Glen Rock Teams “rock’in” it as we draw close to the end of the Spring Season!

Tuesday May 21, 2019

by Joe Youngberg

Glen Rock 8u goes 3-2 on the season with its most recent win against Ramsey in a 12-2 romp.  Two pitchers combined for a “no-no” allowing no hits in four innings pitched!  Glen Rock’s David and Santino combined to strike out 9 allowing only 5 walks, no easy feat for our young rookies!  Glen Rocks James J. went 1-2 on the game, with a 3 RBI single to right field. 

Glen Rock’s 10u Black made easy work of Rivervale on Sunday, winning 12-1 in four innings.  Glen Rock’s Charlie Schlett #24 toed the mound for the Start.  Charlie went 2 innings, striking out 2 and allowing only 1 hit.  Michael Lacey #7 came in, in relief, in the bottom of the 3rd striking out 4 and allowing no hits in 2 innings pitched.  Glen Rock’s Bryan Youngberg #99 started behind the plate, and #8 John Colonna finished us off.  Both catchers did a great job minding the bases only allowing 3 steals.  Glen Rock’s Bats were on fire with Michael Lacey leading the way.  Michael went 3-3, with 3 RBIs in the game.  Wyatt Morrissey #21 and Daniel Stutzke #28 both swung a mean stick, both going 2-3 on the day.  Daniel had two doubles in this game, one of which was a very hard hit ball to right which, arguably, should have been a home run if it hadn’t been ruled a ground rule double by the umpire.  Noah Jacobs #45 had a hard hit double in the bottom of the second inning driving in 2 RBIs.  Great team win 10u Rock!

Rock’s 11u studs bring their record up to 6-2 with a great win vs. Mahwah, topping the Mahwah club by a score of 6-4.  Glen Rock’s Julian Paradise started for the Panthers making easy work of the Mahwah team in the three innings.  Julian Stuck out 2 allowing no runs in three innings pitched.  Zach Kaplan #15 came in, in relief, and pitched 2.1 innings.  Zach struck out 3 allowing just 2 hits.  Alvin Li #76 came in for the close, going 1.2 innings striking out 2 and allowing 1 hit.  #2 Lorenzo Vaccari had two RBIs on the game, going 1-3 with a double.  #7 Brenan Burkhardt went 2-3 on the day, with 2 singles and a run. 

Our Cooperstown Team was on the wrong end of tough walk off in a 12-11 loss to Oakland on Saturday.  Despite the tough loss, Glen Rock played well.  Peter Lagemann #34 went yard to left field in the top of the 4^th to bring the Panthers to a 10-6 lead.  Despite the loss, Glen Rock fought hard, producing 12 hits, Ryan Loren #39 driving in 2 RBIs on the day.  Rock was only struck out 1 time by the hard throwing Oakland Squad.  Good game Rock!

Glen Rock High School Varisty Baseball runs practice for 10u Black!

By: Joe Youngberg

Sunday April 28, 2019

Coach Matt McGrath and several of his players from Glen Rock High’s Panthers Baseball team joined Glen Rock Travel’s 10u Team for a practice this past Sunday, marking the start in a long journey of positive coordination and cooperation between the programs.

Coach McGrath and his high school ballers arrived early and joined 10u’s boys in their warmups.  Some 10u boys stood in “awe” of these high school athletes, who to some of the young travel players have the same presence as “Major Leaguers” to the young team.

Coach McGrath and his team spent nearly an hour and half with the young atheletes coaching each and every one of the youngsters in several fundamental aspects of the game.  The high school players could be heard throughout the practice encouraging the players, giving constructive criticism, making adjustments, and cheering on the 10u boys as they went through the practice and bettered themselves.  One coach from the 10u Team could be heard mid-practice saying “I’ve never seen the boys play this well, this is awesome!”.

