Moore competes with River Raiders in Cooperstown

ADAM MOORE

The Susquehanna River Raiders, featuring several local youngsters, came up just short in bracket play of the Cooperstown Field of Dreams National Invitational 12-and-under baseball tournament last week.

Greencastle's Adam Moore stroked his second homerun of the tournament in the Raiders final pool play game, a 11-8 loss to California's hard 90 Rival.

That put Susquehanna seeded 25th out of 96 teams in the event.

In bracket play the River Raiders got two byes before taking on the Columbia (Md.) Rockhounds and taking them for a 22-1 ride. Another Greencastle player, Danny Stepler hit his third homer of the tourney in the onslaught.

The win advanced Susquehanna to a game with the Chicago North Shore Stars. The Raiders mustered just three hits against the Stars in a 2-0 loss. Stepler had one of the hits.

On opening day of the event, Susquehanna won twice, 13-1 over the Connecticut Glastonbury Heat and 18-2 over the Canandaigua (N.Y.) Braves. in the first, Moore walked twice, drove in a run and scored once. Stepler scored twice as a pinch runner. Against the Braves, Stepler launched a home and a sacrifice fly.

On Monday, with Susquehanna trailing by a wide margin, Moore pitched a scoreless sixth, but the offense didn't produce in an 11-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians of North Carolina. Stepler had a hit in the game. Moore kept up the good work in the nightcap, delivering a threerun homer in a 20-8 win over Bergen County Bombers of New Jersey. Stepler singled and doubled and Moore added a single.

Moore was 3-for-3 in a 15-3 win over the New Hampshire Fishercats Tuesday and Stepler had a hit and scored twice. In an 18-3 win over the Florida Baseball Bandits, Moore stroked an RBIsingle and Stepler tagged a tworun homer.

Moore, a Greencastle-Antrim seventh-grader, and Stepler, 12, of Greencastle were selected to play for the Susquehanna River Raiders during tryouts held during July in New Cumberland, based on skills in pitching, catching, infield play outfield play and hitting. Other team members are from such teams as Dillsburg, Camp Hill, Elizabethtown, Red Land, and Carlisle, as well as other teams in Central Pennsylvania. The River Raiders have the reputation of finishing in the top five in the tourney.

In addition to the 96-team tournament, other activities for the students during the week included home run derbys, baserunning contests and a tour of the MLB Hall of Fame.