Team-first mentality crowns Boyertown champions

STATE COLLEGE >> Much to the pregame announcers’ displeasure, they’d been doing it all season long.

During pregame player introductions Thursday, similar questions echoed back and forth throughout the press box at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

‘They know they’re supposed to walk out to the third base line, right?’

Except the Bears knew exactly what they were doing.

Waiting out the entirety of individual player introductions, Boyertown then charged out to the line together as one team.

“These guys are like my brothers,” said shortstop Mitch Pinder after his team’s 4-1 win over Plum High School to capture the state title. “We’ve been through so much together this season.”

That together mentality was evident all season during what became their introduction tradition.

“They do everything together,” said Boyertown head coach Todd Moyer after Monday’s win over Cumberland Valley. “Every time we go somewhere, we get in trouble because they want to announce each kid individually.

“We don’t do that here. Either we go together or we don’t go.”

Though some pregame announcers have cringed at the sometimes-awkwardness while waiting for lead-off man Pinder to toe the baseline, that team-first mentality seemed to prove wonders for Boyertown this past season.

Sleep On It

Make no mistake about it.

Starting pitcher Pat Hohfeld was wired for the title game versus Plum.

But he was just a little bit tired before it.

With the prior game halted due to a nearly two-hour rain delay, Hohfeld could be found inside Boyertown’s team suite fast asleep.

“Actually it wasn’t completely planned,” he admitted afterward with a laugh. “I just kind of laid down on the couch, then next thing I knew it was sunny out again.”

That nap proved wonders.

The junior delivered a complete-game six-hitter where he allowed only an unearned run.

Hohfeld, an unmistakably laid-back, easy-going kid, could be found briskly walking around among the crowds waiting for the day’s opening game to end.

“I was feeling pretty calm,” he admitted. “I woke up and I just sort of wandered around the stadium. Even while our guys were hitting BP (batting practice) before, I tried to walk around and stay loose.”

The Right Formula

Although their roster officially graduates 11 seniors, senior catcher Ryan Weller has already channeled some of his science classes at Boyertown High School.

“It’s all about team chemistry and finding that balance,” he said afterward. “Talent can only get you so far. It’s about blending that talent and developing a bond with the team. That’s what took us here.

“It took us some time during the season, but we found out what works and we found it at the right time.”

The turning point to Weller was the Bears’ PAC-10 title win over Perkiomen Valley.

“When we won PAC-10’s, we definitely showed ourselves what we’re capable of,” he added. “We came together and we knew we could make a run. Here we are.”

The Petri dish that was Boyertown baseball blended together this season. The solution? A PIAA-AAAA Championship.