Haddonfield Little League’s 11U District Team became the first in the borough to win the New Jersey State Championship with a win over Tom’s River on July 25.
The team celebrated with a parade down Kings Highway, where members were escorted by police and firetrucks, with a practice looming to gear up for their next challenge.
“The last game was wild,” said coach and manager Frank DeLano “Tom’s River is a really good baseball team. That’s who we played the second time in that tournament. They scored two runs in the top of the first inning, and then we answered with seven runs in the bottom of the second.
“We went back and forth, went four (innings) scoreless, they scored three and then we scored two more to make it 9-5. It was a really good baseball game between two really good teams.”
Haddonfield honored the team with a parade after the state championship.
Throughout the season, the 11U team faced off against Little League teams throughout New Jersey, including Cherry Hill Atlantic, Haddon Township, Haddon Heights, Hammonton, Harrison Township and Morristown. The state has nore than 308 teams.
The 11U team consisted of 12 players: Matthew Delano, Finn Hadden, Marco Rocco, Christian White, Paul Goldin, Julian Saft, PK Fay, Landon Tripician, Rhys William, Brayden Rutherford, Jack Crookshank and Alex Koplove.
“They’re selfless,” DeLano noted. “They love each other and they believe in the ‘H’ (for Haddonfield). And that to me is so important. They fight like heck for each other and they just want to win.”
“It’s been a blast hanging out with friends, doing our thing, continuing and to get a board up there,” said DeLano’s son Matthew, referencing a sign that was put up on the team’s field. “My favorite part? Probably everything.
“We’ve been really blessed to be able to practice at a facility and to have fun with our friends, and also getting better by having fun and then probably winning.”
“We had hopes to (win the championships),” Hadden recalled. “We knew we were aiming for it, but it’s still like a dream. I’ve not really been a part of something like this. It’s just so awesome. We’re blessed to be out here right now.
“A lot of other kids would want to be here right now, so this is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
In their Little League, the 11U team represented New Jersey against 11 other state champions in the Eastern Regional 11U Finals in Beverely, Massachusetts. Their next round started on July 27, and the Little League North East Region 11U schedule had games daily leading up to a North East Championship game on Wednesday, July 31.
