The Boyertown 10U Advanced Play Team emerged from the four-team Cal Ripken District 6 Tournament as 2023 Champions, earning an automatic berth in the Southeast PA State Tournament in Warminster June 30-July 4!
The Bears played the first game of the double elimination tournament against the Quakertown Panthers and cruised to an 8-1 victory. The offense was led by Adam M, who had a multi hit game. The Bears showed off their pitching depth, using five different pitchers in the contest (Tyler D, Dylan N, Zane E, Aidan O,, and Cole C), and still held the Panthers to only two hits and one walk, striking out five.
The winners bracket final featured a match up against the Hatfield-Towamencin-Souderton Titans (HTS). The game was very even at first, with both teams having multi-run first innings and HTS coming out ahead 3-2. The Bears would tie it up in the top of the third, but HTS would score a run in the bottom of the fourth and four runs in the bottom of the fifth to defeat Boyertown 8-3 and send them to the losers bracket.
The loss against HTS put the Bears into an elimination game with Lehigh Valley Forge. The Bears offense exploded for nine runs in the top of the second inning, taking a 10-0 lead that they would not relinquish. The final score ended up being 13-6. The torrid Bears offense recorded 16 hits in the game, with both Tyler D and Dylan N going 3-4, with seven RBI between them.
The win over Lehigh Valley set up Boyertown with a rematch against HTS. Since HTS had not yet lost in the double elimination tournament, the Bears would have to beat them twice to win the championship. Game 1 was a nail-biter throughout, with a spectacular finish. HTS scored first, plating two runs in the top of the second. The Bears answered in the bottom of the second when Dylan N started the inning off with a lead-off single. Dylan put himself in scoring position by stealing second and then scored on a Trevor F hit. HTS maintained the 2-1 lead until the bottom of the sixth. Down to their final three outs, the Bears would have to score one to tie or two to win in order to keep their hopes alive. Bryce M got things started with a one out, eight pitch walk. Brecken T grounded into a fielder's choice that effectively caused him to replace Bryce at first base, now with two out. With their backs against the wall and a one-run deficit, Tyler D kept things going with a clutch fly ball single to right, advancing Brecken to third base. Adam D came up next and delivered the huge clutch walk-off hit, roping a line drive to center that scored both Tyler and Brecken and put the Bears into a winner-take-all rematch game against HTS for the championship.
It would be an interesting statistic to see how many teams in double elimination tournaments enter the championship round undefeated, lose the first game in a heartbreaker, and then end up losing game 2 in a blowout. The 2023 Cal Ripken 10U District 6 Championship followed this pattern. Boyertown pitcher Zane E started the game and kept HTS off the board in the top of the first, keeping the game one momentum with the Bears. Bryce M led off the Boyertown half of the inning with an infield single and was advanced to second by a sacrifice bunt by Brecken T. Adam M joined Bryce on the base paths with an infield single of his own, setting up a Dylan N two-RBI single. HTS would close the gap to 2-1 in the top of the second, but Boyertown would get another run in the bottom of the second when Brecken T singled and scored Lucas L, who had earlier reached on a walk. Not complacent with a 3-1 lead, the Bears would double their run total in the bottom of the third, thanks to RBI singles by Trevor F and Lucas L. Boyertown pitcher Aidan O entered in the top of the fourth and tossed a two-strikeout, 1-2-3 frame to further demoralize HTS. The Bears weren't finished scoring. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bears had four consecutive singles (Tyler D, Adam M, Dylan N, and Otto K), followed by a Carter P sacrifice fly to add another three runs and take a commanding 9-1 lead. HTS would only score one more run, as the Bears would cruise to a 9-2 championship game victory. The Boyertown pitching trio of Zane E, Aidan O, and Tyler D was the key to the victory, holding the high-powered HTS offense to only two runs (one earned). The balanced Bears offense recorded 11 hits in the game across 8 hitters, with Dylan N and Trevor F recording multiple hits.