Your Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors would like to congratulate the players, coaches, families and friends of the Broomall Newtown Babe Ruth 13U team on their trip to the Babe Ruth World Series in Jamestown, NY.
Their journey began with exciting and dominating performances during the Pennsylvania State Championship tournament in July. Played on their home field, Broomall Newtown (BN) dominated with an impressive 15-0 win over Ridley in the title game. This victory marked BN’s 14th state title as a program, and seventh at the 13U level.
The team then headed to the Mid-Atlantic Regionals in Old Bridge, NJ. The Regionals were marked with a 13-0 win over Atlantic Shore, NJ, a 24-1 win over Mifflin County, PA and a 4-1 win over Sayre Woods, South NJ. Our BN team then set their sights on their final opponent in the Regionals: Greater Voorhees Athletic Association. In the first game, BN’s Cole Patterson ripped a walk-off, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh to lift BN to an 11-10 win.
The excitement continued in their second game that saw our BN team fall behind in both the second and then third innings before RBIs from Ryan Raftovich and Danny Quinn followed by a double by Cole Patterson tied the score at 3-3. James Hogan scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning, then turned around to pitch four shutout innings to end the game with a 4-3 win and punch a ticket to Jamestown. Word back home spread quickly and the team was met with a Marple and Newtown Township fire and police escort down West Chester Pike when they returned home that Friday night. The victory that sent BN to the Babe Ruth World Series in Jamestown last month was the program’s seventh trip to the big stage. The 13U and 15U teams both brought home titles in 2014.
Ted Raftovich is BN’s head coach, who is not only proud of his players but in awe of our community. “I have coached many of these boys since they were six years old,” Ted explained. “They not only worked hard on the field to get this far, but they also worked equally as hard to raise the money
we needed to make the trip to Jamestown.” The support from the community was overwhelming, with many of our local businesses, friends and neighbors stepping up to contribute gift cards, raffle items and sponsorship dollars.
The World Series trip was one for the books with BN facing tough United States and International competitors. We are so proud of the players, coaches and parents who gave us all such a memorable experience. Great job, boys!