State Championship Won By Doylestown Tigers

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — In a game winning thriller, the Doylestown Athletic Association’s 8U Tigers baseball team on July 13 captured the Pennsylvania State Championship in the Cal Ripkin Baseball League.

Competing against teams from throughout the area, the boys won five games in a row in the lead up to the state championship game hosted by Pennsbury and played on the athletic fields in Lower Makefield Township.

Doylestown and Hilltop (Havertown Township) both entered the championship game with 5-0 records in the tournament.

After the second inning, the hometown boys were ahead, 4 to 2, when a brief thunderstorm delayed the game for about a half an hour.

When play resumed, the Tigers extended their lead to 9 to 2 in the top of the fourth inning. Hilltop answered by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth and another four runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it a tie game at 9 apiece.

In the top of the sixth and final inning Doylestown scored the go ahead run to make it 10-9 ballgame. In the bottom of the sixth, Hilltop challenged, sending a player to third.

The game went down to the last play of the game.

Hilltop had a player on third base within scoring distance and there were two strikes on the batter. On the last swing of the game, the batter connected with a pop up to the pitcher that ended the game.

“It was a very high stress, intense game for any age group with a state championship on the line,” said Coach Larry Scheetz. “But they pulled it out.”

The reaction to the big win was instantaneous.

“The kids came running up and throwing their hats,” said Scheetz. “It was an amazing scene for these kids. It was the most genuine shear joy out of young boys that you have ever seen.

“Hugs, smiles, throwing hats in the air. Throwing gloves. Hugging coaches. Just everything that youth sports should be about. And accomplishing it all with the friends they have been playing with for months. It was spectacular.”

To earn their spot in the big game, the Doylestown kids defeated teams from Ridley, Whitpain, Lehigh Valley, Brandywine and Pennsbury.

Coach Scheetz, who is in his first year of coaching with the Doylestown Athletic Association, couldn’t be prouder of the team.

“It’s been a lot of fun watching the kids learn the game. And watching them be successful on their own has been such a great joy and brought back my extreme love of baseball,” said Scheetz, who played collegiate baseball and coached at his high school for a year before attending law school.

The team finished the tournament undefeated with a 6 and 0 record. For the season, the team has an impressive 24 wins, 5 loses and two ties.

The team now advances to the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, where they will compete against teams from New York, New Jersey and Delaware for a chance to play in the Cal Ripkin World Series.

Regional play begins on Wednesday and continues through Sunday in Moorestown, New Jersey

Scheetz said he believes the team has an excellent shot of winning every game they play at regionals.

“We have a really good baseball team,” he said. “We have five really good pitchers. We have a line up that can hit from the top to the bottom. We hit the ball hard and have a lot of good contact. And we have a lot of very good defensive players.”

The team is led by head coach Larry Scheetz. He is assisted by coaches Adam Corrado, Jay Ross, Dan Kusters, Chris McCarthy and Chad Conicello.

The players are Ben Ross (1), Henry Kephart (2), Larry Scheetz (3), Evan Corrado (7), Aiden Torpey (8), Jake Stephenson (15), Kevin Eckenrode (20), Will Conicello (21), Jackson Willsey (22), Silas Gale (24), Austin McCarthy (25) and Lincoln Kusters (88).