15U Ruffnecks 2023

15U Ruffnecks Reach High in 2023

TEAM ROSTER | TEAM SCHEDULE

Looking to Summer 2023

The 2023 15U Ruffnecks team features a core of 12 players who began their Ruffnecks experience as 13u players.  Their development as a class has been impressive.  As they transition to the summer of 2023 they are joined by several new players who round out a balanced roster and projects to have a deep pitching staff.  Summer begins with the successful “Pre-Season” training with every day workouts that start on Monday, June 5th at the NEBC.  Pre-Season workouts create an opportunity for players who have finished their spring seasons to recalibrate and get preparatory work done with instructive supervision.  The primary objectives are to recharge after a high school season and to prepare for the rigors of a condensed two months of almost every-day baseball.  Workouts include batting practice, skill work, and pitcher side sessions with pitching coordinator Ace Adams.  SCOUT DAY is scheduled for Wednesday, June 14 at the NEBC.  This is the first opportunity for most players on the 15U roster to experience evaluation from Professional Scouts and college recruiters in a true, Scout Day format.  Position players take full rounds of BP.  A Red vs. Blue Game enables players to play in combined rosters with Ruffnecks of all ages and classes.

2023 Schedule Update

The 15U team plays its only 15U event in mid-June at the NEBC.  Following competition in the 16u Perfect Game New England Championships and in the 16/17u Firecracker July 4th Classic, the team travels to Georgia to measure themselves in the 16U Perfect Game WWBA National Championships.  The Ruffnecks return home to play in several local events, including a Boston College Team Camp and a Northeastern Team Camp.  The 15U schedule is in keeping with our goal to set the tempo and the pace of play at (or above) the level of high school or prep varsity baseball experience.  The 15U team joins the 16’s and 17’s at the Tournament of Champions in Cincinnati, Ohio August 2-6.  This is a highly competitive event.  It brings all three of the Ruffnecks “recruitable” classes to one location for the final tournament of the 2023 summer season.

The 15U year is when rosters expand to meet the challenges of “every day baseball.”  Roles become more defined, with pitchers focusing on pitching and positional players (especially infielders) concentrating on the faster tempo against older competition.  The 15U season is highly instructive, challenging, and physically demanding.  We play almost every day in a schedule that transitions quickly from one tournament event to the next. Coaches incorporate regular BP at the Facility on game days when the team plays locally.

They say it matters most how you finish.  The 2022 15U Ruffnecks finished with an amazing 3 run HR off the bat of Noah Jordi in the Championship Game of the Bronze Bracket at the Tournament of Champions in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Down 2 Runs in the bottom of the 7th, the Ruffnecks had no one on base with two outs.  Yedan Diaz hit a routine ground ball to 3B, which the opponent fielded with ease.  The throw was high and Diaz was safe on the error.  Matt Ulicny hit next.  He battled with two strikes (the ‘Necks were one strike away from the end of their season). Ulicny grounded a base hit up the middle.  Noah Jordi came to the plate and crushed the first pitch into the trees beyond the right field fence.  Everyone knew the sound… The crack of the bat led to delirium for a team that worked to find its way through the very last day.