Forty years ago, when Boyertown won its first Pennsylvania American Legion state title with a 3-0 shutout of Chambersburg out in York, an area sports writer called the Bears’ exploit “a fairy tale.”

But it was real, of course.

Fast forward to this past Saturday, when Boyertown won its record 22nd Pennsylvania American Legion state title with a 2-0 shutout of Nor-Gwyn at Bear Stadium. Close to a handful of sports writers called the Bears’ exploit just about everything, from unbelievable to unimaginable (perhaps a splicing of the greatest episodes from the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits).

But as unreal as it may have seemed, it was indeed real.

This one, unlike any of the previous 21, was special.

So extraordinary that someone should put an asterisk next to it in the annual Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball Guide.

You see, summers begin – for the Boyertown Bears at least – with high expectations. They don’t dream about winning Berks County League, Region Two and state titles, and they don’t come to the ballpark hoping they can win them.

They expect to win them … all of them.

But this past May, after tryouts ended and after manager Rick Moatz penciled in his roster, nearly everyone – the Bears themselves as well as their coaching staff and their loyal fans – took a different, if not bizarre, stance.

“I honestly don’t think anyone really thought we’d be where we (were Saturday),” Moatz explained.

Especially veterans like Brandon Sullivan and Ethan Moser, who were part of the Bears’ state championships the last two years.

“I didn’t think we could do this, not at all,” an ailing Sullivan said Saturday, recalling his preseason mindset. “I just didn’t think we had a chance to do this.”

“I didn’t know a lot of the guys, and didn’t know all the young pitchers we had when we started out,” added Moser.

There were, for the record, a handful of familiar returnees from last summer – Moser, Nate Schnell, Sullivan, Aaron Wilkins and Ryan Zakszeski. Others, like Bryer Eshbach, Dane Hiryak, Travis Kreitz, Ryan Schwager and Chris Werner, were pretty much limited to cameo roles in the 53-3 run of a year ago.

Moatz didn’t exactly add eight household names to the aforementioned crew back in May, either. Andrew Gehringer, Brock Hallman, John Mur

row, Josh Schnell didn’t really knock the leather off the ball or throw it past anyone during the high school season this past spring, and Taras Letnaunchyn, Paul Mills, Steve Price and Ben Skean don’t even begin their junior years in high school until next month.

“We knew from the beginning we would be playing in the state tournament (as the host),” Moatz said. “So the obvious thing for us was to get better, get competitive … so we could at least compete in the state tournament.

“But did I think we had the horses to do this? No … absolutely not.”

Anyone who did, especially during an unprecedented three-game Berks County League losing streak in the final week of June, must not have been wearing a helmet in their own playing days.

That skid denied the Bears their normal top-seed for the league playoffs. But somehow they managed to regroup and win their 30th league title and advance to the Region Two tournament instead of sitting around and practicing for a full week or so prior to the state showdown.

“We had some practices after the regular season ended and the (Berks) playoffs started,” Sullivan said. “We talked a lot about attitude, about being aggressive. And we worked hard. I think that’s what may have really turned it around for us.”

“When we started winning in the playoffs, I think most of us felt we had a good team, a good fundamental team,” Moser added. “We knew we had a good program, or system here. And even though some people didn’t think we had a chance to do much of anything, we may have started to think we’re better than we first thought. We started to surprise ourselves.”

Hatfield, with a lineup comprised of a lot of players from North Penn’s PIAA-Class AAAA state championship team in the spring, had a surprise of its own for the Bears. In the Region Two opener, Eric Ruth fanned 17 Boyertown batters and Hatfield humbled the Bears in an abbreviated 13-3 rout.

Facing yet another layoff until states, the Bears bounced back again. This time it was four straight wins, and then a rain-shortened 2-2 stalemate with none other than Nor-Gwyn.

Co-champions doesn’t exactly have that familiar Boyertown ring to it, but it was good enough considering.