Coach McGrath addressed the young players near the end of the practice and spoke about maintaining a positive state of mind throughout the game.  “Knowing that you can do it, and seeing yourself do it before you get up to bat will make all the difference” Coach McGrath told the young 10u players.  “You’ll fail, we all fail, baseball is the only game where if you fail 7 out of 10 times your successful” McGrath continued quoting Ted Williams’ famous line.  Some of the Varsity teammates spoke up as well, addressing the team and reflecting on some of their personal struggles as athletes.  Coach McGrath and his players kept the boys completely focussed, almost mesmerized, and provided some key advise that really resignated with the young ballers.  “Get up thinking you’re going to hit a double, not that you’re going to strike out” the Panther’s Senior Captain conveyed.

In the end, following a giant “1-2-3 Rock!” by both clubs, all involved felt an incredible sense of togetherness “I wish we did this when I was that age” one GRHS letterman said to the 10u coaches, “yeah this is really cool, and good for those kids” another was heard saying.

What a way for the clubs to merge and collectively move forward in our program!  Thank you to Coach Rob Morrissey and Coach Matt McGrath for coordinating this event.  It was an incredible expierience for us all.

 12u Cooperstown Team goes to work, bests New City Generals 7-4!

June 15, 2019

by Joe Youngberg

On June 15^th our Glen Rock Cooperstown Team took the field against the New City Generals.  The Panthers struck first in 1^st inning on singles from Evan L. and Michael F. and a key bunt by Aiden A. to score two runs.  In the 3^rd a single followed by two stolen bases by Maddox T. put a player in scoring position for Peter L to drive in a run on a hard hit double to center.  With two outs in bottom 3, runners on first and second, Zach S. hit a hard ground ball to center field scoring another run, bringing the score to 4-0 Glen Rock.  New City rallied in the bottom of the 3^rd to drive in 3 runs, 4-3 Glen Rock.  Neither team was able to drive in any runs until the bottom of the 6^th where New City was able to bring in the tying run with two outs, score 4-4.  In the top of the 7^th, Glen Rock went to work led off by a key single by Ryan L. and a sacrifice grounder by Maddox T. to move the go-ahead run into scoring position.  Evan L. comes through again with another single to left field advancing Ryan L. to 3^rd base.  Facing an 0-2 count Peter L. drove a ground ball to 2^nd base, scoring Ryan L. and advancing Evan L. to 3^rd base, score 5-4 Glen Rock.  A sacrifice fly by Michael F. would drive in Evan L., and a single by Zach S. would drive in the final run of the game.  Glen Rock’s Steve C. came in to close things out in the bottom of the 7^th, striking out 2.  Final score 7-4 Glen Rock.  Great game 12u!

Rock continues to triumph, putting up big numbers!

Tuesday June 18, 2019

by Joe Youngberg

Glen Rock 11u played Wyckoff on June 13, 2019 winning by a final score of 11-5.  Andy A., Brendan B., Nikhil L., Alvin L., Julian P., Lorenzo V., and Luke B. all had RBIs on the game.  Glen Rock’s hitters managed to put Wyckoff’s bullpen to task forcing the use of five (5) pitchers by the Wyckoff staff.  Glen Rock’s pitchers managed to hold Wyckoff to just 5 hits, striking out 3.

Glen Rock’s 10u Black team participated in the Franklin Lakes Father’s Day Tournament this past weekend.  Glen Rock started off strong on Friday night, beating Oakland by a score of 10-5 in 6.  Glen Rock was able to drive in 10 R on 8 RBIs, 13 Singles and 2 doubles.  Wyatt M. led the way driving in 3 RBIs and scoring 1 R.  As a team, Glen Rock went had a .536BA with a 1.213 OPS.  In the semi-finals of the tournament, Glen Rock was again able to pull away with a victory, beating Wyckoff 11-1 in 4 innings.  Rock’s Charlie S. and Evan S. were both able to drive in 2 RBIs a piece on a hard hitting day for Rock’s sticks.  Game 2’s stand-out was Noah J. who went 2-2 with 2 singles and 2 runs on the game.  Noah J. also started on the mound for Rock, throwing a complete game.  Noah J. gave up just 1 R and 2 hits on the game, with 8 Ks.  In the Championship Game, Glen Rock and Washington Twp. both came to play and it showed.  In the top of the 2^nd, Glen Rock’s Evan Y. hit a bomb to right field with John C. and Charlie S. on base, scoring both.  Evan Y’s bomb gave him a triple with a questionable call at home by the umpire, robbing him of the homerun.  Washington was able bring the score to 5-3 in the 4^th, and despite a valiant effort to crawl back, Glen Rock fell, final score 5-4.  Congratulations to Glen Rock 10u for a hard fought game, and 2^nd place in the Father’s Day Tourney.

