, was pushed back one day due to inclement weather in Michigan, causing the loser of the game to play again that night in an elimination game.
The experience and home field advantage of Taylor, Michigan proved to be too much for Hillsdale, as the boys fell 3-1, giving Hillsdale its first loss in over 45 days.
Not even eight hours later, Hillsdale was back on the diamond, facing Irmo Little League of South Carolina, who they had defeated 2-0 four days earlier.
In the top of the seventh inning with two outs and a man on first base, Hillsdale was unable to drive the runner in, eliminating Hillsdale from the Junior Little League World Series Championship.
Even with Hillsdale’s elimination, the team decided to play an exhibition game against Canada. There was no score kept, but the players were able to enjoy their last game in Taylor, Michigan.
“It was a good feeling to play against an international team,” right-fielder and PV freshman Justin Morgan said. “We couldn’t really understand them because they were speaking French, but it was a really cool experience.”
Hillsdale finished 3rd out of American teams and 5th overall.
At the JLLWS, catcher and current PV freshman Frankie Gravina led the team with a .400 batting average. Sam Stalb, a current freshman at PV, led the team with a .500 on base percentage. Stalb also led with three runs scored, while Evan Gallucci led the team with three stolen bases. On the mound, Max Stalb had a record of 1-1, with a 1.62 ERA and recorded eleven strikeouts. Drew Kirkby closed both of Hillsdale’s wins, recording two saves and two strikeouts.
“It was super fun to meet the different people from the countries around the world,” outfielder and PV freshman Jason Wormer said. “It was super cool to see their different cultures, and it was fun talking to them and later playing [against] them.”
Roster (players from Pascack Valley):
Coaches:Head Coach: Chris Kirkby
Assistant Coach: Greg Stalb
Assistant Coach: Frank Gravina
