B4C Baseball Ripken 2023 Recap

More than 80 avid baseball players as well as their fans gathered together for the first-ever B4C Baseball Ripken Experience in Aberdeen, Maryland. The two-day tournament took place September 26-27, 2023, at the Ripken Complex on both Yankee Stadium replica field and Leidos Field, which is the home of the Aberdeen Ironbirds.

While day one of the event brought rain and cold weather, the players were excited to have an opportunity to play at the gorgeous complex after rain completely washed out the tournament in June.

On the opening night, staff, players, and their families gathered in the hotel bistro area for a buffet dinner and short presentation. The list of speakers included John Kutcher, Steve Murfin, JR Paterakis, and more. Among things discussed were what Baseball 4 Causes is all about, initiatives they support (Shocks 4 Jocks, Gear 4 Kids, The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation), and the upcoming B4C 60+ Fall Classic. Paterakis also introduced Steve Salem, from the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, who told those in attendance more about the foundation and their initiatives.

The tournament fulfilled its pre-event goals in that it allowed the 80 participants to enjoy playing baseball at a state-of-the-art minor league facility that featured exciting and competitive games between the teams, as well as achieved its philanthropic goal, making a $10,000 donation to the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation.

Please see below for detailed game information and congrats to the Dingers on their championship crown!

B4C is proud to announce that through the combination of proceeds from the event and additional generous donations raised by some of the participants, $10,000 was donated to the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation.

This group of players came together to support a wonderful organization, and had a great time doing so, creating lifelong friendships both on the field and at the reception.

ABOUT THE CAL RIPKEN SR. FOUNDATION: The Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2001 to honor the legend and spirit of Cal Ripken, Sr. You can learn more about the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation by clicking the button below.

The Dingers were crowned champions of the first-ever B4C Ripken Experience following a 6-5 victory over the Krushers in the championship.

After a slow start on day 1 featuring a 5-4 loss to the Hot Toddies on Leidos field, the Dingers rebounded in their afternoon game, defeating WTP 8-7.

Their bats stayed hot into the morning of day 2, scoring a team high nine runs against the Bombers and winning by two. In their final game prior to the championship, they played to a 4-4 tie with the Krushers. At this point, those two teams were unaware of the rematch the awaited.

Thanks to a Krushers victory in the 2:00 time slot, these two teams were set to compete in the championship game.

The Dingers took an early lead and continued building on it for the first few innings. It took a while for the Krushers to get the bats going but began chipping away at the Dingers lead in the 3rd, ultimately making it a one-run game in the 4th. Due to darkness and a hard stop at 6:45, the two teams only played the top half of the 5th inning. The Dingers won 6-5 and were crowned champions of the 2023 B4C Ripken Experience.

Manager: Ron Boblooch

Front Row L-R: John Gavin, Brian DeLaude, Ron Boblooch, Wayne Horsman

Back Row L-R: Steve Hankoff, Brad Hankoff, Chuck Thim, John Greaver, Andrian Harris, Ira Dorfman, Billy Ramsey, Neal Dorfman

Manager: Charlie Deale

Front Row L-R: Jon Alexander, Charlie Deale, Josh Geppi, Chuck Gordy, James White, Todd Schoenian

Back Row L-R: Nick Patras, JR Paterakis, Praxitelis Argyros and Russ Gebhard

Missing: Travis Wright

Manager: Ron Darby

Front Row L-R: Andrew Agetstein, Tom Harrington, Jon Darby, Eugene Lee, Cliff Mayo, Armando Rojas, Paul Valle, John Norton

Back Row L-R: Bill Martin, Scott Martin, Mike Eisenfeld, Curtis Duncan

Manager: Todd Hyson

Front Row L-R: Todd Hyson, Tom Anderson, Jeff Biedronski, Ben Hushon, Chad Farmer

Back Row L-R: Kevin Aspelmeier, Jeff Bathurst, Tony Lee, James Lyles, George Nelson, Jack Byrd, Jr.      

Managers: John Kutcher and Steve Murfin

Front Row L-R: Adam Freeland, Scott Altman, Steve Allen, Dan Richetts, Greb Abel

Back Row L-R: Mike Harnden, Paul Smeton, Randy Brouillette, Kevin Moore, Gene Spear, John Kutcher    

Manager: Tony Giordano

Front Row L-R: Tom Wienholt, Leo Torres, Gary Eickenberg, Tony Giordano, Harry Hafer

Back Row L-R: Bob Wienholt, Jr. Glenn Strachan, Tom Gerahty, Bob Weinholt, Sr., Don Myers, Joe Weinholt, Dave Reeder

Manager: Steve Zinner

Front Row L-R: Chuck Collison, Rick Grote, Carl Roy, Pat Barrows, Joe Condon, Drew Sullins

Back Row L-R: Scott Simmons, Brian Mchale, Colin Clark, Steve Zinner, Greg Smith, Bernie Lorenz      

On a chilly and rainy first morning, The B4C Ripken Experience was underway! No team in the 9 AM slot scored more than five runs, but the games were close and featured the first of three ties as the Bombers and WTP scored three runs each and the Toddies beat the Dingers, 5-4.

As the day went on, the bats started to heat up as five of the last six games played had the winning team score eight runs or more.

Rain and darkness played a role in the 4:30 slot as the Dingers and WTP had to suspend their game in the fifth inning and finalize it the next day. Overall, no team won more than one game.

On the second and final day of The B4C Ripken Experience, we got our best offensive display of the entire tournament from the Tony Giordano’s Orioles, destroying the Destroyers 14-4. At 11:30, the Destroyers became the only other team to score double-digit runs in the tournament, beating the Bombers 10-9 on Yankee.

In the 2:00 PM slot, the final two games prior to the championship were played. The Krushers were in with a win and took care of business, beating the Orioles 8-1. The Hot Toddies also picked up their second win of the tournament, beating WTP 8-3, but fell just short of the championship game.

Please see the Champion section to learn more about the championship.

Baseball 4 Causes (B4C) is the baseball philanthropy division of Technology 4 Causes, a non-profit organization dedicated to making a positive impact through technology and support services. 

Our mission is to create a positive impact in the baseball community and the wider local community by fostering fellowship through the playing of baseball, enhancing educational activities and event experiences through our technology platform, and engaging in initiatives that support worthwhile causes that give back to the community.