Chatham's U11A Summer Baseball Team is off to a hot start racking up a 5-0 record in North Jersey All Star League play. We put our winning streak on the line over the last 2 weekends in the Ripken Tournament hosted by Warren. We posted tough losses in our first 2 tournament games against perennial powerhouses Cranford and Millburn. Up next was archrival Westfield, with the loser facing elimination from the playoff round. With tournament tie-breaker being runs against, we came into the game looking for a shutout but ended up in a shootout.
The U11 Cougars outlasted the Blue Devils in a 16-15 win for the ages. Gavin Glasgow (GMoney- P, 3B) homered to left on a blast that seemed to travel from Warren all the way back to Chatham. Tyler Cook (TJ- P, RF) tripled on a deep ball hit to the pitchers mound, OF THE ADJOINING FIELD. The only player who could deny Andrew Bergman (BDaddy, Captain- P, 1B) a home run on his knock to deep right center was his fellow teammate. Nick Knezovic (Nico- P, SS) tried to score from first base but he missed third along the way. He went back to tag third with Bergman barreling down on him. Knezovic ended up scoring and Bergman retreated to second, and fortunately nobody was thrown out on the wacky play.
Bergman-Glasgow-Knezovic-Cook is sometimes referred to in baseball circles as 'The Murderer's Row'. Bergman has been putting up triple crown type numbers through 9 games. Glasgow is all about power hitting and power pitching. Knezovic excels at all facets of the game and intimidates opponents with his new specs. Cook does nothing but get base hits and throw strikes.
The slugfest with Westfield featured multiple lead changes and Westfield hitting several bombs of their own. Chatham used 6 different pitchers against the tough lineup. The game's final out was all Krill- pitched by Ben Krill (Beans- P, SS) and caught 250 feet away in deep center by twin brother Ryan Krill (RP- P, CF). In baseball circles it is now referred to as 'The Catch'. These talented brothers spend their summer patrolling SS and CF, taking hits away from unsuspecting hitters.
Our 4th Ripken game was against Mountainside and Chatham again prevailed in a 12-1 mercy. Mac Clark (MacDaddy, Swagg- P, 1B) pitched 4 shutout innings and smoked 3 balls to the left side. Ethan Fifer (Feisty Fife- P, LF) closed the game out and made a superb defensive play on the mound. Fifer spends most of his time flashing leather in left field.
Kyle McClintock (Yetti- P, 2B) and Luke Fekete (Fek- P, 2B) share 2nd base duties and have been spraying hits all over the field all summer. Lead off hitter Ryan Drum (Ardy- C, 2B, OF) is the teams most versatile defender. He makes plays at multiple positions, always gets on base and is a base-stealing machine. Sharing catching duties is Drew Mitzak (Mitzy- C, RF) who has been swinging a hot bat all summer.
The team is managed by Andy Bergman (Skip) with veteran coaches Todd Knezovic (The Brain) and Adam Drum (Drummer). Knezovic literally re-calculates each player's batting average, fielding percentage and ERA after every pitch. IN HIS HEAD. Drum has a special talent for placing outfielders exactly where the ball is about to be hit. The staff is rounded out by eager newcomers Dave Clark (DC5) and Dana McClintock (Mr. Yetti) who are cutting their teeth on the summer baseball scene.
The team is pictured celebrating their win against Westfield. Our 2-2 tournament record put us in a tie-breaker situation. We are waiting on final results to see if we advance to the district playoffs and potentially take a run at the state tournament. Coach Knezovic calculates the odds as 1 in 29, so we have a chance!
For the remainder of the summer we will complete our league schedule and playoffs, and play in the Basking Ridge Super Summer Tournament.
Last but not least, the team receives enormous support from parents including Bo Fifer,the best groundskeeper in the business, and his trusty sidekicks Ken Fekete and Andrew Mitzak.
