11-Year-Old Medford Renegades Look For Revenge In Mid-Atlantic Tourney

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Last year, the Medford Renegades ended an unforgettable season with a sour taste in their mouths.

After finishing as the runner-up in the Cal Ripken District 5 tournament and the Cal Ripken Southern New Jersey State Tournament in 2013 and 2014, the 10-year-old Renegades broke through and advanced to the Cal Ripken Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament last season. But an eliminating loss in the semifinals left them heartbroken.

So, this season, the Renegades -- now in the 11U Cal Ripken 50/70 Majors division -- turned that defeat into fuel.

"Starting this year we had high expectations to come out with another big season, but our season did not start out as successful as we anticipated," head coach Rich O'Brien told CBSPhilly.com. "The change from 10U to 11U included changes to the size of the baseball field and the addition of more rules that made the game more like real baseball. These new parts of the game that were introduced took quite a bit to get used to and we worked very hard to teach the team new strategies to help better understand how these changes impacted the game."

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After a bumpy start in 2016, everything started to "click" for the Renegades, a team consisting of 11 Medford, New Jersey residents (Brett Balzan, Dean Bialous, Andrew Cobb, Oskar Heino, Max Kaufer, Liam Keneally, Jackson Logar, James Moriarty, Nick O'Brien, Manny Roach, and Dylan Terwilliger).

The Renegades defeated their rival Marlton Reds in the Cal Ripken District 5 Championship double-header, scoring a total 27 runs in two consecutive wins. In Game 2, the Renegades got Grand Slam home runs from both Nick O'Brien and Max Kaufer, and a three-run bomb from Dylan Terwilliger en route to a 14-2 mercy rule victory.

The Medford boys took that momentum into the Cal Ripken Southern New Jersey State Tournament to defend their 2015 title.

"We kept focusing the success that our team has had in big games and reminded them that no other team has worked as hard or as smart as we do," Coach O'Brien said. "And if we played our game, there is no one in the state that can beat us."

Despite trailing 4-1 early in the State title game, the Renegades never lost confidence. In a back-and-forth contest, the score was tied at eight in the bottom of the final inning when O'Brien laced a walk-off single up the middle scoring Kaufer on a bang-bang play. For the second straight year, the Renegades were Southern New Jersey State champions.

But they want more.

Now, the boys -- who have been playing together for the past five years -- head back to the Cal Ripken 11U Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament in Audubon, Pennsylvania looking to beat last year's mark of a semifinals appearance.

"We're tight," Coach O'Brien said of his team. "The kids have become great friends. They went to different elementary schools, but they're probably best friends even though they didn't go to the same school. This year, in sixth grade, they'll all be at the same school. Its really nice to see these kids grow together."

Medford, a town of just over 20,000 people, will be competing against nine other teams in the regional tournament, beginning on Friday, July 29th.

Audobon, PA (Host team)

Medford Renegades (Southern NJ State Champions)

Winber/Iron Horse (NW PA State Champion)

Upper Montgomery Athletic Club (MD State Champion)

Piedmont (DE State Champion)

Towamencin (SE PA State Champion)

Spring Renegades (Eastern NY State Champion)

Lou Gehrig (Western NY State Champion)

Cranford (Northern NJ State Champions)

Kimberton (PA Runner-up)