Three University of Delaware Baseball Team Members Bring Home Hardware as Summer Leagues Wind Down
August 23, 2011
Photos Courtesy of AAABAtournament.com
NEWARK, Del. -- With the school year fast approaching and, if they haven’t done so already, the summer baseball leagues are turning the lights out on another season.
A number of University of Delaware baseball team members competed in highly-touted summer leagues and have more than held their own. Capping off a successful summer, however, were two pitchers who can now call themselves national champions.
Eric Buckland and Chad Kuhl helped lift the Youse’s Maryland Orioles to their 28th All-American Amateur Baseball Association (AAABA) tournament championship, and their second in a row this past weekend. The Orioles went undefeated during the six-day tournament and won a doubleheader on Saturday to claim the title.
The back-to-back championships for the Orioles are part of a stretch where they have won eight of the past nine national championships.
The 67th AAABA National Tournament schedule needed remodeling after heavy rains in the Johnstown, Pa. area forced competition to play doubleheaders throughout the week. The Orioles overcame two doubleheader days, including a sweep on the final day, to take the championship from New Orleans.
Kuhl and Buckland each pitched in the team's fourth game on Thursday to reach the championship day. Kuhl started the game and pitched four innings before handing it over to Buckland and two more teammates to finish the mercy-rule victory.
The Orioles finished second in the regular season in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, falling short in the semifinal round. Kuhl was named the league’s Pitcher of the Week on July 16 after striking out seven batters and scattering seven hits in eight innings against the league leading Bethesda Big Train.
Eric Young and the Corvallis Knights have been making moves up the Perfect Game Summer Collegiate Team Rankings towards the end of the summer in part of capturing their fifth straight west division title in the West Coast League.
However, the Knights dropped the first game of the playoffs, but bounced back to sweep the remaining four games to win their second WCL Championship. Corvallis dropped the opener to Bend, 3-1, but retaliated with a 2-1 series win to move on to the championship round. They swept past Walla Walla, 14-3 and 11-4, to take the league trophy back to Oregon.
Young went 2-2 in 18 games out of the bullpen over the course of the summer. Young made the Knights’ season debut on the mound, but converted to the bullpen where he has spent the rest of the season. He holds a 4.21 ERA with two saves and 18 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched.
Staying with the pitchers, Steve Richter and Matt Soren each excelled in their respective summer leagues, each having a high strikeout to innings pitched ratio.
Richter, pitching for the Syracuse Junior Chiefs of the New York Collegiate Baseball League, finished 1-0 with a 0.51 ERA. He recorded 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings, converting one save in 11 games played. The Junior Chiefs went 16-28 for the summer.
Soren, playing for the New York Atlantics of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, was named an All-Star after striking out 58 batters in 42.1 innings. He made eight starts over the summer, finishing 1-2 with a 2.76 ERA. During his All-Star appearance, Soren pitched a scoreless inning while tallying a strikeout. His one win came in the first game of the playoffs, leading his team to the semifinals. The Atlantics finished 18-19 overall, and 2-2 in the postseason.
To keep up with all 18 Blue Hens who were playing in leagues coast to coast, continue to visit www.BlueHens.com for all additional information.
Back To Baseball Home Baseball Story Archive
