The 12U Albertson-Herricks Red Hawks are champions.
Earlier this month, they played in the Championship Game of the Merillon Fall Classic. The Hawks had lost their previous two matchups against their rivals in the regular season and knew a victory would not come easily. The team was led by Matthew Han, who was a wizard on the mound. He threw a complete game, facing 22 batters and striking out nine.
But this win was a true team effort. The infielders were Harvey Chen, Elliot Kim, Griffin Lambert, and Isaac Palakkadan.
The catcher, Matthew Lim, was the heart and soul of the defense. This crew committed no errors. The opposing offense thought they were about to rally when they led off the top of the fourth inning with a line drive single to center field.
The next hitter smashed an equally hard hit line drive, but this time it was deftly snatched out of the air by Isaac, shortstop, displaying his athleticism. He then doubled off the runner at first, who was scrambling back to the base, where a flexible Harvey stretched to finish off the double play. The OF was equally perfect, highlighted by a snow cone catch by RF Michael Joseph, which helped hold the offense to one run.
The team’s contribution on offense was equally distributed. But the hit of the day came from David Joseph, who smashed a ball into outer space, which resulted in a double and drove in a key insurance run. The 4-1 victory captured the first 12U championship for the AHLL in over five years. The boys are excited to continue their winning ways in the spring of 2026.
