Elkridge Hurricanes Win State Championship

An Elkridge baseball team recently won a state title after dominating the Cal Ripken State Machine Pitch Tournament.

More than 360 players competed in the tournament at , representing 29 teams and nearly every county in Maryland, said officials.

Elkridge got support from Howard County in the stands and on the field. “County Executive Ken Ulman threw out the first pitch," said John Haberern, on-site tournament director. The rest of the pitches were generated by a machine, and the other positions were played by youths.

Councilwoman Courtney Watson was also cheering on the teams, continued Haberern, "and the Oriole Bird added to the excitement of always-popular player parade." 

The festive tournament took place during the holiday weekend, July 1 through July 4, so fields were decorated with red, white and blue banners.

After multiple elimination rounds, the Elkridge Hurricanes’ 8-and-under team defeated Mount Airy, 11-2, in the championship game.

“We had a game early on where we did not play our best and ended in a tie. The boys did not blink; they responded by turning in our two best games of the tournament—very good hitting, exceptional defense and sound fundamentals,” said head coach Scott Anderson.

“I could tell by the look in their eyes that they were not going to let the opportunity slip away," added Anderson. "If a teammate was down, there was always someone there to pick them up. We are truly a team in every sense of the word, and that was key to our success.”

This was the first time an Elkridge 8-and-under team brought home a state championship title.

“We had so much fun playing together. To win was really cool!” said Noah Johnson, 8, Elkridge Hurricanes player.

The team was led by coaches Anderson, John Haberern, and Matt Colbert.

Players included Johnson, Ryan Anderson, George Berbakos, Kyle Colbert, Matthew Faulkner, Colin Flynn, Patrick Glynn, Cooper Haberern, Patrick Joyce, Jarrett Maynor and Cole Robinson.