In one game this season, our 8u youngsters has managed to walk away with a decisive victory over Midland Park, with a final score 5-0.  Glen Rock’s pitching staff, Santino V. David T. and Jesse D., managed to strike out 14 combined, allowing no hits and only 4 walks.  Both David T. and Bennet C. were able to get a hit, with David T. driving in two RBIs on the day.  Ben C., Bennet C., Henry C., Grant D., Jessed D., Graham M., and Santino V. all managed to steal two bases a piece.  8u won a second game this week, beating Waldwick 9-3.

Despite a tough loss to Rivervale, Glen Rock’s 10u Red team had a few shining stars to highlight.  Glen Rock’s Luca R. started for Glen Rock, going 3 innings.  Luca R. gave up only 3 hits and 2 BB, while striking out 6.  Blake R. scored Rock’s only run, tearing up the base paths with 2 stolen bases.

Glen Rock’s 9u boys will have a busy week next week, playing Oakland, Mahwah, and Waldwick.  Glen Rock’s 8u is due to play today, at home, vs. Highlands.  Our 14u team has been pretty successful thus far, winning yesterday against Waldwick 10-3.

Glen Rock 10u (Black) Team Starts the Season off Strong with a 15-3 Win over Maywood.

Wyatt M gave Maywood fits, as he bagged four hits in Glen Rock’s 15-3 victory on Sunday. Wyatt singled in the first, doubled in the third, singled in the fourth, and singled in the fifth.

Glen Rock put up six runs in the fifth inning. Wyatt, Daniel S, and Michael L powered the big inning with RBIs.  Matthew H was on the mound for Glen Rock. He lasted two innings, allowing one hit and one run while striking out six.

Glen Rock tallied 17 hits on the day. Wyatt, Michael, Daniel, Noah J, and Evan Y all collected multiple hits for Glen Rock. Wyatt went 4-for-4 at the plate to lead Glen Rock in hits. Wyatt led Glen Rock with two stolen bases, as they ran wild on the base paths with 12 stolen bases.

Great job out the gate 10u Black! Keep up the hard work!

Glen Rock Baseball Goes Near Perfect in our First Weekend!

Following a tremendous win by 11u to capture the NJSBL Fall Championship against Oakland, Glen Rock Teams were raring to go in our first official week of baseball.

The “rookies” of our program down at 8u won their first game (EVER) in travel baseball by defeating the Highlands Bulldogs by a score of 4-3.  It was a tight game until the fourth inning where Rock was able to pull way for good.

10u Red also beat Highlands in a sweet 6-3 Victory at home.  Luca R. lead the charge with an incredible game, earning him the Glen Rock Travel Baseball “Player of the Week” Title.  Team Red was right behind Luca, mounting 6 hits and 6 RBIs to claim the victory over Highlands.

10u Black played away this weekend, and brought home a victory, surpassing Maywood by a score of 15-3.  Matt H. started for the dominating pitching staff who combined to strike out 11 batters, give up only three runs, and three hits. Wyatt M. had a 4-4 day driving in three RBIs.  Michael L. went 3-4 with 4 RBIs on the game.

Vaccari’s 11u Bandits took another game, winning by a margin of 15-5 over Rivervale.  The team combined to score 15 on 12 hits.  11u pitchers combined to strike out 14 of the Rivervale 11u Team, allowing only five hits.

Although not all information was available while writing this, Glen Rock Baseball combined to score 40 runs vs our opponents while only giving up 9.  Not too shabby rock!  Not too shabby at all!

Rock has an amazing showing at BCCC Tourney!

Tuesday May 28, 2019

by Joe Youngberg

For those of you who did not have baseball this weekend and were able to enjoy the relaxation of a breezy beach, or the crispness of your freshly prepared pool… you missed one heck of a weekend of baseball.