“We saw, at the end of the Berks County playoffs, that these guys weren’t intimidated,” Moatz said. “And at the (state) regional, watching them come through the losers bracket… The guys just didn’t go away, didn’t give up, didn’t quit.”

That was evident early last week, with their four-game sweep through the first four days of the state tournament – a familiar ringa-dinga-ding in the Boyertown neighborhood.

And if there was a defining game in that stretch it was the three-hour, 11-inning victory over NorChester on Thursday night (or Friday morning). They erased a 2-0 deficit, went ahead 3-2, then endured a strikeout binge – 18 of them, to be exact, by the end of the affair – to pull out the win in the 11th.

The overlooked saviors in the upset? Murrow, who allowed just two runs in eight innings, and Hallman, who provided 2-2/3 innings of hitless relief.

The win set up yet another final-day showdown with Nor-Gwyn.

The Bears could’ve easily folded again after getting blanked 4-0 in Game 14 by the Hawks’ Michael Bradstreet. But there was a Game 15…

With his pitching staff all but out of innings and appearances – not to mention Nate Schnell still sidelined since last week and Price unable to go since Thursday morning’s game – Moatz and Bears pieced together a 2-0 gem. Moser worked the first six innings, Letnaunchyn the next two, and Eshbach closed it out with another spotless two for the save. Kreitz ended the string of zeroes on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Wilkins doubled the count with an RBI double in the seventh.

For the week, the Bears hit a punchless .228 – about 200 or so points lower than their average in last year’s state tournament. Only two regulars – Moser and Josh Schnell – hit over .300.

But combine their 42 hits with the other 58 baserunners (walks, hit-batsmen and errors) and a pitching staff that owned a 1.67 earned run average, well, you get just a wee bit of an idea how they did what they did.

“We tell the guys it’s not always about talent,” Moatz said. “It’s about nine guys playing together, nine guys executing, or performing within the system we have.

“We have to go with what the kids are able to do. We have a system, but it’s a system that not everyone can conform to, or one that not everyone is suited to. Sometimes it’s a little give and take. But it sure worked this week.”

Forty years ago, when Boyertown won its first Pennsylvania American Legion state title, Ken Stimmel – who threw 10 scoreless innings of relief in the shocking run – said it was a “team effort.”

This past Saturday afternoon, when Boyertown won its record 22nd Pennsylvania American Legion state title, Moser – named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player – said it was a “team effort.”

A lot has happened in 40 years ago, and a lot of things have changed.

But in Boyertown, when it comes to baseball, a lot of things stay the same.

* * *

Saturday’s celebration was a all-in-the-family moment for Moser. His cousin, Corey Hannahoe, was part of the Bears’ state championship in 1989, and his uncle Todd Hannahoe – Corey’s father – was part of that first championship in 1969. … Boyertown (2004, 2006-09) and Nor-Gwyn (2005) have now accounted for the last six American Legion state titles. ... Boyertown, which has won 22 of the 24 state finals it has appeared in, advances to the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Morgantown, W.Va. The Bears (37-8) open at 1 p.m. Thursday against New Jersey state runner-up Mt. Laurel.

COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — Moments after returning from an early Saturday morning practice, Boyertown manager Rick Moatz and assistants Craig Eddinger, Pete Hiryak, Matt Matlack and Jeff Pinder feasted on some watermelons outside their hotel. In between bites, they were discussing what they knew about South Richmond, a team their Bears would be facing later Saturday night in the winners bracket final of the Mid-Atlantic Regional.

There wasn’t much to talk about, at least not about South Richmond, that is.

The staff was more concerned about, and more open about, the alarming number of times their own players were striking out.

They had every reason to be concerned, too.

In Thursday’s opening-round thriller against Gaithersburg, Md., the Bears went down a season-high 14 times. In Friday night’s blowout of the host Buccaneers, they fanned another 12 times.

“That’s way, way too many times,” Moatz mumbled.

