'You’ve Got to Enjoy It'
Cherry Hill’s American Legion baseball team begins play this week in the Mid-Atlantic Regional at Ridge, Maryland. The Regionals will take place Aug. 6-10.
Cherry Hill earned the berth by beating Brooklawn, 7-6 to win its first ever New Jersey American Legion state championship. Had Cherry Hill lost that game, there would have been another to determine the champion since it was a double-elimination tournament. Cherry Hill went 3-0 in the four-team state tournament, which included two wins over a Brooklawn franchise that has captured a state-record 32 NJ American Legion state championships.
The winner of the Mid-Atlantic Region will advance to the American Legion World Series, Aug. 14-19 in Shelby, North Carolina.
“It’s really cool, a surreal feeling,” said Cherry Hill head coach Kyle Bordner, who is also an assistant coach at Cherry Hill West.
So much of playing any sport, especially one in the summer, is about the commitment of the youngsters.
“Once I saw how committed and pumped up they were to play for us, it was really exciting to be part of this,” Bordner said. “Now we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you’ve got to enjoy it.’
Of course, Cherry Hill is not just happy to be participating. Bordner and the players feel that as long as they are this far, why stop now?
Cherry Hill is comprised of some of the top players from Cherry Hill West and from schools throughout Burlington County.
The MVP of the American Legion state tournament was recent Cinnaminson graduate Anthony Alessandroni, who got the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning during the title win over Brooklawn. Alessandroni, who will attend Rutgers-Camden, was also the winning pitcher the game before when Cherry Hill defeated Brooklawn, 7-4.
In the championship win, recent Cherry Hill West graduate Ricky Orlandini earned the win with two shutout innings of relief, after his former Cherry Hill West teammate Zach Smith pitched the first five innings.
Second baseman Brian Martello, a 2024 Cherry Hill West graduate, had a big two-run double, while recent Cherry Hill West graduate Luis Sanchez was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI, and recent Rancocas Valley graduate Jake Barletta went 2-for-3.
To advance this far, a team has to have a deep pitching staff and that is one of the strengths of Cherry Hill.
Besides Alessandroni and Smith, the staff includes recent Cherokee graduates Brett Gable, a Harvard commit, Josh Litsky, who will attend LaSalle and Aiden Emrich, who is a Sacred Heart commit. Matt Korbich, a recent Rancocas Valley graduate, is another capable pitcher on this deep staff.
The top of the order consists of leadoff hitter Chris Ahrens, a recent Shawnee graduate, and No. 2 hitter Noah Harvey, a recent Cinnaminson graduate who is headed to Richmond.
Two other recent Cherokee graduates in the middle of the order are third baseman Brett Chiesa and catcher Mason Kelleher.
Cherry Hill will open the Mid-Atlantic Region with a 9:30 a.m. game on Aug. 6 against Wheeling, West Virginia.
Photo: Zach Smith / Marc Narducci
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Author: Marc Narducci
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