Frederick Hustlers (8U)

The 12U Frederick Hustlers opened their 2016 campaign in grand fashion, beating a solid Backyard University Gamer squad out of York, PA by scores of 4-0 and 12-4. Pitching ruled this cold day at the park as Nick DeLisi, Luke Schlimm, Matt Cunningham and Jake Sherdel all pitched well. DeLisi was particularly sharp in the opener tossing four shutout innings with eight strikeouts. Schlimm closed out game one in equally dominant form striking out four in two innings and worked the first two innings of game two and only allowed one run with two strikeouts. Cunningham pitched the middle three innings of game two allowing two runs in his first inning before settling down and tossing two shutout innings. Sherdel closed out the game giving up one run and benefiting from a beautiful double-play by 2B Andrew McElwain.

The Hustler bats were hot on this chilly day, producing six hits in game one and eleven in game two. New addition Gabe Torres got things started in game one with a run-scoring single to left followed by Ryan Bennett’s RBI liner to right. JT Sachar led off the third with a sharp single to left center and was brought home with a laced RBI double by DeLisi to the gap in right center. Torres drew a walk to start the fourth and was eventually driven home by Ryan Talbert. The Hustlers exploded for 12 runs in the nightcap with Sachar, Cunningham, Tyler Prather, Talbert and Schlimm each accounting for two. Schlimm and Bennett each had three hits; one of Schlimm's was a double. DeLisi had two doubles and three RBIs. On the day, Bennett was 5-6 with four RBIs, DeLisi was 3-6 with three doubles and four RBIs, and Schlimm was 3-5 with three RBIs.

The Hustlers are back in action on Sunday, April 10 at Yellow Springs where they play host to Gambrills High Heat and the BCC Big Train in round-robin action. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30pm.

The 10U Frederick Hustlers got their season underway on Saturday, April 2nd, playing in the Long Horn tournament in Leesburg, Virginia. The first game had the Hustlers paired up with PG Select Blue Sox. Ryan Jones pitched a scoreless 1st, and the Hustlers quickly put two on the board in the bottom of the first as Camren Baker and Jones scored. PG Select tied the game in the second, and went ahead in the top of the 3rd by a run. But the Hustlers responded with 3 runs in the bottom of the third and held on to win a tight 5-4 victory. Jones pitched the first two innings, while Mason Miller pitched the middle inning, and Landon Johnson came on in the last two innings to shutdown PG Select. Each of them pitched well. This game was about pitching and defense, as each team only had four hits. The young hustlers committed only one error in the game. Baker, Jones, Miller, and Landon Johnson each had one hit for the Hustlers.

The second game had the Hustlers facing the Potomac Riverdogs. The Riverdogs scored 5 runs in the first 3 innings, but could not keep up with the hot Hustler bats, as the Hustlers plated 3 in the first, 4 in the second, and 4 more in the 3rd. The game was called after 4 innings due to the time limit, and the Hustlers came away with a 12-5 victory. Brett Lucas led the way with 2 doubles, one which was a monster shot to right center that bounced off the top of the fence and back into the field of play. Mason Miller and Jaxson Wood each hit long doubles in the game also. Camren Baker, Ryan Jones, Connor Allen, Miller, Landon Johnson, Logan Malachowski, Landon Tolbert, and Wood each had 1 hit. Tyler Schroyer pitched the first two innings, and Brett Lucas pitched the last two innings in the win.

Unfortunately the tournament was canceled Sunday due to the weather. The Hustlers are back in action next weekend, starting CRAB league play

The Frederick Hustlers rolled into Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for the 15-team Sports at the Beach Tournament and left with the Championship. The winners, known for their outstanding pitching and defense, added one more spice to their recipe and that came in the form of the long ball. Matt Cunningham hit three home runs, Marshall Mott connected twice, and Joe Pippin and Tyler Prather each had one as the Hustlers outscored their six opponents 58-15. Mott, Cunningham, Nick DeLisi, Justin Ropp, and Pippin all came up big on the mound throughout the weekend. The Hustlers beat the Waldwick Warriors 13-0 on Friday to open pool play and then took care of the Northern Valley Coyotes 7-4. The boys in black and gold then turned around Saturday and dispatched the Delmarva Diamonds 11-3 before the heavy rain came. Saturday’s second scheduled game against the Frozen Ropes Rockies was cancelled. The #1 seeded Hustlers started Championship Round play on Sunday with an impressive 11-0 win over the Olney All-Stars. They followed that up with an equally exciting 10-5 win over the GB Heat; the GB Heat had just eliminated the strong Olney Pirates from the CRAB League 8-1. The Championship game pitted the tournament’s #1 and #2 seeds and this day belonged to the Hustlers. DeLisi, Cunningham and Pippin limited the Pittsburgh Outlaws to three runs in the 6-3 win. Mott led the Hustlers at the plate going 6-11, followed by Prather (7-13), DeLisi (7-14), Pippin (7-14), Ropp (6-12), Cunningham (6-15) and JT Sachar (4-10).

Congratulations to the following players who spent time developing their skills as Frederick Hustlers.  Eighteen players were recognized by the Frederick News Post as High School ALL-AREA First Teamers for 2015 and eleven of those young men wore the Hustler black and vegas gold.  We are incredibly proud of these guys as they are not only super-talented on the diamond, they are outstanding young men.  We take great pride in drawing players from all over - these guys represent Middletown, Brunswick, Urbana, Walkersville, Governor Thomas Johnson, Oakdale and Tuscarora High Schools.

Would you like to be next? Tryouts for next year's Hustler teams are August 15-16 and 22-23 at Yellow Springs.