The Royals, a 14-under elite baseball team, earned their spot in the prestigious tournament by winning the Liberty Fall Classic Tournament earlier this month in Michigan. Westerkirk went 5-0 at the Liberty competition, clinching the title with a 10-2 rout of the Michigan Mustangs in the final.

“In our program, we stress fundamentals and team play, and... the players delivered,” said Royals head coach David Downer. “Our defensive coverage was great, offensively we were aggressive with runners in scoring position, and our pitching was solid. Every player contributed.”

Adam Hoover and Michael Brooks both enjoyed multi-hit outings in the championship game, each doubling and driving in two runs. Taylor Sagloski pitched a complete game to record the victory.

Overall at the tournament, Curtis Copan led the Royals offence with nine hits and four runs batted in. Brooks (6-for-12, three doubles, five RBI), Sagloski (6-for-14, two doubles, a triple and seven RBI), Alex Cangemi (5-for- 10, four RBI, nine walks) and Hoover (4-for-8, two doubles, four RBI) were also key contributors.

The Westerkirk pitching allowed only 10 hits in the five games. Salgoski won two of the contests, allowing one earned run in nine total innings. Connor Lewis retired all nine batters he faced in a three-inning mercy-shortened 16-0 pounding of Detroit’s Southland Royals, and added two perfect innings in relief of Tysen Hansen in a 5-1 win over the Oakland Whitecaps. Stephen Timko and Brooks combined to defeat the Michigan Mustangs 10-4 in the Royals’ other round-robin match.

The Royals followed up their Fall Classic victory with a silver-medal showing at the Pennsylvania Wood Bat Tournament Oct. 17-19.

Other members of the Royals are Daniel Simone, Chris McKay, Ismail Patel and Jason Darichuk. Franco Simone and Dave Copan help coach the team.

The Westerkirk Royals Baseball Club is an elite program designed to expose young, aspiring players to a significantly higher level of baseball.