Moorestown’s 12U Quakers baseball team has hit a home run, becoming the District 4 12U Champions.
The Quakers played against Mt. Laurel on Monday, June 27 for the District 4 12U championship, losing the first game, but coming out on top in the second game, 8–4.
“It is an honor for the boys to represent Moorestown playing competitive baseball in South Jersey. Winning the District 4 12U Championship is definitely the season highlight so far,” Manager Robert Intenzo said.
The boys have been practicing as a team since March. They’ve focused on the fundamentals of baseball, such as hitting, fielding, pitching and baserunning. Intenzo also said the boys have been focusing on the mental aspects of the game, to be focused and aware of everything happening on the field.
“You have to be focused 110 percent of the time when in the field. If someone is on first base and running to second, you need to throw there, and if the ball goes in the outfield, you need to be prepared to cut it to third. It’s all about being focused from the first pitch to the last out,” Intenzo said.
The boys had a pretty good season, recording a 19–7 record. However, Intenzo said there were two games that stood out besides winning the district championship. The first was when Moorestown played Mt. Laurel about a month ago in a tournament and, having never beaten them, they came out on top. Also, at that same tournament, the Quakers played against last year’s regional winners and, not having all of their guys there, lost only by two runs.
“That just solidified our thoughts that we could win the district this year,” Intenzo said.
However, the season wasn’t without some struggle. Intenzo said there is a lot of failure in baseball, with missing the ball, striking out and losing the game. However, the boys have learned as a team and individually to deal with failure and overcome challenges.
“We try to relate baseball to life. You’ll have trials and tribulations throughout life, but you need to be able to handle it and move on and not dwell on it,” Intenzo said.
Intenzo said he hopes the boys walk away with the value of setting goals, putting in hard work and learning how to deal with adversity and overcoming it.
Going into the final game, Intenzo said the team was confident. They knew if the boys played well they would win. They didn’t change preparation for the final game, as what they had been doing so far seemed to be working.
During the first game, the boys played hard against Mt. Laurel. However, Mt. Laurel started strong with a home run that earned three runs in the early part of the game. The boys tried to gain back the win, but ultimately fell, 18–9.
“We came out a little flat and fell behind early. There were just too many errors. I don’t know if they were nervous, but we had more errors in that game than we had from all of the previous tournaments. We were hitting the ball well, but errors killed us,” Intenzo said.
However, that wasn’t the end for the Quakers, as they had a second game against Mt. Laurel. Mt. Laurel already had one loss, while before the district game Moorestown had none. The tournament was double elimination, so the Quakers still had a chance.
Going into the second game, Intenzo said the boys were not defeated and still confident. However, they knew they needed to really put in some effort to become champions.
“We try to keep their spirits up. When you get beat, you need to keep fighting back. They knew from the beginning if they lost one, they had a chance,” Intenzo said.
The second game ended with a much better result. With an outstanding pitching effort from Ryan Mullock and the team giving its all, they defeated Mt. Laurel.
“We were very happy for the boys and very proud of them. Mt. Laurel is an excellent team,” Intenzo said.
As the game ended late, there really wasn’t much time for celebration. Intenzo said the team would plan something in the future to celebrate.
The Quakers then focused on what was coming up next — the State Championship Tournament in Washington Township that was scheduled for last Saturday, July 2. If they won there, the next step is regionals in Marlton.
“We are also scheduled to play in a tournament in Cooperstown, N.Y., which is a tradition for Moorestown 12U teams,” Intenzo said.
