Local Baseball: Hess Catering captures Schuylkill County Babe Ruth League crown

Hess Catering poses after winning the 2025 championship of the Schuylkill County Babe Ruth League on Monday at the Jaycees Babe Ruth Field on Peacock Street in Pottsville. Team members include, front row, from left: Grayson Hess, Declan DelConte, Michael Rollman, Cass Casanova, Edan Casanova, Jordan Millan, Henry Corcoran, Trey Earley, coach Gary Hess and coach Brian Garrity; second row, coach Duane Hess, Blake Vidal, Jaiden Roth, Peyton Schley, Logan Garrity, Chase Morris, Liam Garrity and Ian Lins. Missing from photo: Carter Yeich, Gabe Lipton, Landon Trout, coach Dave Schley and coach T.J. Trout (submitted photo).

POTTSVILLE — Hess Catering captured the 2025 championship of the Schuylkill County Babe Ruth League with a 4-3 victory over Diehl’s on Wheels in Monday’s tournament title game at the Babe Ruth field on Peacock Street.

Peyton Schley’s solo home run in the bottom of the fourth broke a 1-1 tie and Logan Garrity pitched six strong innings as Hess Catering completed a dominating run through the league.

The Schuylkill County Babe Ruth League is comprised of 10 teams of players ages 13-16 that live in Schuylkill County.

Hess Catering went 12-1 in the regular season, winning the five-team American Division. Pottsville Zone (9-2-2) was second in the American standings, followed by Valley Athletic (8-4-1), Blue Mountain (1-11-1) and CCE (1-11-1).

CACL (9-4) was the champion of the National Division, followed by Lions (8-3-2), Diehl’s (7-5-1), Canes (3-9-1) and Kiwanis (2-10-1).

In the single-elimination playoff tournament, Hess Catering downed Blue Mountain 14-2 and Pottsville Zone 12-5 to reach the finals after having a first-round bye. Diehl’s defeated the Lions 9-4 and CACL 14-11 to advance to the championship game.

In the title game, Bentley Werez was 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs for Diehl’s on Wheels. Levi Frehafer and Mark Lutzkanin scored Diehl’s other runs while Jason Bellucci had a hit. Chase Morris and Jaiden Roth also had hits for Hess Catering, while Cass Casanova plated a run on a fielder’s choice. Liam Garrity pitched a scoreless seventh inning to record the save.

Hess Catering was coached by Duane Hess, Gary Hess, Brian Garrity, Dave Schley and T.J. Trout. Players included Grayson Hess, Declan DelConte, Michael Rollman, Cass Casanova, Edan Casanova, Jordan Millan, Henry Corcoran, Trey Earley, Blake Vidal, Jaiden Roth, Peyton Schley, Logan Garrity, Chase Morris, Liam Garrity, Ian Lins, Carter Yeich, Gabe Lipton and Landon Trout.