Boyertown Grizzlies make state tourney
Boyertown Grizzlies edge Swoyersville twice to make Pa. Junior Legion state tournament
Different scenarios, same results.
To win Pa. Junior American Legion baseball’s Eastern Regional, the Boyertown Grizzlies had to deal with Swoyersville twice in the championship round. They were able to do so, edging Swoyersville in eight innings, 2-1, in the first game before securing the title with a 9-3 roll in the second.
Doing that enabled Boyertown to join its Berks County League counterparts, the Bear-Cubs, in Homer City for the Pa. State Tournament being staged July 27-31.
The Grizzlies will kick off the tournament Saturday by facing Plum at 10:15 a.m.
The first matchup saw the Grizzlies (3-1) working to stave off elimination at the hands of unbeaten (4-0) Swoyersville. They pulled out the game with Cole Kratz scoring Cullen Nesbitt on a hard grounder between third and shortstop; it was the second time in the tourney Kratz produced a walk-off win.
Nesbitt’s single was followed by a walk to Elijah Calvert and bunt single by Erick Keebler to load the bases for Kratz.
Ethan Ferraro, coming on in relief of starter Zach Rothermel, got the pitching decision for Boyertown. He pitched the final inning after Rothermel scattered 10 hits and struck out five in seven frames before reaching his pitch-count limit.
In the second championship game, the Grizzlies scored three times in their first at-bat to set the tone. Successive doubles by Nathaniel Wilson and David Wagner were the big hits for Boyertown, which saw Swoyersville pull even in the top of the second.
The locals took the lead for good in the bottom of the third. All nine Boyertown starters got hits in the game, Wagner going 3-4 with two RBI and Nesbitt also driving in a pair.
Kratz, the starting pitcher for the Grizzlies, got the win off three innings’ work. Ryan Young threw the final four, striking out two.
For the five-game tournament, Boyertown’s pitching and defense allowed 14 total runs (11 earned). Half the five earned runs came in the opening round loss to Parkland
The Grizzlies offense, in the meantime, scored 32 times. Rothermel was the team’s leading batter with a .563 average and .650 onbase percentage, and Nesbitt was second with a 364 BA and .583 OBP.
Jr. Legion Prep
The Boyertown Bear Paws will serve as host team for the Junior American Legion Prep state tournament being staged July 27-31 at Bear Stadium.
The Bear Paws were champions of both the MBC League and Oley Valley Youth League Patriot Tournament during the season. The team’s head coach is Pat Maloney.