The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Members of the Franklin Township Baseball League’s under 14 team were commended by teh Township Council September 12 for their appearance this summer in the Babe Ruth World Series.
The team, known as the Warriors, made it to the series’ quarterfinals, the first time a Franklin Babe Ruth team made an appearance ion the world series.
“They did a remartkable thing this year,” said Councilman James Vassanella (D-Waard 5) who, along with Councilman Carl R.A. Wright (D-Ward 4) presented the commendation.
“Having played in Franklin Little League in the 70s, I know what it takes just to play one season,” Vassanella said. “The dedication just to play the season in Franklin, then to go on to these tournaments and do what you guys did is outstanding.”
“You made us proud, you made your coaches proud,” he said. “Keep playing.”
Team members received individual commendations. They are
Alex Franco, AJ Estevez, AJ Huber, Aveer Mouron, Avery Perry, Chris Munoz, Chris Ostrom, Christian Jacas, Dylan Shah, Jack Glynn, Kelvin Heuston, Patrick Ziegler, Seiden Eastman, Shayne Rooney and Stanley Madera.
The coaches honored are Harpreet Mouron, Rick Gorelick, and Steve Ziegler, and team manager Rob Rooney.
“This is really something special for our team,” Rooney said.
“These kids have been playing together for quite some time,” he said. “The team we have here started playing together at 9-years-old. That first year, I think we won three games. For these kids to work as hard as they did to get where they are today, probably one of the top five teams in the country, shows an awful lot of dedication by them and not only the coaches, but also the parents.”
“”These kids will play … upwards of 75 to 100 games a year,” Rooney said. “That’s the kind of dedication it takes to get to this level and to accomplish what they’ve accomplished. It’s really a tremendous thing.””These kids will play … upwards of 75 to 100 games a year,” Rooney said. “That’s the kind of dedication it takes to get to this level and to accomplish what they’ve accomplished. It’s really a tremendous thing.
“I want to say thank you to the Franklin community … the outpouring of support from the community, from Ram (Councilman Ram Anbarasan) who came down and watched us beat the Mexican National team … we could not have gotten this far without everyone contributing the way they did.”
The team ran a fundraising campaign to pay for the trip and stay in Virginia. The Franklin Reporter & Advocate interviewed Rooney and others – including the owners of Leaf Haus cannabis dispensary, who made a major contribution – during the campaign:
