ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY TEAM OF THE WEEK: Warminster 12U Select

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Team of the Week Award goes to Warminster-Hatboro’s 12U Select Team. They went 5-0 for the weekend of the 15th and 16th on their way to securing the championship in the Rhyno Pink Ribbon Classic in Berkshire, PA. They are coached by Brian Good and Mike O’Brien.

In the first game of the tournament, the 12U squad came out swinging, winning 10-0 over Max Impact Xtreme. They continued the offensive onslaught in their next two games, beating the Mt. Carmel Clover Hose and the Berkshire Sea Dogs 11-0 each. In the semi-final game they beat the Berkshire Red Sox 7-1, and in the championship game they came from behind to beat the Triple Threat Bearcats 9-5. They scored 8 runs in the fifth off of the Bearcats closer to rally for the win.

While it was a team effort, Brian Schaub and Chris Farrell led the offense, which scored 49 runs in five games. Schaub was 6 for 12, scoring 3 runs and collecting 7 RBI’s. Farrell’s performance was just as impressive, as he went 7 for 12 with 6 runs scored and 4 RBI’s.

Even with this offensive outburst, pitching was the key for the squad, as they shut out three of their five opponents. Cole Nehring, Ryan Boyce and Eric Gross were all stellar, allowing just one run between them. Nehring was the most impressive, throwing 4 innings of no-hit baseball in a game that was shortened for the 10-run mercy rule. In his 4 innings he racked up 6 strikeouts and walked just 2 batters. Boyce nearly matched Nehring’s effort, allowing just 1 hit in four innings, striking out 5 batters with no walks. Eric Gross allowed just 1 run and 2 hits in is 5 innings of work, but collected a whopping 9 strikeouts.

Coach Brian Good was extremely happy with his team’s performance, saying “This weekend was extra special because it was a total team effort, top to bottom. The highlight of the weekend was in the championship game. We were down a few runs going into the fifth inning, and we rallied for 8 runs in the inning to take the lead off their (Triple Threat Bearcats) closer. Overall, it was a great weekend.”

The 12U Select Team plays again in the Oktoberfest Tournament at Sports at the Beach down in Rehobeth, Delaware. The tournament is the 22nd and 23rd.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY TEAM OF THE WEEK: West Chester 11U

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Team of the Week Award goes to the 11U Team out of ASBA West Chester. They went 5-1 to win the championship at the Columbus Day Tournament held by Sports at the Beach in Rehobeth, Delaware. The team is coached by Brian Rorick.

On the first day of the tournament, the 11U squad put up 21 runs in 2 games, beating the NJ Naturals 10-5 and the Scranton Miners 11-2. On Sunday, they dropped their first game to the Ridley Royals by a score of 11-0, but came out swinging to beat the Scranton Miners for a second time, 14-0. On the third and final day of the tournament, the team was without 6 of their players, as not everyone had off school for Columbus Day, but still managed to scratch out a 2-1 victory over the NJ Naturals. In the championship game, the team got their revenge with a 6-2 win over the Ridley Royals to claim the championship trophy.

The team’s offense played a huge role in their tournament victory, scoring a total of 43 runs in 6 games. There were several offensive standouts, but Will Sanford, Charlie Sullivan, Duncan Attig and Adam Smith led the charge. Sanford was 7/11, while Sullivan and Attig were 6/12 and 7/9 respectively. All three chipped in with 2 RBI’s apiece. Adam Smith led the team with 6 RBI’s, and contributed by going 5/8 for the champions.

On the mound, the team got huge performances by Jonah Frankel and Chris Newell. Each pitcher threw 6 innings on the weekend, and each allowed just one hit. Newell allowed just 2 runs for the weekend, while Frankel was even stingier, allowing only 1 run.

Coach Rorick was very happy with his team’s performance, saying, “It was a tough tournament we were going into, especially since we were missing six of our guys Monday because of school. The guys did a great job of battling and persevering, and we were able to come out on top. They did an excellent job of coming up big at key moments in each game.”

The 11U squad plays again this weekend (the 15th and 16th) at Diamond Nation in New Jersey.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY TEAM OF THE WEEK: Warminster 18U Showcase Team

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Team of the Week Award goes to Warminster’s 18U Showcase Team. They went 5-0 this past weekend to win the 18U Wood Bat Championship at Diamond Nation. They are coached by John Bellis.

On Friday, the 18U squad dominated Langan Baseball American, winning 13-2. The following day they beat the NJ Super 17’s 8-5. On the last day of the tournament, the team rattled off 3 more wins, beating the Taconic Rangers 3-2, the North Jersey Heat 9-1, and Wladyka National 5-1 to claim the title of tournament champions.

Despite having just four pitchers for the weekend, the pitching staff propelled the 18U squad to the championship. In particular, Casey O’Donnell and Matthew Martens led a pitching staff that let up just 11 runs in 5 games. Both pitchers had to make 2 starts during the tournament. Ethan Rode also chipped in with a strong performance.

