By Katrina Grant
The 11u Jersey State Bombers baseball team, a part of the We Drop Bombs Baseball Academy, has finished out the season on a high note. The team played a total of 31 games, and its record was 22–9.
“This was our fall season, and it went really well,” Chris Murray, head coach, said.
This season, the team played in four tournaments, two of which it won. Its record was 14–4 for the tournaments. At Sports at the Beach, the Bombers outscored their opponents 37–18 and went on to beat the Delaware Rockets in the championship game, 13–3. At the 20-team Diamond Nation Tournament, the Bombers outscored their opponents 49–14, and went on to beat LVBA Blue 5–4 in the championship game.
“We played the Sports of the Beach tournament in Rehoboth, Del., Diamond Nation in Flemington, and at the Cal Ripken Complex in Aberdeen, Md.,” Murray said. “We won the Sports of the Beach tournament and Diamond Nation.”
“In both tournaments, against strong teams, the boys were solid in all phases of the game,” Murray said in a press release. “They played tough, came through in the clutch, and we are all very proud of them. Best of all, they had a great time.”
The team is made up of members from Shamong, Tabernacle, Medford and Martlton, and all the players are 11-years-old or younger.
“This is our first full season together as a team,” Murray said. “We have the spring/summer season and the fall.”
To prepare for the games, the team would do a series of exercises and drills.
“We worked on hitting lessons,” Murray said. “Right now we are giving the pitchers a break, but, when the season is happening, we are working on our pitches and swings. The overall collection of kids is great. They are all good, and they all play. We want to develop them in a certain way. We want to keep getting them better for high school and past that.”
“Our focus as an organization is to continue teaching the kids the game, and the right way to play it,” general manager of the We Drop Bombs Baseball Academy, Al Roach, said. “Tournaments at Sports at the Beach and Diamond Nation are always very competitive and attract many good teams from across the region. To win championships there is special, and we are all very proud of what they accomplished as a team.”
