The Boyertown Black Bears won the Oley Valley Youth League Memorial Baseball Tournament this weekend in convincing fashion, going undefeated for the tournament and winning their five games by a combined 60-9 score.
The team went 2-0 in pool play on Saturday, beating Brandywine 15-0 and Mifflin 11-1. In the Brandywine game, Tyler T, Cole N and Jackson K each went 2-2, driving in 11 of the team's 15 runs. Jameson Y and Jackson K held Brandywine to 1 hit across four mercy rule-shortened innings. In pool play game 2, Tyler T went 3-3 to lead Black Bears batters. Tyler T and Cole N teamed up on the mound to hold Mifflin to 2 hits over 4 innings.
The Black Bears opened the single elimination playoffs Sunday morning with a rematch against Mifflin. The outcome was the same as the original contest, with the Black Bears coming out on top. Jackson K dazzled on the mound, no-hitting Mifflin while striking out 8. Mifflin got on the board first after a lead-off walk came around to score. The Black Bears evened things up in the bottom of the first when Tyler T singled and eventually scored on an RBI groundout by Connor H. The tide turned in the third after Jackson K threw a near-immaculate top of the third, striking out the side on 10 pitches. The Black Bears scored 3 in the bottom of the third on doubles by Jackson K and Connor H, followed by a Jameson Y homer. After a 1-2-3 top of the fourth, the Black Bears added 6 runs in the bottom of the frame to put the game away, bringing 9 batters to the plate.
The semifinal playoff game was against Pine Forge. The Black Bears started things off in the top of the first with 2 runs driven in by a Connor H single. Pine Forge clawed a run back in the bottom of the first but the Black Bears regained the 3-run advantage when Jake M singled and later scored. Pine Forge took a 1 run lead in the bottom of the second but would not score again. The Black Bears, on the other hand, hung an 11-spot on Pine Forge pitching in the top of the third, bringing 15 batters to the plate. Connor H, Jayden T, Jake M, Jackson K, CJ C, and Tyler T all drove in runs in the big inning. Tyler T got the pitching start for Boyertown, striking out five over 2 innings. Jayden M pitched two scoreless 1-hit innings in relief.
The championship game was a matchup against Twin Valley. CJ C started the game off with a leadoff single. Tyler T was up next and hit the first pitch over the left field fence. The Black Bears plated two more runs when Cole N forced a defensive error by Twin Valley. After the Black Bears and Twin Valley traded runs in the second, the Black Bears continued their offensive onslaught with a 3-run third on back-to-back-to-back singles followed by a sac fly. Tyler T capped the scoring with a second home run in the top of the fifth. Cole N was the starting championship game pitcher for Boyertown, scattering 3 hits over four innings while striking out 9. Jameson Y pitched two shutout innings in relief.
It's hard to read this summary without noticing the exceptional batting performance of Tyler T in the tournament. He had an amazing .857 batting average for the tournament (12-14) with 2 homers, 3 triples, and 3 doubles. He recorded 13 RBIs across the five games.