Indeed it is.

But it is also a statistic that most everyone else is overlooking, which is easy to do when watching a team swing the bats like the

Bears have been doing (here, as they have all year, too).

There were those 14 strikeouts against Gaithersburg, but there were also those 13 hits - including three doubles, a triple and four home runs - that helped produce 11 runs ... or one more than the Maryland state champions. And there were those 12 strikeouts against Colonial Heights, but there were also another 13 hits - including three doubles and three more home runs - that helped produce the 14 runs that invoked the 10-run rule after eight innings.

Ol’ Yogi couldn’t even make sense out of the disparaging numbers.

No, they don’t add up.

There aren’t many teams at any level that whack as well as whiff like Boyertown has of late.

One more time here - two games, 26 basehits and 25 runs to go along with 26 strikeouts.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Moatz said.

Nor does anyone else really.

Before heading south here, the Bears averaged just over four strikeouts a game - 258 in their 54 previous games. And how that number has more than tripled in the two games here is anyone’s guess because the pitching, despite what anyone has seen, heard of or cares to talk about, isn’t anywhere near two or three times better than the pitching Boyertown went up against in the Berks County League or in either of the Region Two of state tournaments.

There simply isn’t any explanation. Even a few of the players, when asked about the going-down-on-strikes dilemma, had the puzzled look while shrugging their shoulders.

If there is something Moatz and his staff can live with, though, it’s that the Bears are still pushing the runs across and not stranding an unusual amount of baserunners in scoring position when they do strikeout. They have left 12 runners on in their two games, and half were on the bases when someone in the lineup went down on strikes.

“We have to be concerned, especially when we’re supposed to be going up against (South Richmond’s) ace tonight,” Eddinger said.

Stay tuned.

OUTTA HERE

Defending national champion Columbia, Tenn., as well as runner-up Eden Prairie, Minn., were both eliminated from their respective regionals on Saturday.

In the Southeast Regional at Shelby, N.C. - the site of next week’s World Series - Columbia, which recovered from an embarrassing opening-round 10-0 loss to Sumter, S.C., bounced back the next day with a 5-1 win over Leesburg, Ga. However, Saturday afternoon it was Tuscaloosa, Ala., that ended Columbia’s season with an 11-10 win. Columbia (34-19) trailed 5-0 and 11-5 before scoring seven times in the last three innings to create a 12-12 tie. Tuscaloosa (32-14) came back in the bottom of the ninth, though, when Corben Green (5-for-5) singled and scored on Jay Davis’ RBI basehit.

In the Great Lakes Regional at Chillicothe, Ohio, Eden Prairie debuted with an 8-6 setback to Midland, Mich., then recovered in time to crush Chillicothe, 14-1. But Saturday afternoon, after scoring in the ninth to tie it at 2-2 and force extra innings, Eden Prairie (45-13) saw its postseason run end in the 11th inning when a hit-batsman, sacrifice bunt and Cody Koch double lifted Sandusky, Ohio (35-10) to the victory.

* * *

Leesburg, Ga., which went into the Southeast Regional with the fewest wins and games played of any team in the nation - a quite mediocre 8-4 mark - finished its season at 8-4. The Georgia state champions lost to Randolph County, N.C. by an 8-4 spread before the 5-1 loss to Columbia.

HOSTS WITH THE MOST

Two host teams were in winners bracket finals Saturday night. Up in the Northeast Regional, host Bristol, Ct. (33-8) was taking on Portland-Nova, Me. (28-3); while in the Southeast Regional, host Shelby, N.C. (36-14) was taking on state-rival Randolph County (42-12).

COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — Cody Kulp, Brent Ruminski and Nole Saylor have all been part of more than 175 baseball games the last three summers. That number stretches up to well over 200 for Shayne Houck.

In oher words, there hasn’t been a whole lot of time to sleep in, hang with friends at the mall, spend a weekend or week at the beach, or even be part of a family vacation.