Glen Rock played host city to 10u, 11u and 12u flights while our vets up at the 13u level played away all weekend.  The grounds crew and snack stand volunteers did an incredible job, our fields looked amazing and all who came were well nourished and refreshed.

Glen Rock played a ton of baseball, around 15 games in total in 3-4 days.  There were a lot of tremendous outings by our young athletes, so prepare for slightly more… “long winded” … version of our week in review.

10u Baseball –

10u was bracketed against some incredibly tough teams.  Although they lost all three, two of the three were “hard fought losses” where our Rock boys fought incredible hard for the win.  In game 2 vs. Teaneck, Teaneck broke out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning but Rock answered back when Michael Lacey #7 drew a key walk, sending John Colonna #8 home to bring the panthers to a score of 2-1.  Teaneck drove in another run in the top of the 4^th on a sacrifice taking the score to 3-1.  In the bottom of the 5^th, following a RBI single by Michael Lacey #7, Wyatt Morrissey #21 comes to bat and hits a triple to score Evan Settlow #42, evening up the clubs at 3-3.  Teaneck was able to sneak two runs over the plate in the top 6, and despite Glen Rock getting the tying run to 1B in the bottom of the inning…”baseball happened” and Teaneck pulled away with victory in this incredible back and forth match up.

In the last game of the tourney for our 10u team, Ridgewood pulled out ahead early in the bottom 1^st inning with a 5-0 lead.  Glen Rock was able to get three back in the top of the 3^rd on a hard hit double by Daniel Stutzke #28, a well-placed single by John Colonna #8 and then a 2 out run by Stutzke, stealing home on some heads up baserunning!  Both teams kept it scoreless until the top of the 6^th where Glen Rock mounted a 2 out rally on a single from Wyatt Morrissey #21 and double by Daniel Stutzke #28 to bring the score to 6-5 Rock.  Ridgewood came out strong in the bottom of the 6^th and mounted their own rally, where they walked it off on a single.  Deserving of a shout out, Wyatt Morrissey #21 toed the mound for Glen Rock in this matchup.  Wyatt went for a complete game, striking out 7 and only allowing 1 BB.  Wyatt worked incredibly efficiently and had complete command throwing 75 pitches, 58 which were strikes.

11u Baseball –

Our 11u Team fought hard all the way to the top, but lost to the Montvale Mustangs in the Championship game by a margin.

In an interesting twist, Glen Rock opened up against the Mustangs, whom they would ultimately face in the Championship game.  Glen Rock’s Alvin Li #76, Zack Kaplan #15 and Julian Paradise #14 took the mound for the Panthers in this “pitcher’s duel” style game.  Each Rock pitcher only gave up 1 hit and 1 run each.  They walked no one in this game.  Glen Rock’s foe, “Gavin”, threw for 5.1 innings, striking out 9 and also only allowed 3 hits.  Glen Rock’s Luke Brassil #3, Andy Arrighi #9 and Charlie Garret #4 each had a hit, with Luke Brassil and Andy Arrighi each driving in a run.

In game 2, Glen Rock emerged victorious in 6, by beating the Greenwich Thunder 7-3 in a late game victory.  Glen Rock was down 3-1 in the 3^rd where Brendan Burkhardt drove in Luke Brassil #3 on a sacrifice.  In the top of the 5^th, with 2 outs, Glen Rock goes ahead on a single by Brendan Burkhardt #7.  On the same play, the Thunder blunder and Nikhil Lalwani #27 and Luke Brassil #3 are able to score on some key baserunning following a throwing error after Burkdardt reached.  Speedy Lorenzo Vaccari #2 stole home, bringing the score to 5-3 at the end of 5.  The Panthers pull ahead for good in the top of the 6^th where Andrew Davidoff #99 singled driving in Zack Kaplan #15.  Nikhil Lalwani #27 was able to place a well-timed bunt down, not only scoring Charlie Garret #4 but beating out the throw to 1^st of the single.  Glen Rock emerged victorious, 7-3.

