Frederick Hustlers

The Frederick Hustlers headed north to Mechanicsburg, PA and enjoyed a day of sunshine, baseball and great hospitality courtesy of the Keystone Baseball Club. The Hustlers were victorious in the opener, downing the Keystone Diamondbacks 6-1 before losing the nightcap to the Keystone War Eagles 11-4. Colby Patterson enjoyed a big day at the plate. Patterson, hitting out of the leadoff spot, went 4-6 with a double and four runs scored while Dustin Isanogle was 3-7 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. Austin May was 3-5 with a double, Eric Ball went 2-4 with a run scored, and Gabe Torres went 2-3 in game two with a double and two RBIs. Nick DeLisi, Patterson and Tyler Prather handled the pitching duties in game one and limited the Diamondbacks to six hits. The Hustler defense shined and turned two double plays. Matt Cunningham and Ball pitched well in game two.

What a way to start the season. The Frederick Hustlers did the unthinkable. They traveled eleven hours to the beautiful Lake Point Baseball Complex in Emerson, GA for the 2017 13U Perfect Game Invitational (Major Division). While the results were somewhat mixed, the goals were met. The Hustlers matched up against the best teams from the south and came away with a list of things to work on.

Friday night’s opener was against the Crescent City Hooks (LA). The Hustlers wasted little time getting started, grabbing a quick 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Brandon Bradshaw drew a walk, Dustin Isanogle scorched a single to left, and Nick DeLisi walked before Tyler Prather delivered a huge, two-out single up the middle.  The Hustlers looked to be in good shape as Luke Schlimm and DeLisi were dealing on the mound - each tossing two scoreless innings. The Hooks scored three in the fifth but the Hustlers added a single run in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead heading into the final frame. Turns out, errors and walks did the good guys in as they ended up on the wrong side of a heartbreaking 7-4 game. Surprisingly, the Crescent City team went 5-0 in the tournament and defeated Team Elite South in the Championship game (the other team to defeat the Hustlers).

The Hustlers came out Saturday with a chip on their shoulders. They were determined to put game one behind them and that they did, jumping all over the Augusta (GA) River Bandits. The Hustlers held a 9-0 lead after 3.5 innings only to see the Bandits come storming back and cut the lead to 9-7. The Hustlers tacked on a single run in the fifth before Bradshaw came in and shut the door to preserve the 10-7 win. Gabe Torres (double, single) and Prather each had two hits and Isanogle and Matt Cunningham (double) each added one. The River Bandits defeated Dig In (MD) 12-6 in the quarterfinals and lost to Team Elite South in the semis.

Sunday morning’s game against Team Elite South (East Cobb) was the disappointment of the tournament. The Hustler alarm clocks never went off and the black and gold suffered a 10-0 five inning, run rule game. The Hustlers simply never got anything going. They had first and third in the first and couldn’t get the big two out hit. They then got a one-out triple from Colby Patterson in the second only to leave him stranded. Patterson’s triple and a Cunningham single were the only hits the Hustlers recorded.

Dustin Isanogle and Tyler Prather both swung the bat well during the tournament.

8U PLAYERS WANTED

 

The Frederick Hustler family is excited to share that we've started a new age group for 2017 - kid pitch baseball for 8-year-olds.  Through Fall tryouts, we selected eight talented "little guys" but we are looking to add three more.  This is a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.  We believe in keeping the roster small so that everyone plays a lot.  The team will play in the MABA League and compete in 3-4 tournaments. 

We think that you will really like the coaching staff for this team.  Colin Doll and Chris Denny, two young guys who grew up playing for Coach Wayne, Coach Bob, and long-time Governor Thomas Johnson HS Coach Jim Foit, have taken the reigns and are excited to share their passion and enthusiasm for the game.  These are great baseball guys who don't have sons on the team.

Please contact Wayne Main at frederickhustlers04@gmail.com or 301-401-9034 if you have interest. 

