July 4, 2008
by Peter Clarke
The New Castle Quakers 12U (aged 12 and under) baseball team is heading upstate this Saturday to Cooperstown, New York, home to the legends of the sport, to participate in the prestigious Cooperstown Dreams Tournament. The national event features over 80 select travel teams from across the country.
This year’s Quaker squad continues a long tradition of 12U teams from the New Castle Baseball and Softball Association attending the Cooperstown Dreams Tournament ─ billed as the “First and Foremost Youth Baseball Experience.” In anticipation of the tournament, the players organized several fundraising events to defray the cost of the trip, including selling water bottles and team decals.
This year, the team has adopted the “Angry Quaker Guy” as their mascot. quaker_poster.pdf He appears on their team banner, which will be displayed proudly by the team as they march in the opening ceremony on Saturday. His fierce face is also featured on their team pins, which they will trade with players at the tournament from across the nation.
Tournament includes skills competitions as well as games
After the opening ceremony, the team will participate in a skills competition. Nine Quakers will take the field in the “Around-the-Horn” drill that tests their throwing speed and accuracy. In addition, there are three individual events: “King of Swat” brings the biggest hitters on each team together for a home run contest; the “Road Runner” drill tests the fastest players in an around-the bases sprint; and finally, the “Golden Arm” drill finds the strongest and most accurate arms during a 125-foot throw-off.
The Quakers’ schedule includes games with all-star teams from Utah, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The players, coaches, families and fans are looking forward to a great week of competition, and especially a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as they share their love of baseball with teams from across the country.
Preparation for the tournament includes momentum
The 12U Quakers have been preparing by playing several scrimmages over the last few weeks on fields that feature the same dimensions as Cooperstown’s fields: 50 feet from the mound to home plate and 70 feet between the bases. This so-called modified field is larger that the usual little league field, which is 45/60.
The tournament provides a one-week break from the Quakers’ schedule in the Westchester Putman Baseball Association summer season, which ends with the playoffs in August. A strong showing in Cooperstown will give the Quakers momentum when the season resumes on July 12. An emotional and tense extra-inning victory over Ossining on Wednesday night was the perfect sendoff for the Quakers, who improved their record to 5-3.
The roster for the Quaker squad is Peter Buseck, Risten Clarke, Dan D’Auria, Justin Ellick, Will Galvin, Nicolas Girardi, Bryan Hamerschlag, William Hansen, Andrew Myers, Jonathan Renzulli, Robert Scherl and Conor Walker. The Quaker coaches are Peter Clarke, Gregg Hamerschlag, Tom D’Auria and Scott Hansen.
Summer season highlights: Danbury and Carmel
The Quakers opened their summer season on June 21 splitting a twi-night doubleheader against a powerhouse Danbury Little League squad in Connecticut. At a twi-night doubleheader, the first game is played in the twilight, or late afternoon, then after a 20 – 30 minute break, the second game is played. In the opener, Hansen, Myers and Hamerschlag teamed up for a strong pitching performance in a game that ended in a thrilling play at the plate.
The Quakers were up by one run in the bottom of the sixth and final inning when a Danbury runner tried to score the tying run on a wild pitch with two outs. But catcher Clarke scooped up the loose ball and fired to Hamerschlag, who had sprinted from the mound to cover the plate. Clarke’s throw beat the runner and Hamerschlag’s tag ended the game. The second game was all Danbury and the Quakers left Connecticut with a 1-1 record.
After the split in Danbury, the Quakers traveled to Carmel the next day and pounded out 11 hits in a 13-2 victory against the Carmel Cubs. Hansen lead the way with two hits and ended the game early with a walk-off two-run double. Walker, Ellick and D’Auria contributed key hits in the Quaker win.
Summer season highlights: Shrub Oak, Cortlandt and Somers
Later in the week, the team traveled north again for an early-season showdown against perennial rival, the Shrub Oak Storm. Renzulli and Scherl hit solo home runs to drive the early Quaker offensive attack. But the scrappy Shrub Oak team battled back to take a late lead. The Quakers showed off their resiliency by scoring three runs to tie the score in the top of the sixth, but Shrub Oak pulled out the game in its last at-bat on a fly ball.
But revenge is always sweet and the Quakers got that four days later with their first home game of the season at Gedney 3. Shrub Oak held the lead until Clarke hit a solo home run over the right field fence in the third inning to tie the game. The Quakers put together a string of eight hits in the bottom of the fifth inning and finished with an 11-5 victory.
Galvin brought the crowd it its feet with a two-strike bases loaded double off the left center field fence. After two missed bunt attempts designed to score Scherl from third on a safety squeeze that would have tied the game, Galvin ripped a screaming line drive that missed by just inches being a grand slam home run. Walker followed with a sharp singe delivering two RBIs. The offensive attack ended with seven runs and secured the win for Myers, who pitched four superb innings for the come-from-behind win.
The Quakers hit the road again June 29 for a show down versus Cortlandt at Seabolt Field. Under threatening skies, the game was a low-scoring pitching duel with Hansen and Hamerschlag on the mound for the Quakers battling a strong lefty from Cortlandt. Galvin and D’Auria hit back-to-back singles in the top of the sixth with the Quakers down a run, but the tying run never got past third base in the 3-2 loss that ended in a downpour.
Last week opened with the Quakers facing Somers at home. The team fell behind Somers 3-0 going into the bottom of the third. But they rallied behind Scherl’s timely hitting, while alert Quaker base running took advantage of a sloppy Somers defense. Girardi and Buseck helped the Quakers score two runs in the fourth and another two in the fifth. Renzulli and D’Auria combined to pitch the first five innings before Clarke came on in the sixth to earn the save.
Exciting extra innings battle with neighboring Ossining
In their final game before Cooperstown, the Quakers hosted an experienced team from Ossining in an exciting extra-inning battle. While the Quakers took the early 3-0 lead after three innings, the Ossining offense, combined with untimely Quaker errors, helped the visitors put four runs in the book for the lead.
Undeterred, the Quakers battled back. Their hard-fought victory over Ossining once again featured a late rally by the Quakers as they tied the score in the bottom of the sixth inning and then won it in the seventh. Walker was the difference in the game as the leadoff batter reached base in every at bat and scored four of the seven Quaker runs, including the winning run on a Buseck sacrifice ground ball. Hansen and Ellick pitched solid innings and Myers held off a late attack from Ossining to secure the win.
Peter Clarke and his wife Karen have lived in Chappaqua for over 20 years. Their three sons have been active in the New Castle Baseball and Softball Association since 1998. Peter has coached this team since 2003.
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