11u faced off against Ridgewood in game 3 of the series.  Glen Rock rolled right over the once mighty maroons 17-2 in just 4 innings of play.  The highlight of this game was the offensive onslaught brought upon by Lorenzo Vaccari #2.  Vaccari went 3-4 with a walk, drove in 4 RBIs and capped it all off with a Grand Slam to bring the score to 17-0 in the top of the 4^th inning.  The Panther’s Andrew Davidoff #99 went complete this game, going all 4 innings giving up 2 runs, on 3 hits striking out 2.  Rock swung big with Brendan Burkhardt #7 going 3-4 on the game, Julian Paradise #14 going 2-2 and Zack Kaplan #15 going 3-4.  Luke Brassil #3 and Alvin Li #76 each had 2 RBIs on the game.

In the semifinals Glen Rock faced off against the Highlands Bulldogs, beating the dogs by a score of 9-6.  Glen Rock was able to score 9 runs on only 3 hits, capitalizing on the mistakes made by the Highland Bulldogs and being incredibly smart and aggressive on the base paths.  The Panthers stole 18 bases in the game, led by Lorenzo Vaccari #2 with 6.  Alvin Li #76 went 5 innings on the mound for Rock, striking out 7.  Zack Kaplan #15 closed things up, pitching 1 inning, striking out 1.

In the 11u Championship game, the Panthers fell to the Montvale team by a large margin.  Glen Rock fought back and brought the score to a reasonable 9-6 in the 5^th inning.  Montvale came in in the top of the 5^th inning scoring 9 runs.  Glen Rock couldn’t keep up and lost 18-6 in a disappointing loss in the final game.

12u Baseball –

Our Glen Rock 12u Team had a great tournament this year.  The panthers started off strong against the General’s Baseball Academy, beating them by a margin of 12-4.  12u started off strong in the 1^st inning with a triple by Evan Lagemann #99, a single by Peter Lagemann #34, two well timed walks by Steve Choi #19 and Aiden Alvino, and a RBI fielder’s choice by Thomas Petraitis.  Glen Rock came out strong again in the 2nd, with a few key hits highlighted by a hard hit double by Thomas Petraitis.  Glen Rock gave up 4 runs in the top of the 3^rd inning, but that was all the Generals could command, and Glen Rock walked away with a 12-4 romp over the Generals in game 1.

In game 2, Glen Rock opened up with a run in the 1^st inning against Belleville scoring 1 run on a single by Michael Flaccavento #22.  Glen Rock began to pull away in the 2^nd with another 2 runs scored on a fielder’s choice by Zach Silberstien #7, and a run scored on a single hit by Peter Lagemann #34.  Glen Rock was able to mount the score up to 15-5 by end of this match-up.  Glen Rock’s Steve Choi and Michael Flaccavento each came up with 2 hits on the game, with Flaccavento toping the RBI list with 3.

In game 3 of the tournament Glen Rock and Nanuet battled for the win and (to the dismay of the home town crowd) Nanuet emerged the victor.  But in true Glen Rock form, Rory Tennant and his Cooperstown warriors wouldn’t go down without a fight.  Glen Rock was down 5-1 going into the top of the 6^th inning where a double by Peter Lagemann and another by Michael Flaccavento brought the score to a reasonable 5-3.  Unfortunately, in the end, Rock succumbed in the battle against the Knights of Nanuet, ending their tourney run.

13u Team –

I don’t have much insight into the details of 13u’s run to the Championship game, but I can tell you that they did some damage on their way.  Glen Rock swepped through the preliminary games, outscoring their opponents 36-1 on Saturday and Sunday.  Ridgewood was the opponent for the semi-finals where Rock was able to pull away with a 3-2 win.  Rock faced off against a tough Par-Troy Piranhas losing 6-2 in the final.  All in all – Rock scored 41 runs in the tournament, and gave up only 9 runs.  An incredible run!

Some Player Spotlights

We had a great weekend with some great plays and performances.   Before we announce the Player of the Week, I’d like to share some individual player highlights with our league.

At the 12u Level, we have Brendan Lagemann.  Evan had a tremendous tourney, going 6-10 with a triple, 2 doubles and 3 singles on the weekend.  Lagemann helped his team drive in 30 runs in 3 games.  Lagemann also had two amazing stops at Shortstop, diving for the ball and making some great plays!

