The Boyertown 11U Advanced Play Team took the Cal Ripken 11U District 6 Championship, earning an automatic berth in the Southeastern PA State Championship in Kimberton June 30-July 4!
In 2023, the 11U age group for District 6 only had three teams. The Bears only had to face one of those teams (Lehigh Valley Forge) to win the District 6 championship, but they ended up having to play them three times in a row. In game 1, the Bears started slow but ended with a roar in a resounding 11-1 victory. Key contributors on offense were Isaac S (hit, 4 RBI, run scored), Brendan S (3 RBI) and Declan K (2 RBI, 2 runs scored). On the mound, the pitching trio of Collin P, Carson N, and Hudson C kept Lehigh Valley in check, scattering three hits over five innings while striking out six total batters and walking only two. In contrast, Bears batters walked a total of 13 times in the contest.
With the win, the Bears would have to wait for Lehigh Valley to play the other team in District 6 in an elimination game,, a game that they won to force a rematch with the Bears. The rematch was an exciting back-and-forth contest, with the Bears jumping out to an early 3-0 lead only to have Lehigh Valley score four in the top of the fourth to take the lead themselves. Lehigh Valley would score another two in the top of the sixth and the Bears rally in the bottom of the sixth came up just short, with them losing 6-4. Brendan S led Bears hitters, going 2-3 with two runs scored.
The loss set up a winner-take-all final game, once again pitting the Bears against Lehigh Valley Forge. Lehigh Valley got on the board first, scoring one run in the top of the first. The Bears, perhaps smarting a bit from the day’s earlier loss, immediately got to work on offense, scoring three in the bottom of the first. Brendan S got things started with a lead-off single, scoring two batters later on a Hudson C knock to tie the game. The score stayed tied for only one pitch before Sam N hit an RBI double, eventually scoring on a Liam M RBI groundout. All total, the Bears would bring eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
The Bears would score another pair of runs in the bottom of the second to push their lead to 5-1. Meanwhile, Bear starting pitcher Carson N settled in after yielding a run in the first inning to pitch two consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the second and third while the Bears offense was pulling away. It looked like the Bears offense would continue to pile up runs in the bottom of the third when Liam M hit a double to right and was sacrificed to third by Logan S, but the rally was cut short by an unfortunate inning-ending double play.
Lehigh Valley managed to score an unearned run in the top of the fourth, narrowing the lead to 5-2, but the Bears simply poured it on in the bottom of the fourth with four additional runs to take a commanding 9-2 lead The scoring in the bottom of the fourth started when Stephen B hit a one-out line drive single and scored two batters later on a Garrett G RBI groundout. Lehigh Valley managed two more runs in the top of the fifth, but it was not enough and the Bears would hold on to claim the District 6 crown with a 9-4 victory. In the championship game, the heart of the Bears lineup was key to their offense, with Hudson C, Sam N, and Carson N going a combined 6-7 with seven RBI and four runs scored.