Cherry Hill Stealers Kick off Northeast Regional Friday

After a week of rest following their come-from-behind classics in the New Jersey state tournament, the Cherry Hill Stealers are on to the Junior American Legion Northeast Regional tournament Friday.

While there was plenty of excitement in the moment when Cherry Hill defeated Gibbsboro to take the state crown, the players said the championship—and the chance to take a shot at being the best in the Northeast—had been the goal all summer, starting from the first practice.

“It’s huge, getting to go to Connecticut,” said infielder Mike Wurster. “We just dreamed about this all year.”

Cherry Hill has drawn Connecticut champ Fairfield Post 143 in the opening round, arguably one of the tougher challenges in the regional tournament.

Fairfield blitzed through its in-state competition, finishing a combined 6-0 in the sectional and championship rounds, mostly on the strength of its offense, which produced 49 runs.

After winning Connecticut’s Southern Division as the No. 2 seed from Zone 4, Fairfield powered its way to the title with three straight wins—a 10-5 victory over Naugatuck, a 12-9 win over Trumbull and a 6-0 championship shutout over RCP, which hadn’t allowed a run to that point in the tournament.

Cherry Hill, by comparison, took just one loss in winning the New Jersey title—the team’s 7-2 loss to Gibbsboro in the winner’s-bracket final—but avenged that in the championship round.

The Stealers also made a habit of winning via comeback, never giving up, despite facing deficits to three different teams—Mount Morris, Brooklawn and Gibbsboro—before getting victories against all three.

Cherry Hill and Fairfield meet at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Rotary Field in South Windsor, CT, in single elimination—both teams will play Saturday, but only the winner will remain alive for a shot to advance to the finals.

The Cherry Hill-Fairfield game, as well as all other tournament games, will be broadcast live online at sportingnewsct.com.

For more coverage from the Cherry Hill Junior Legion team's run, read:

• Cherry Hill Wins Junior American Legion State Title
• Cherry Hill Beats Gibbsboro for Junior Legion Title [Photos]
• Cherry Hill Legion Forces Decisive Championship Game
• Cherry Hill Legion Beats Gibbsboro [Photos]
• Cherry Hill Legion Beats Washington Township [Photos]
• Cherry Hill vs. Gibbsboro in Junior Legion Tourney [Photos]
• Cherry Hill in Junior American Legion Title Game
• Cherry Hill Falls to Gibbsboro in Junior Legion Tournament
• Cherry Hill Stealers into Legion Winners-Bracket Final
• Cherry Hill Stealers Win in Legion States