The Boyertown 11U Advanced Play Team won their first tournament of the season this weekend! The two-day event was the 11U Mother's Day Weekend Tournament at MSI Maplezone Sports Complex. The team's accomplishment was even more noteworthy because they were down a man, with Stephen B being on the IL.

The Bears started the tournament 1-1 in pool play, first beating Grand Slam USA and then dropping a game to South Jersey Young Guns 11U Carolina. The first game, against Grand Slam USA, was a convincing 10-2 victory. The scoring was powered by Declan K and Isaac S, who had three RBI each. Hudson C and Collin P shared the pitching duties, scattering six hits over five innings. Game 2 of pool play did not go as well for the Bears, where they fell 14-3 to the South Jersey Young Guns.

Boyertown entered the playoffs as the three seed, facing the EBYA Bulls in the first round. The Bears earned a 10-8 victory in a game that was not as close as the final score made it seem. The Bulls got on the board first with a run in the top of the first. Boyertown responded with a big bottom of the first, scoring seven runs. Garrett G got things started with a 1-out single. Two batters later, Sam N drove him in with a line drive double to center field. The Bears would end up batting around in the big inning on their way to a commanding 7-1 lead. The Bulls clawed back three runs in the top of the second to pull within 7-4, but the Bears answered with two more runs in the bottom of the second to push the lead to 9-4 and never looked back as they cruised to victory. Logan S led the way on offense for the Bears, going 1-2 with three RBI and a walk.

Boyertown's round one victory earned them an immediate second round matchup against the two-seed Maryland Legends. Like playoff game 1, playoff game 2 was heavy on offense for both teams, the Bears eventually coming out on top 14-11. Also like game 1, game 2 was not as close as the final score would lead you to believe. The Bears jumped out to a commanding 7-0 lead in the top of the first, with the first four batters successfully reaching base before an out was even recorded (Brendan S walk, Garrett G single, Hudson C walk, Sam N hit-by-pitch). All 10 Bears batters came to the plate in the inning. The team did not slack off after building their big lead, instead scoring another two and then four runs in the second and third innings to take a commanding 13-3 lead. Every player on the team either scored or drove in a run during the big win, which earned the team a spot in the championship game.

It would be understandable for the Boyertown players to be tired after back-to-back games that started at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday. There was no rest for the weary, though, with the championship game starting immediately after the round 2 game. The championship game was a matchup of the 3-seed Bears against the surprise 5-seed NY Prospects Gold. The game did not disappoint, featuring big momentum swings and an exciting, storybook ending. After NY Prospects Gold took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Boyertown responded with four straight hits in their half of the inning (Brendan S, Garrett G, Hudson C, and Sam N). Carson N showed his appreciation for the table setting performed by his teammates and hit a bases-clearing 3-RBI double to put the Bears up 4-1. Three batters later, Isaac S drove him in with a double of his own to complete the scoring in the big inning. NY Prospects Gold would take the lead 7-6 in the top of the third, thanks to their own big inning where they scored six runs. The teams would trade runs in the fourth, and NY Prospects Gold expanded their lead to 9-7 in the top of the fifth before the sixth and final inning and its dramatic ending.

Boyertown pitcher Sam N held NY Prospects Gold to a scoreless top of the sixth to give his team a chance in their last at-bats. Declan K led off the bottom of the sixth and was hit by the first pitch he saw, providing Boyertown with their first base runner. Logan S put the tying run on base by walking one batter later. After a quick out, Isaac S earned the second walk of the inning to load the bases. NY Prospects Gold recorded the second out on a humpback liner to center, putting themselves one out away from the championship. The next Bears batter, Garrett G, hit a well-placed ground ball between the third baseman and shortstop, scoring Declan from third and narrowing the lead to 9-8. Hudson C was up next, with the tying run on third and the winning run on second. Despite falling behind 1-2, Hudson did not succumb to the pressure. He fouled off the next two pitches to stay alive before driving a ground ball single up the middle past the ranging second baseman. Logan S scored from third, and Isaac S was waved around by the third base coach. The play at the plate was...not in time, earning the Bears the championship victory in walk-off fashion! Hudson had quite a game for Boyertown, going 3-4 including the walk-off hit and pitching the first 2 ⅓ innings. Brendan S also went 3-4 , scoring twice. Sam N and Carson N kept the game close from the mound, sharing the Boyertown pitching duties with Hudson.