The 12U Frederick Hustlers faced a new challenge this past weekend and ended up winning over new admirers and fans from Delaware to New York. The Hustlers traveled to Rehoboth Beach, DE for the 13U Clash of the Titans 10-team baseball tournament. The fields were bigger, the opponents were older and stronger but the game was the same. The Hustlers turned to their fundamentals and made it to the semifinals before losing an 11-10 thriller to Team All American out of Pittsburgh, PA. For the weekend, the Hustlers went 4-2 and finished with the bronze. The Hustlers picked up two wins in Friday’s pool play action with a 13-2 defeat of the Batting 1,000 Seminoles (NY) and an 11-3 win over the Brooklyn Bulldogs (NY). Saturday’s play began with a tough 8-4 loss to Team All American (PA) before taking a pivotal 8-0 shutout over the South Amboy Thunder (NJ). The top six teams advanced to Sunday’s Championship flight and the Hustlers were well positioned as the #3 seed. A rematch ensued with the Brooklyn Bulldogs who countered with a hard throwing RHP but the Hustlers once again had the answer winning 10-2. That set up the much anticipated mulligan with Team All American who had run-ruled every opponent they had faced other than the Hustlers. Playing their best baseball of the season, the Hustlers jumped out to a 9-2 lead before the All American squad made their run and took a 10-9 lead into the final frame. The Hustlers refused to go quietly rallying for a single run and sending the game into extra innings before dropping the heartbreaker.

The Hustlers got major contributions from all eleven players. The biggest surprise came in the form of the long ball where the fan favorites hit 11 homeruns on the 270 ft fences – three each by Brandon Bradshaw and Matt Cunningham, two by Marshall Mott and Gabe Torres and one (a timely grandslam) by Nick DeLisi. Dustin Isanogle once again had a great tournament hitting .500 (7/14), followed by Torres (.438, 7/16)), Bradshaw (.421, 8/19), Mott (.412, 7-17), Tyler Prather (.400, 6/15), Ryan Bennett (.400, 4/10), DeLisi (.375, 6/16), Cunningham (.375, 6/16), Andrew McElwain (.364, 4/11), Luke Schlimm (.333, 2/6) and JT Sachar (.250, 3/12).

The Hustlers also pitched well throughout the tournament where they rode the arms of Mott, DeLisi, Schlimm, Cunningham, Prather, Bradshaw and Sachar.

Coming off a weekend in which they played six games in Pittsburgh, the 12U Hustlers dug deep and escaped with a 5-4 win over the Hickory Hornets in quarter-final CRAB League action at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen on Tuesday evening. The storyline was the Hustlers’ trademark defense as they turned two double plays to thwart Hornet rallies. Both teams traded runs in the first before the Hornets erupted for three runs in the third on three-run home run from Cody Kurek to take a 4-1 lead. The Hustlers showed grit and determination by responding with two of their own in the bottom half on RBI singles by Dustin Isanogle and Marshall Mott. In the top of the fourth with a runner on first and one out, Tyler Prather snagged a one-hopper headed for right field and threw to Matt Cunningham at second who turned and fired to a hustling JT Sachar at first for a text book double play. The Hustlers then added two more in the bottom half on walks to Prather and Ryan Bennett and singles by Cunningham and Andrew McElwain. The nail in the coffin, however, proved to be in the top of the fifth when the Hornets loaded the bases with no outs and fell victim to another double play. First, Cunningham fielded a ball at short and showed off his arm getting a force at home. Then, Mott fielded a come-backer and threw to DeLisi at home who then unleashed a fastball to Prather to complete the 1-2-3 back-breaking double play. Luke Schlimm pitched four strong innings with six strikeouts before giving way to Mott in the fifth. Mott entered with the bases loaded and pitched out of the jam.

The Hustlers return to Aberdeen on Wednesday night for a semi-final clash with the Gambrills Athletic Club.