The Boyertown 8U crew took the Lehigh Valley by storm this past weekend! It took them only three games to clinch the District 6 Title and a trip to States. They became the first 8U team from Boyertown to win a district championship.
In game one on Friday night, the Bears found themselves in a rare position, down three runs after the top of the first. Instead of panicking, they responded with a three spot of their own in the bottom of the first and never looked back the rest of the weekend. They would go on to win the first game 16-5 over host Lehigh Valley in four innings. Camden S earned the victory on the mound and aggressive baserunning led to 16 stolen bases for the Bears.
The win sent the Bears to the 1 PM game on Saturday versus a familiar foe. Just the weekend before, Boyertown and Quakertown matched up twice during the Oley Tournament (Boyertown took care of business in both of those games 11-1 and 15-0). The Bears continued their dominance over the Panthers in game two of the District 6 Tournament, notching a 21-0 victory in three innings. Owen H pitched all 3 innings for the win, allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out seven. Both Owen H and Camden S led the offensive onslaught with three hits and 3 RBI each.
The win sent the Bears to the championship game later that night at 7 PM. Quakertown worked its way through the loser's bracket to earn another matchup with Boyertown (the teams' fourth matchup in a two week span). Going into the nightcap both teams had already clinched trips to the PA Cal Ripken 8U State Tournament. In the championship game, Boyertown completed the sweep with another 21-0 victory in three innings. Chase Y went all three innings on the mound for the win. He allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out four. The offense was led by three hits by Lucas H.
The District Championship was truly a complete team effort as all 12 of the players on the Bears roster reached base and scored at least one run. Boyertown combined to go a breathtaking 32 for 57 (.561) at the plate in the three games. They outscored their opponents 58-5 by taking 31 walks to go along with those 32 hits, stealing 32 bases, & only striking out 9 times. 7 of the 12 Bears players collected multiple hits during the tournament, led by Camden S and Owen H (6), Lucas H (5), Ty G (4), Mason N and James R (3), and Chase Y (2).
The defense was like a brick wall, ironically led by two Masons! Mason N, who played three different positions throughout the tournament (SS, 3B, & 2B) made key plays at each. Mason P's superb blocking and throwing behind the plate shut down any chances the opponents might have had on the basepaths. Lucas H, Bradley L, and Owen H also made outstanding defensive plays to back their pitchers.
The pitching was simply lights out, with Camden S, Owen H, and Chase Y combining to throw all 10 innings. They only gave up five total runs, with only two of those being earned. They struck out 19 while only walking 7 batters and limiting the opposition to 5 hits in 39 at bats (.128).
Next, the 8U Bears continue on the Cal Ripken trail at Southeast PA States, which will be held at Pennsbury July 8-13.