The Landsharks defeated the Bandits in the Championship series 2-0 to capture the 2023 AA Division Championship. One player from the Landsharks said he played baseball for 30 years and never won a championship until today. Congratulations on an outstanding season with an amazing 22-1 overall record. Division Champs and League Champions.

Season Story by Ramsey Lerch

The 2023 Landsharks can be summed up with one word, GRIT!! The record speaks for itself, 22-1, 17 straight victories, the last 6 coming by sweeping the entire postseason! To those outside of the Sharks, we may have seemed like a wagon, but that does not tell the whole story. Including the playoffs, we won 12 games by 4 runs or less, and 5-0 in one run games! The Landsharks have always been one of the most talented teams in the LVBL, but this season there was different atmosphere around the team. 

We came into the new season ready to wash away the failures of years past. We changed our colors from the traditional Landshark blue and yellow to the red and blue. There was blood in the water and this year was the Sharks turn to eat. We knew we were losing a couple of really good players on top of some glaring holes we needed to fill. The biggest need was for a leader at shortstop who was not only willing to lay it all on the line for his team, but also be a calming presence for our pitchers when they needed it. Enter Jake Pacheco, our shortstop made tough plays look easy and impossible plays look possible and did so while also hitting .478. Another addition was Wyatt Marshall, joining the likes of returners Nick Vigilanti and Jordan Agosto among others, the Sharks sported an elite outfield. Tough to run on and almost impossible to hit one over their heads, making the job of our pitching staff so much easier. 

Two of those pitchers dominated the majority of innings last year and we definitely felt the wear and tear as the season went on, this year was a much different story! Todd Erney came in and immediately established himself as another ACE in the Landsharks' hand. Additionally, Marcus Nales was brought in to be another big bat in the lineup, but what we quickly found out was that we now had 4 ACES on the staff. With incumbent starters Nick Mazella and Ramsey Lerch, and the 2 additions of Erney and Nales, the pitching staff was able to remain fresh and ready to go at all times. All four guys had 3 plus wins on the season and sub 2.0 ERAs!

Mixing new players with an existing core of veteran players, can be a challenge for some teams, but not this one, and the reason is simple, the Landsharks are built differently. Our core group is made up of high character, team first players like Brayden Knipe, Nolan Roberts, Tommy Byrnes, and Josh Nales. Then you sprinkle in a couple of seasoned leaders with big bats and long-time Landsharks, Noah Adams, Jeff Trexler,Jr and Alex Torres. Finally, you add a few important role players, always at the ready, in Casey Simmons, Wes Fotta, Andrew Torres, and Paul Sabino, and you find yourself with a runaway train of a baseball team!

Still, in years past, this was a team that dominated most games but struggled to win the close ones. Most notably in the playoffs. This season though, we succeeded where we used to fail, timely hitting, getting runners into scoring position, 2 out RBIs, less baserunning mistakes, and guys showing up when their number was called! When guys at the top were struggling, the next man up, was there to pick us up and come through. seeing young guys Wes and Andrew deliver routinely, every time they got a chance with runners in scoring position was a pleasant surprise. 

The true story of the 2023 Landsharks is BROTHERHOOD! These guys, whether new or veteran, are like family. There is not a single ego on this team anymore. No drama and no bitterness behind the scenes. Being a Landshark means more than a name on the front of a jersey. Sharks play the game the right way. We don't talk down on our opponents, we don't showboat and we will never quit! We showed up all year, handled Shark business and had the time of our lives with a great group of young men. Winning is fun, but getting to be around these guys every week means even more. A five year mountain has been climbed and the 2023 Lehigh Valley Landsharks are Champions!!!