GAMES – Lower Native Paul Will Celebrates Son’s Baseball Prowess

Paul Will grew up in North Cape May and graduated from Lower Cape May Regional in 1969. He met Sally Parker, an Oreland, Pa., girl who summered in Cape May. That was 33 years ago. The couple made their residence in Sally’s hometown but both of their families maintained homes in Cape May so the Wills spent virtually every weekend in Cape May County.
“Sally was at the University of Maryland and wanted to earn her master’s degree from Temple University so we went to live closer to the school,” said Will, a heating and air conditioning contractor. “But we’ve always maintained a home here and we come every weekend throughout the year.”
Paul and Sally, a financial planner for Merrill Lynch, had one child, Matt. Now 22, he recently graduated from Franklin and Marshall University with a dual degree in Spanish and economics. Late next month he heads to Della Garcia, Spain, to teach English.
Prior to seeking a higher education, Matt was a superb catcher for Upper Dublin High School. “Unfortunately, we weren’t very good as a high school baseball team,” said Matt.
While his team struggled, young Will was honored as the team’s most valuable player in his junior and senior years. He won the squad’s top defender award three times.
Will competed in the prestigious Carpenter Cup as a junior and senior and was a Suburban One American All-Conference selection in his junior and senior seasons.
“We didn’t win a lot of games in high school,” said Will. “I was recruited as a catcher and I wanted to find the best of both worlds with athletics and academics. I wanted to play all four years and wanted a place that my parents could reasonably reach to see my games.”
Will settled on Lancaster’s Franklin and Marshall, which is a 65-mile, 90-minute trip from Oreland. Paul almost all of his son’s games and Sally made most of them as well.
“The only game dad missed was when he had knee surgery,” said Will.
As a Division III school, the Diplomats could not offer an athletic scholarship but Will earned financial assistance for his academic prowess.
By the time he was finished, Will was the 2011 NCAA Division III statistical champion in walks per game at 1.08. He led the Centennial Conference in on-base percentage (.546), runs scored (46) and walks (41). He batted .369 and smacked 45 hits with 13 steals and 53 total bases to lead the club. He led the squad to a 22-18 record and a playoff appearance.
For his college career Will boasted a .511 on-base percentage, 165 hits, a .367 batting average and 50 stolen bases.
Looking for a place to play summer ball after his freshman college season, Will hooked up with the Lower Township White Sox. At 5-8, 160 pounds, Will converted to middle infield before his sophomore season with the Diplomats.
The Black Sox were not around for the following summer so Will relied upon his relationship with another Franklin and Marshall player, Doug Hiltner of Margate. Hiltner’s father, Yogi, is the guru of Margate baseball and the president of the venerable Atlantic County Baseball League. The ACBL is recognized as the best quality of adult baseball in the region and Will signed on for a club that would win the league championship.
Heading into his senior year Will joined another ACBL, this one was the Atlantic College Baseball League, a place where college athletes hone their skills with scouts in regular attendance. He spent that summer with the Lehigh Valley Cats before returning to Margate this summer where the Hurricanes were runners-up to Northfield.
“Playing with Margate was good baseball and a lot of fun,” said Will. “The way the guys go about it is fun. It’s a more relaxed atmosphere whereas guys in the college summer league were super competitive all the time.”
Will said he had a couple of looks from Phillies’ scouts and he informed them that he was headed overseas for the teaching opportunity in Spain which was arranged through Franklin and Marshall.
“I told them I wanted to go and that I wanted to keep playing baseball,” said Will. “I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do with baseball while I’m in Spain. If something happens with that, great, if not, that’s OK, too. I’ve got a lot of good options going with this teaching opportunity and with baseball in the future.”
Reach Rossi at joerossi61@comcast.net