The pitching staff was aided greatly by the 18U Team’s high-powered offense. While Coach Bellis said that there were no individual standouts for the weekend, everyone chipped in with timely hits. Bellis noted that the team did a great job of moving guys up a base when they needed to, and they were able to take advantage of mistakes by the other team.

When asked about his team, Coach Bellis pointed to the way they have come together this fall.

“In short, it’s obvious that the team has really come together and gelled as a group. There’s a great sense of camaraderie with these guys, and they love playing together. We’re 14-2 this fall, and we’ve won 12 straight games now. We’re a tough team to beat, and I think that says a lot about these guys. To come in and win a tournament like this with only 4 pitchers is impressive.”

The 18U Showcase Team plays again the 8th and 9th in Berkshire and the following weekend at All Star Baseball Academy’s Showcase Tournament at Villanova University.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jon Moldoff

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Player of the Week award goes to Jon Moldoff. Jon plays for the 11U team from West Chester. Jon is a shortstop and pitcher. He is a 6th grader at The Westtown School and also plays for East Side Little League. He is coached by Brian Rorick.

For the weekend of the 10th and 11th, Jon was 9 for 15 at the plate with 4 RBI’s. Jon led an offense that scored 49 runs in just 5 games.

“Jon just loves playing with his new team at All Star Baseball Academy,” Mrs. Moldoff said of their experience. “He just started taking lessons there, and he’s absolutely thrilled with everything he’s done there so far.”

When asked about the weekend, Jon was modest in his response, saying “It was a team effort, and we had a lot of fun.”

Coach Brian Rorick was impressed by Jon’s performance, saying “He did an excellent job with runners in scoring position. He’s a very hard worker and is very coachable, and he’s a great team player.”

Jon and the 11U team play again September 24th and 25th in the ECTB Autumn Fall Fest in Allentown, PA.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY TEAM OF THE WEEK: West Chester 11U

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Team of the Week award goes to the 11U Team from West Chester. They went 4-1 the weekend of the 10th and 11th on their way to winning the Patriot Day Tournament in Aberdeen, Maryland. They are coached by Brian Rorick.

The 11U squad blew away the competition in the tournament, scoring 49 runs in 5 games. On their way to the tournament championship, they beat the Germantown Hawks 10-0, the Staten Island Legends 11-0, and the Franklin Rockets 10-0, with the lone loss being a 5-4 battle against the North Howell Bombers. In the championship game, they put up 14 runs in a 14-7 win against the Long Island Braves.

While everyone contributed to the offensive onslaught, Jon Moldoff and Adam Smith lead the charge with stellar performances. Moldoff was 9-15 for the weekend with 4 RBI, while Smith was 7-12 and chipped in 3 RBI.

The offensive performance was matched by the pitching staff, with 3 shutouts on the weekend. Pitching standouts were Jonah Frankel and Zach Cantrambone, who both threw complete game shutouts.

Coach Rorick was very pleased with his team’s performance, saying “It was our first weekend out, and I think it was exciting for the guys to come out swinging and throwing as well as we did. I was excited for the guys. We shutout 3 teams, we lost a close game and were able to win it all. I was very proud of the guys for the way we put pressure on the other team’s defense. We played very well defensively. We came out throwing strikes and swinging at quality pitches.”

The 11U Team plays again September 24th and 25th at ECTB’s In the Net Autumn Wood Bat Tournament in Allentown.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY RYAN HOWARD JERSEY WINNER: Matt Hennessey

All Star Baseball Academy capped off an exciting day with a special raffle prize given out by Powerade. That prize was an autographed Ryan Howard Jersey, which was won by Matt Hennessey and his family. As raffle prizes were given out all day, everyone was waiting for that last ticket to be called.



When asked about the day, Matt said “It was pretty cool that Ryan Howard talked about preparing to play, and he taught me how to mentally and physically prepare myself before the game, how to be relaxed. It was really cool that we won the jersey; we’re going to frame it and hang it up.”



His dad was just as thrilled, saying “He had a great time and enjoyed listening to Howard’s responses. Now all I have to do is decide if it’s going in Matt’s room or in the bar.”

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY TIP OF THE WEEK

Today’s All Star Baseball Academy Tip of the Week comes to us courtesy of Mick Bigwood, a business manager and instructor for ASBA Broomall. Mick, a 4 year starter at Delaware Valley College, stressed the importance of warming up properly.



For Mick, warming up properly means Dynamic Stretching. Dynamic Stretching is defined as “a type of sports fitness routine in which momentum and active muscular effort are used to stretch and the end position is not held.”



A brief example of a dynamic stretching routine might look like this:

(note: each stretch goes down and back, 60 feet each way)

• Light jog

• High knees

• Butt kickers

• Walking lunge and twist

• Monster walks

• Walking knee hugs

• Quad Walk

• Power skips

• Shuffles

• Carioca

• Sprints (stealing a base)



Along with this routine, players can do ladder and cone drills to improve their agility.



When asked what advantage this gives players, Mick said “The more your body is warmed up, the better your arm and body will feel. Also, there is less risk of injury while playing.”



Please keep a look out for our next tip of the week. If you have any questions about a proper warm up please contact your local ASBA facility for advice.

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