The Rams Files - State Championship Preview

Mission impossible for any who choose to accept the task

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• 2008 Pennsylvania PIAA Class AAAA high school state runner up
• 2008 Pennsylvania State American junior legion champions
• 2010 Pennsylvania State American legion champions
• 2010 Mid Atlantic American legion fourth place

Home facilities

Rams Stadium. A lit stadium for night time baseball. Seating capacity: 1200. There are 585 seats under the roof.

Positions breakdown

First base - The Rams have a duo of seniors in Sean Larkin and Mike Oczypok who play first base when they are not pitching. Larkin and Oczypok are both excellent fielders and nearly impossible to over throw as they are both over 6-foot-2 and have excellent glove skills.

Second base - Junior Tom Grablewski has played every inning at second base for Spring-Ford this season. Grablewski has tremendous range to the left and especially to his right. He also possesses a quick bat as a two-hole hitter and has the ability to drop a bunt at any time. He can still be a threat to lace the ball into the gaps and vast expanses of Rams Stadium.

Shortstop - Ricky Gorrell has been the lynch pin of the Rams defense for three seasons and is regarded as the best shortstop in the Pac-10. Gorrell has one speed, full throttle and will battle to the very end. The emotional leader of the squad, Gorrell possesses speed on the bases and a quick bat with a lot of pop. His intensity is a valuable asset and he is a threat every time he comes to bat.

Third base - Junior Cody Clarke is an excellent fielder with good range. However, Clarke is most dangerous with the bat. After a slow start to the season, Clarke was integral in both of the Rams' double digit win streaks this season, propelling them to a 25-4 overall record. 

Catcher - Senior James Hoff is a four-year letter winner as a member of the Rams and has called his own signals all season for Spring-Ford. Hoff was a member of the 2008 state runner up teams and is a vocal team leader that is lethal in front of and behind the plate. Hoff was 3-for-3 in the semi final as well as bunting the winning run into position.

Outfield - Pat Medley, Josh Cratsenberg and Louis Vining are as solid an out field as you will find in any league.

Vining covers a ton of ground in center field. Meanwhile, Medley and Cratsenberg have strong arms. They have recorded more than 10 assists this season on throws. Medley is a leadoff man with a big bat and has good power to all fields. Junior slugger Ryan Conway is used in Vining's spot in the lineup and is a solid seven-hole hitter. Over Conway's last  20 at-bats has amassed five home runs, three doubles, two triples and 15 RBIs.

Pitching - Oczypok has been virtually lights out for most of the season and has a 14-0 record to show for it. Right-handed Larkin is cool under fire and has pitched the core group of the Rams two previous championships. He is a pitcher who wants the ball in a big game situation.

Spring-Ford senior southpaw Josh Mellon has one no-hitter to his credit this season as well as sharing a second no-no with Pat Medley. If that is not enough, hard-throwing Richie Michaud is always ready to close out any game situation.

On the bench - Michaud, Connor Simmons and Tyler Shronk provide the Rams with speed on the bases and are always a stolen base threat, as well as depth in hitting situations.

The Big Asset - One of the biggest weapons in the Spring-Ford arsenal is the team's confidence. Confidence in coach Bruce Brobst and his staff, confidence in themselves and, most of all, confidence in each other all play a helping hand in the team's success.

The boys have an unequivocal belief that if one person does not get the job done the next one will. This team does not know the meaning of the word quit and does not give up!

Getting to the glory - Spring-Ford has won 12 consecutive games, laying waste to all comers in the district playoffs and the first round of the state tournament, in which it disposed of Spring Grove, 15-1, in five innings.

The Rams boast a 15-3 league record in the Pac-10. Seven teams qualified for district play in class AAA and AAAA. Spring-Ford is 25-4 overall and 8-0 in the post-season.

The core group of players have been teammates since age seven and this is the last season they will be intact as the seniors will disperse. They leave a legacy behind that may never be eclipsed if they win their first state championship in school history on Friday. The game starts at 6 p.m. at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in State College, Pa. against Conestoga.

To see what Conestoga has in store for the Rams, head over to Tredyffrin-Easttown Patch's .