16 Future Bombers Just Qualified for Regionals and Our Mariners Are ALREADY Showing Them How It's Done!
Holy cow, did you see that?! Our Mariners just took down the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1! What a massive W for the Emerald City! While our boys are proving they’re the real deal, some seriously exciting stuff is happening with the *next* generation of baseball sluggers. Kids are absolutely CRUSHING it, flexing insane hitting expertise. It’s gonna make you hype for the future of the game. Let's get into it!
Honesdale's Future Flexes Hard
Out in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, the Honesdale Area Jaycees threw their 47th annual Home Run Derby on June 7. It was a showcase! We’re talking 50 young sluggers, 7-12 years old, bringing their A-game to the Daniel J. O’Neill Sports Complex. They were swinging for a trophy and a chance to move up in the statewide competition! This event has run for almost half a century, thanks to a partnership with the Phillies. Winners get a shot to advance all the way to Philadelphia for the championship finals. Paul Bradley, whose dad organized the first derby in 1979, ran the 2026 event. He said, “It was a great day. The kids just had a blast. It was another really good turnout.” Pure passion, baby!
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Bombs Away: The Road to Citizens Bank Park
How did these future big leaguers get it done? Six divisions for boys and girls, awards for top three in each. Action kicked off 10 a.m. Sunday at Honesdale High School field: girls first, then boys two hours later. A pitching machine ensured identical conditions: one warm-up swing, then 10 swings that count. Swing and miss? Foul ball? Zero points. Fair ball? At least one point, with bonus points for moonshots. Top three move on! All Honesdale qualifiers advance to regionals, August 1 in Walnutport. Top sluggers then jet off to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for the championship Sunday, September 6, swinging before the Phillies take on Atlanta. Can you imagine that stage?!
The Sweet Sixteen Heading to Regionals
When the dust settled, 16 local boys and girls earned their golden ticket to regionals. Sixteen! Serious raw talent and power. Here are the future stars:
- Girls 7-8: Kathryn Seifert
- Girls 9-10: Iyla Karausky, Molly Warner, Hailey Schuman
- Girls 11-12: Winnie Tallman, Ruby Bortree, Mary Kate Weidner
- Boys 7-8: Jonathan Warner, Thomas Tigue, Brayden Schuman
- Boys 9-10: David Hartung, Liam Curtis, Blake Estus
- Boys 11-12: Xavier Hidalgo, Joseph Pica, Ben Spencer
These names, man, these are the ones who are gonna keep baseball exciting for decades. Awesome to see this kind of passion, all the way from the Emerald City to the fields of Honesdale.
So yeah, while these future legends are getting ready to chase their dreams all the way to Citizens Bank Park, our Mariners are out here living it right now! That 3-1 victory against the Orioles? That's what we call making a statement in the league. Keep that energy, Seattle! Let's keep showing everyone what the Emerald City is all about! Go M's!
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.