With a 5-0 victory over Hamburg at Radnor High School on July 30, the Boyertown Grizzlies Jr. Legion baseball team won the Wayne Regional Tournament and qualified for the double-elimination state tournament.
The Grizzlies did it the hard way. After losing to North Parkland in the opening round, the Grizzlies fought back through the losers bracket, winning the next five games to win the tournament.
In the opening game, the Grizzie offense never got going as North Parkland shut out Boyertown, 3-0. J.T. Cooley and Tyler Kreitz had the only hits for the Grizzlies.
The loss sent Boyertown to the losers bracket where one more loss would end the season. But this is where the Grizzlies began their comeback. Led by Kreitz’s two hits and three RBIs, the Grizzlies defeated Newtown, 6-2. Christian Wagner and J.T. Cooley each had a hit and one RBI.
Trevor Waldman was the winning pitcher, hurling six strong innings. Pat Hohlfeld pitched the seventh.
Boyertown scored three runs in the third and three more in the sixth to account for its offense.
Next for the Grizzlies was State College on July 28. Behind the shut out pitching of Mike Hohlfeld, the Grizzlies won the game, 7-0.
Hohlfeld went the distance for Boyertown, allowing three hits and fanning three.
Corey Melchior led the Boyertown offense with two hits and three RBIs. Wagner and Cooley each drove in a run.
On July 30, the Grizzlies went up against Hamburg, the only remaining undefeated team in the tournament. The Grizzlies were not intimidated as they continued their fight back through the tournament with a 10-5 win.
Mike Raineri and Kreitz had two hits and two RBIs to lead the Boyertown offense. Cooley and Marcus Thomas each contributed two hits and Nick Diciacco added a double and two RBIs.
Melchior was the winning pitcher.
That sent Boyertown to the championship day where it had to win two games on July 30 to win the tournament. The first was a 5-2 victory over North Parkland, the team that beat them in the opening round.
Paul Hohlfeld was the winning pitcher, allowing just five North Parkland hits and fanning seven.
Diciacco and Melchior each had two hits and two RBIs for Boyertown.
The sent the Grizzlies to the championship game where they took on Hamburg.
There Waldman and Mike Hohlfeld pitched a combined shutout, giving the Grizzlies a 5-0 win.
Kreitz had two hits and Diciacco doubled and drove in a run. Marcus Thomas added a single and one RBI.
