BERLIN– After going a perfect 10-0 in district and state tournaments, the 9-10 Little League All Stars dropped their final four games in regional play, including a controversial 12-10 loss on Thursday, ending their season.
Berlin, representing Maryland, lost lopsided games to New Jersey, Delaware and New York last week, scoring just three runs in three contests, before falling just short to Pennsylvania on Aug. 7.
“Obviously it was nice to see our bats finally wake up,” said Coach Eric Snelsire. “We really played our style of baseball in that last game, and I felt like it was a good way to go out even though we didn’t win the game. I felt like the kids finally figured it out and were able to compete and play a really good Pennsylvania team. We had an opportunity to win the game and just didn’t do enough, but in the end I was very satisfied to know that we were able to finally go to our brand of baseball and go out on a positive note.”
Ashten Snelsire had three hits in the loss. Luke Mergott led Berlin with two RBIs and Snelsire, Mergott and Eric Berry each scored two runs.
The coach saw several positive moments during the week despite Berlin’s 0-4 record.
“I told the boys that each game throughout the course of that week we did get a little bit better,” he said. “Certainly in the last game we played our best game of the week, and that was similar to the way that we had played games previous to that tournament. Leading up to state play we were playing at a pretty high level.”
Several members of the All-Star team put up stellar numbers during postseason play. Nine Berlin batters hit over .400 during their 14-game run, led by Mergott’s .593 average. Berry led the team with 26 hits, batting .553 and scoring a team-high 24 runs in 14 games. Snelsire led Berlin in RBIs (16) and extra-base hits (9), and Brenner Gurksy (.564), Cole Lynch (.577) and Luke Scott (.552) all batted over .500.
On the mound Mergott posted a 2.81 ERA in 10 2/3 innings pitched, Evan Truitt was a workhorse throwing 13 2/3 innings in six games, and Gursky fanned a team-high 21 batters in 12 1/3 innings.
More than half the team will move up to the 11-12 Little League squad next year.
“We had seven 10-year-olds and six 9-year-olds this year, and it ended up being a great experience for those 9-year-olds,” said Snelsire. “They get to go back there again, and having gained that experience this year I guarantee you they’ll be better next year as a result of it. They were very good baseball players, and I think they’ve just got to stick to the plan and keep getting better and they’ll have an opportunity.”
In two years, the majority of the team could reunite in the 11-12 league.
“That will be another year where I think we’ll have a good opportunity to repeat and go to a regional tournament,” Snelsire said. “Berlin has put together a really good program for the baseball youth of our community, and I think we’ve proven over the last four or five years that we’ve been a contender every year. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of it.
“I really want to thank the community for their support of our team,” Snelsire continued. “It’s amazing every year the amount of money that people are willing to donate to these kids and their effort to try to travel to these tournaments, and it really made our life as parents a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable to have that support. It really made the experience for us, and the community has to be thanked for that. It’s really rewarding as a parent and a coach and as a member of this community to know that people are watching these boys and rooting for them and willing to open their arms and help support their efforts and achieve their goals. It’s a great community that we live in and we’re very blessed to be a part of it.”
Berlin, representing Maryland, lost lopsided games to New Jersey, Delaware and New York last week, scoring just three runs in three contests, before falling just short to Pennsylvania on Aug. 7.
“Obviously it was nice to see our bats finally wake up,” said Coach Eric Snelsire. “We really played our style of baseball in that last game, and I felt like it was a good way to go out even though we didn’t win the game. I felt like the kids finally figured it out and were able to compete and play a really good Pennsylvania team. We had an opportunity to win the game and just didn’t do enough, but in the end I was very satisfied to know that we were able to finally go to our brand of baseball and go out on a positive note.”
Ashten Snelsire had three hits in the loss. Luke Mergott led Berlin with two RBIs and Snelsire, Mergott and Eric Berry each scored two runs.
The coach saw several positive moments during the week despite Berlin’s 0-4 record.
“I told the boys that each game throughout the course of that week we did get a little bit better,” he said. “Certainly in the last game we played our best game of the week, and that was similar to the way that we had played games previous to that tournament. Leading up to state play we were playing at a pretty high level.”
Several members of the All-Star team put up stellar numbers during postseason play. Nine Berlin batters hit over .400 during their 14-game run, led by Mergott’s .593 average. Berry led the team with 26 hits, batting .553 and scoring a team-high 24 runs in 14 games. Snelsire led Berlin in RBIs (16) and extra-base hits (9), and Brenner Gurksy (.564), Cole Lynch (.577) and Luke Scott (.552) all batted over .500.
On the mound Mergott posted a 2.81 ERA in 10 2/3 innings pitched, Evan Truitt was a workhorse throwing 13 2/3 innings in six games, and Gursky fanned a team-high 21 batters in 12 1/3 innings.
More than half the team will move up to the 11-12 Little League squad next year.
“We had seven 10-year-olds and six 9-year-olds this year, and it ended up being a great experience for those 9-year-olds,” said Snelsire. “They get to go back there again, and having gained that experience this year I guarantee you they’ll be better next year as a result of it. They were very good baseball players, and I think they’ve just got to stick to the plan and keep getting better and they’ll have an opportunity.”
In two years, the majority of the team could reunite in the 11-12 league.
“That will be another year where I think we’ll have a good opportunity to repeat and go to a regional tournament,” Snelsire said. “Berlin has put together a really good program for the baseball youth of our community, and I think we’ve proven over the last four or five years that we’ve been a contender every year. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of it.
“I really want to thank the community for their support of our team,” Snelsire continued. “It’s amazing every year the amount of money that people are willing to donate to these kids and their effort to try to travel to these tournaments, and it really made our life as parents a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable to have that support. It really made the experience for us, and the community has to be thanked for that. It’s really rewarding as a parent and a coach and as a member of this community to know that people are watching these boys and rooting for them and willing to open their arms and help support their efforts and achieve their goals. It’s a great community that we live in and we’re very blessed to be a part of it.”