At the 10u level, Rock’s left fielder Patrick O’Keeffe had an incredible play to save a run, where he caught a fly ball, crow hopped like a pro, and had a perfect throw to Catcher Bryan Youngberg from left field to tag an advancing runner at home.

Glen Rock 10u (Black) Team Wins Another, shutting out Washington Twp with a 12-0 Victory. 

Glen Rock 10u Black and Washington Twp. 10u faced off on April 17, playing on Township’s Memorial Field.  Glen Rock opened it up in the first inning swinging the bat, scoring 4 runs on four hits including three single and a triple by Glen Rock’s Evan Settlow. 

Glen Rock scored three more in the bottom of the second following two RBIs from a hard hit single by Daniel Stutzke.

Glen Rock’s Noah Jacobs scores a run on a single in the third to bring Glen Rock’s score to 7-0.  Glen Rock drove in 5 runs in the top of the 4^th inning to close out the game, winning by a score of 12-0.

Glen Rock stole a total of nine 9 bases this game with Charlie Schlett leading the way.  Wyatt Morrissey, Daniel Stutzke, Patrick O’Keefe, John Colonna and Bryan Youngberg also took a couple of bags from Twp during the outing. 

11u Does it Again! – 11u wins a third straight championship in an 11-1 victory over Oakland!

The Glen Rock Panthers 11u Team opened up scoring in the first inning against their Oakland opponent, when Alvin L singled on the first pitch of the at-bat, scoring one run.  Glen Rock then tallied another three runs in the third inning with an offensive explosion led by Alvin and Charlie G.

Alvin was on the mound for the Panthers. He allowed one hit and one run over three innings, striking out eight.

The Panthers scattered eight hits in the game. Alvin and Lorenzo each racked up multiple hits for Glen Rock. Alvin went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead Glen Rock in hits. The Panthers stole 18 bases during the game as five players stole more than one.  Andy, Tyler, Zack, Daniel and Alvin all stole two bases while Evan stole 4, and Lorenzo lead the way with 6!

Congratulations 11u!!!

Glen Rock Team “aces” as we are half way through opening season of 2019

Monday April 28, 2019

by Joe Youngberg

For those of you who braved the cold, what an exciting week of baseball for Glen Rock Travel!

Our rookies down at the 8u level brought us an incredible win vs. Waldwick, winning by a huge margin of 17-1!!  Two players, Ben C and Santino, combined to pitch a NO HITTER against their Waldwick foes!  Santino allowed zero hits and one run over three innings, leading the way with 6 k’s.  Ben C. lead the Panthers in hitting, going 1-2 driving in 2 runs in the second, a single in the third, and on a fielder’s choice in the fourth.  Felix, Ben, Ryan, Cameron, Ryan D. and James P. all scored in the fourth inning, tallying six runs for the Panthers.  Great job 8u!!

Another great game by our 10u Black Team showing an incredible amount of resilience with a “come from behind” win to best the Teaneck Bandits, with a final score of 6-5.

Glen Rock was down 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Rock was able to score two on some key walks, bringing the score to 3-2. With two outs, bases loaded, Evan S. hit an incredible triple to drive in all three runs giving Glen Rock the lead, 5-3.  With Evan S. on third base, Wyatt M. come to bat and hits a second triple scoring Evan in what would be the deciding run. Teaneck managed to score two more in the top of the 6^th on an error, but in the end they were no match for Rock.  Final score 6-5 in this nail-biter!

Our boys at the 11u level came out with another “W” for Rock, besting Ridgewood with a final score of 14-8.  Glen Rock’s bats were alive as Lorenzo, Zack, Charlie and Luke all had multiple hits for Rock.  Luke B. had another powerful game, racking up six stolen bases on the game, leading the way for Glen Rock’s 23 stolen bases on the game.  The pitching staff today came out strong, combining to strike out 8 and allowing no walks through six innings.  Alvin, Zack K. and Julian combined to keep the hard-hitting Ridgewood team to just 7 hits on the game.

Although I don’t have the details of the games, I want to give a “shout out” to our 13u Program who is tied for 1^st place in the NJSBL 13u Ruth Division.  13u is playing among all “Club Teams” and doing some damage!  Keep it up 13u!