The Middletown NJ Hammers Are 9U USABL World Series Champs

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Middletown NJ Hammers travel baseball team just won the United States Amateur Baseball League (USABL) World Series championship in the 9-and-under division.

This is a travel team of all local Middletown kids that play at the highest level of youth baseball. The Middletown Hammers were founded in 2019, and since then they've racked up an incredible 87-7-1 record.

Their home field is behind the Navesink Hook and Ladder fire house in Atlantic Highlands.

The boys won the World Series championship last Thursday, July 29 at Berkeley Little League in Bayville. The Middletown team beat multiple teams in a two-day World Series tournament.

The Hammers have had multiple undefeated seasons and are currently ranked the Number 1 9-and-under baseball team in New Jersey, according to the United States Amateur Baseball League.

The team is currently awaiting a top national ranking for the 9U Division from the Travel Baseball Ranking organization. The 9U NJ Hammers play under the Omni Build Association with John Mingione as President, Tony Ciccone III as commissioner and Mike Annucci as 9U Baseball Head Coach.

“Simply an amazing group of boys!" said team manager Annucci. "They refuse to lose and are the hardest-working bunch of youth athletes that I have ever encountered in my coaching experience. Usually when a team wins so much and has this much talent they forget about the game and just want to win.

"Not this group. They are humble, focused, hardworking boys, who come from great families who support their sons and the team. This USABL World Series Championship title is one of our many big championship wins and is a result of their hard work and dedication. Myself and the rest of the coaching staff are so proud of their accomplishments. I look forward to seeing their future achievements with this team and in life.”

The team's overall record is 87 wins, 7 losses and one tie. In fact, the Middletown team always plays up an age division during the fall season to maximize the competition.

NJ Hammers 9U Baseball Team Roster:

#2 Antonio Ciccone IV

#4 Michael Annucci

#7 Joey LoPresti

#11 Nicholas Verdiglione

#17 Jake Karpell

#20 Brian Cabreja

#21 Lorenzo Lamberti

#24 Nicholas Heugle

#25 Logan Travis

#26 Logan Bonici

#99 Michael Faulk

Team Bat Boys:

#3 Luca Ciccone

#0 Nicky Annucci

Manager: Michael Annucci

Assistant Coaches:

Tony Ciccone

Jeff Karpell

Joe LoPresti

Here are the results from the July 28 tournament at Berkeley Little League:

Middletown NJ Hammers beat the Bowie Bulldogs (Based out of Bowie, Maryland) 29 to 3
Middletown NJ Hammers beat the Brooklyn Storm (Based out of Brooklyn, NY) 18 to 2

The game results during elimination play consisted of the below: (July 29, 2021)

Middletown NJ Hammers beat the EEP Bandits Nationals (Based out of New York City) 18 to 8
Middletown NJ Hammers beat the FB Braves Elite (Based out of Northern New Jersey) 8 to 2
Middletown NJ Hammers beat the GC Grit Black (Base out of New City, NY) 4 to 1

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