Not when you play for Boyertown.

“This is something we choose to do,” said Kulp, who like Ruminski, Saylor and Houck has been part of three straight Region Two and state championship teams and Friday night was playing in his third straight Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament. “No one is stopping us from doing all those other things, or anything else. This is our choice.”

For most of the Bears, their season actually starts before the end of the high school season, with the non-league portion of the playing schedule beginning the third week of May. Like the two teams before them - and the countless teams before them - the Bears are still playing.

So any hopes of squeezing a trip to the shore or anywhere else with mom and dad into the last day or two of summer isn’t likely to happen. And worrying about being home for the beginning of fall sports practices or getting off for the start of college, well, that will have to wait, too.

The Bears aren’t in a hurry to pack up the baseball gear yet.

Never have, and likely never will.

That’s because they line up each and every season with one thing in mind, one goal - get to and win the American Legion World Series.

It’s what they heard of as toddlers, and what they watched as youngsters.

So few of them opt for other programs.

“We hear about the reputation when we’re pretty young, then we grow up watching the guys play,” Kulp said. “We always go to the games when we’re younger. We envy (the players).”

Saylor said it’s the only thing he thought of doing since he was old enough - or strong enough - to swing a bat.

“It’s the program, the coaching, the stadium, the community,” Saylor said, explaining what attracted him to Boyertown baseball. “It’s the reputation, the tradition.”

Success breeds success, as they say. That’s never been more evident than in Boyertown ... summer after summer after summer.

But it takes a commitment not everyone is willing to make. There is nary a free night, not with games nearly every day and practices when one isn’t penciled in on the calendar.

In other words, by the time most Boyertown baseball seasons are over there are upwards of 55 to 65 games.

“Some people think that’s a lot, but I miss playing when we don’t have a game for a few days,” Saylor said

“With all those games and practices, I guess I miss hanging out or going on vacation, but I love to play baseball, so I could care less about the other stuff,” added Kulp.

Saylor and Ruminski are both 19 years old and both cane back from college to play another season with Boyertown. It’s something both intended on doing, but something both were encouraged to do by their college coaches at Kutztown and Lebanon Valley.

“Some college coaches don’t want you to do this or don’t even allow you to do it,” Ruminski explained. “But a lot do because of where we’re playing ... in Boyertown, where we’ll play a lot of games and play against good competition.”

Even if it means playing well into August, like they are now.

And while it may sound like a lot of fun traveling up and down the eastern part of the country, or to ballparks around the country for World Series - as so many Boyertown teams have - there is also the frustration of spending a lot of time in motel rooms with nothing to do but wait for the bus to take you to the ballpark.

Friday was one of those days.

The Bears were scheduled to play the last game here at Shepherd Stadium. But a severe thunderstorm rolled in during the afternoon, pushed the third game of the day back nearly two hours, and the Bears didn’t get on the field for their game with the host Buccaneers until 9:30 p.m.

“Oh, it can be annoying,” Saylor said.

“It seems to happen a lot to us,” added Ruminski, recalling last year’s World Series nighmare in Bartlesville, Okla., when the Bears played one game first thing in the morning and came back to play their next at 11 p.m. “But a lot of us have been around long enough to know what we can do and what we can’t do.”

They’ve been pretty good at knowing what to do ... and doing it, too.

NOTES

Defending national champion Columbia, Tennessee, remained alive in the Southeast Regional by bouncing back from Thursday’s opening-round loss with a win Friday over Leesburg, Ga. ... Eden Prairie, Minn., which finished second in the series and was the team that eliminated Boyertown, also remained alive in the Great Lakes Regional by coming back from an opening-round loss and crushing host Chillicothe, Ohio, 14-1. Also at the Great Lakes Regional, Bradford - the Pennsylvania runner-up to Boyertown - was thumped 14-1 by Midland, Mich.

COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — Nate Schnell admitted he had an up-and-down (mostly down) summer on the mound.

