Monocacy Monocle Youth Sports (August 15, 2022, p. 16)

10U and 12U UMAC Attack Baseball Teams Win Cal Ripken State Championships

By Jeff Stuart

On Sunday, July 3, the 12U UMAC Attack won the Maryland Cal Ripken State Tournament hosted by the Calvert County Youth League in La Plata, Maryland, a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend. Longtime UMAC President Gene Lowery was on hand to witness a dramatic extra-inning, 4-2 victory over the Prince George’s County team. After Prince George’s tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, UMAC answered, scoring two runs in the top of the seventh on a series of singles. With runners at second and third in the bottom half of that extra-inning, shortstop Elias Speicher speared a line drive, making a key defensive play to end the game.

Nine out of the twelve players and two coaches are from Poolesville. The players are Bobby de los Santos, Isaac Morrow, Elias Speicher, Sawyer Thompson, Etham Dimmerling, Jonathan Kwon, Maddox Mauer, Aiden Mazur, Sean McDonald, and Nicolas DePasquale; coaches are Dean DePasquale and JP Williams; assistant coaches are Kevin Williams and Dennis McDonald.

“We played four games with our group to determine seeding and to qualify into the single elimination tournament,” said Coach DePasquale. “On July 1, we beat Calvert County Youth League, 4-0. Then on July 2 we played three games back-to-back-to-back. We beat St. Mary’s County, 13-3, and D.C., 14-0. We lost the third game, 6-5, to Prince George’s County, so we finished 3-1 in our group, earning the second seed in the single elimination tourney, and on Sunday, July 3, we again beat St. Mary’s, 8-3. That win earned us a rematch against Prince George’s. It was special to have President Lowery come watch us play.

“It was basically the consistency of our hitting that carried us. Everybody got the bat on the ball. We had great pitching and spectacular pitching throughout. We appreciated President Lowery coming out to cheer us on in every game. “We earned an invite to New Jersey to compete in the region in New Jersey to compete against other state championship teams. We eventually got knocked out by the State of New Jersey.”

On Sunday June 26, at Walkersville, the UMAC 10U Attack Team won the Cal Ripken 10U Maryland State Championship, going 4-0 on the weekend and defeating the host Glade Valley Athletic Association team, 12-5, in the final. Earlier in the day, the UMAC 10U squad defeated Prince George’s County, 10-4, to advance to the championship game. On Saturday, July 2, they defeated the Charles County Chargers, 17-1, and Glade Valley, 11-7, in their closed game of the tournament. On the weekend, UMAC 10U dominated the competition, outscoring opponents, 50-17.

Offensive Most Valuable Players for the tournament were Dominic Sheehan, with eight hits and ten RBIs, and Russell Royster, with eight hits and eight RBIs.

“My teammates are all super funny and we pick each other up when we make mistakes,” said Dominic. “Our coaches tell us to have a next play mentality. It was a great season, and I will always remember winning states.”

“The tournament was pretty cool,” said Russell. “I liked having my name announced on the loudspeaker and that I got to walk out with the coach as a captain for the first game. The best moment was when we played the Saratoga Blue Sox at the regionals. I was on third base and walked in as the winning run. That was the best feeling ever.”

“Many of these boys have been playing together since they were six or seven years old,” said Coach Greg Matthews. “Our coaching staff has focused on reinforcing baseball fundamentals and having a growth mindset and next play mentality, especially when things don’t go according to plan. Coaching baseball gives me the opportunity to mentor these special athletes and instill core values that I’m confident will transfer later in life beyond baseball.

“With the state tournament victory, the team earned the opportunity to compete in the Cal Ripken Region Tournament on July 14-18 in Audubon, Pennsylvania, the tournament qualifier for the World Series. There were ten teams from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and UMAC represented the State of Maryland. UMAC won two games over Buffalo and Saratoga, making it to single elimination playoff before their season came to an end with a loss to a team from Pennsylvania.

“The boys may or may not remember all the wins and losses, but they will for sure remember how much fun they had and the lasting relationships they built with their teammates. Staying at hotels, going to arcades, riding go carts, playing cornhole, and just being kids is what it’s all about. I also think we have a great group of parents that don’t put too much added pressure on them.

“I’m excited about the future of this team and what they can achieve. At 8U, this team also won the Maryland State Championship. Due to COVID, we did not compete in the state tournament at 9U.”

Players are Ryan Jamieson, Dominic Sheehan, Sutton Straniero, Klay Dimmerling, Bryce Matthews, Johnny Horan, Liam Spiecher, Orion O’Connell, Russell Royster, Joshua Beebe, Ben Becker, and Christopher Kokolis. Assistant Coaches are TJ Kokoklis and PJ Horan.