Now he has become part of the rich tradition. Cressman and his Brooklawn team won their most recent state championship last week, beating Gibbsboro, 15-5, in the championship game.
"This is the first state championship team I have been part of," Cressman said.
That earned Brooklawn a place in the eight-team Mid-Atlantic Regional that will be staged at Owls Field in West Lawn, Pa. The winner of the regional championship will advance to the American Legion World Series in Spokane, Wash.
Brooklawn (37-7-1) will meet Pennsylvania state champion Spring City (36-7) in an opening Mid-Atlantic Regional game Thursday at approximately 1 p.m.
Spring City beat Pennridge, 10-8, to win its first state title. All but two of the players on the team compete for Spring-Ford High.
Coach Jamie Scheck, a former player at Spring-Ford and for Spring City, has a deep staff that is led by Elliot Chriss, a righthander who won two games in the state tournament. Catcher James Hoff won the MVP of the state tournament.
Gibbsboro and Pennridge also advanced to the regional round.
Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225 or mnarducci@phillynews.com.