Now that’s a wee bit hard to believe when you look at his numbers — an unbeaten 6-0 mark and a 1.93 earned average. But the Boyertown right-hander wasn’t fibbing.

Throughout the regular season he did in fact struggle.

But he sure did an about-face once the playoffs began last month.

And he probably was never better than Thursday afternoon, when he rescued ace Shayne Houck and his teammates with six superb innings of relief to help the Bears get by Gaithersburg, Md., 11-10, in the Mid-Atlantic Regional here at Shepherd Stadium.

“Nate was the star of the game,” said right fielder Cody Kulp, who may have gotten some votes of his own after slamming a pair of home runs to go with a triple and single. “He did a heck of a job.

“We were scoring runs, but he shut (Gaithersburg) down.”

Schnell, who came up big in the Berks County, Region Two and state tournaments to help the Bears get to this juncture of the postseason, credits his quality innings to the extra time he spent working on drills and mechanics with pitching coach Pete Hiryak.

“There was a time I was struggling,” Schnell said. “I couldn’t get my curveball over the plate, and I had trouble with my fastball, too. I just didn’t know where the ball was going when I was throwing earlier this season.

“But then something clicked. Everything just started coming around. I just think working hard on my mechanics and getting some

experience helped me turn it around for tournaments like this.”

Schnell was expecting to throw a couple of innings Thursday — so-called mop-up innings after Houck and Bears built up a big lead.

That never happened, of course, and Schnell found himself warming up in the third inning ... and traipsing to the mound in the fourth.

“I was told the most I’d throw would be two innings,” he explained. “But we were forced to throw all the chips in.

“I was watching (Houck) and saw that all (Gaithersburg) was hitting was fastballs. They’re good hitters on that team, but they didn’t hit the curveball like they did the fastball. So I made sure I got my curveball over, stayed ahead of the hitters, and spotted my fastball, maybe taking something off it at times like a change-up.”

Schnell’s assortment of offerings baffled Gaithersburg. Except for an unearned run — no fault of Schnell’s considering he followed up the infield error with two groundball outs and a strikeout — and a fastball that he left out over the plate that resulted in a two-run homer, he kept the Maryland state champions from putting together rallies similar to the ones in the first and third innings that resulted in seven runs.

“What a yeoman’s effort,” manager Rick Moatz said of Schnell’s performance. “He got his curveball over, got his slider around the plate, and kept (Gaithersburg) totally off-balance.

“Nate pitched great, but he’s been pitching great for us the last two weeks. Today he did the job in shutting that team down.”

Considering it was the first time all year Houck hadn’t come up big, either on the mound or at the plate, Schnell’s timing couldn’t have been better.

“Houck didn’t have is normal game ... it was definitely an off-day for him,” Moatz said. “But someone else stepped up, and that’s a credit to this team because everybody knows it takes more than one person to win a ballgame.”

ANOTHER SOUTHPAW

Gaithersburg’s starter catcher Gary Schneider is left-handed ... a rarity in baseball.

“He hears some of the things people say,” head coach Rick Price said before the game. “Until they see how well he plays.”

Schneider blocked countless pitches in the dirt Thursday and had Houck thrown out at second on Boyertown’s only stolen base attempt of the game before his teammate dropped the throw.

Oh yeah, Schneider can hit, too. He drilled a three-run homer in the second inning that, at the time, gave Gaithersburg a 7-3 lead.

YOU DON’T SAY

Charlie Daniels is part of the local Colonial Heights’ volunteers, with his main duties making sure each team gets transported between the hotel and ballpark on time. Well, Mr. Daniels — one of 15 children —happens to know the Pottstown area quite well.

He has two sisters, Lucy Keifrider and Sandra Yanocha, who live in Pottstown and Linfield, respectively.

“And I also remember the Pottstown Firebirds, too,” Daniels said. “I remember seeing them play down here in Richmond when I was a kid.”