The Hopewell Valley Bulldogs opened the 2025 Cal Ripken 12U Southern New Jersey State Tournament in dominant fashion Wednesday night, shutting out Mount Laurel 5–0 in front of hometown fans at Chamberlain Field.
The win advances Hopewell, where they’ll face second-seeded Northern Burlington on Thursday at 8:15 p.m.
The two-week, double-elimination tournament is being hosted by the Hopewell Valley Baseball & Softball Association at the Municipal Athletic Complex, located at 201 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road in Titusville, behind the township municipal offices and police department. It is the first time in more than a decade that Hopewell has hosted the state tournament.
“It’s really cool that we’re hosting this thing, and we have a team at the 12U level that could ride this wave to win a state championship,” said head coach Rich Levesque. “That’s been our goal from the beginning of the season.”
The Bulldogs’ core group has stayed together for six years—unusual in an era when many youth players leave for club teams.
“I had these kids right after COVID—I remember taking their temperatures when they were seven,” Levesque said. “It’s very abnormal to have a team stick together this long. The kids committed, the parents committed, the coaches committed—and here we are.”
Hopewell is one of 12 teams competing in the tournament, which runs through July 3 and features:
- Allentown Upper Freehold
- Atlantic Shore
- Cherry Hill National
- GVAA
- Hopewell Valley
- Marlton
- Medford
- Moorestown
- Mount Laurel
- North Trenton
- Northern Burlington
- Sacred Heart
Wednesday’s opening round also saw wins by Marlton (15–0 over Medford), Atlantic Shore (6–0 over North Trenton), and Allentown Upper Freehold (5–0 over Cherry Hill National).
Hopewell’s roster includes Charlie Hoepfner, Brandon Chung, Collin Levesque, Palmer Sgro, Mason Ellmer, Ban Saindon, Charlie Gelfman, Christian Croat, Tyler Kintzel, Colin Makely, Albert Losavio, and Evan Schubert. The coaching staff includes Levesque, Kevin Makely, Mark Saindon, and Tom Hoepfner, with David Gelfman serving as scorekeeper.
“We’ve worked toward this, and now it’s time to perform,” Levesque said. “We’re going to try to take it home and win it for Hopewell Valley.”
All tournament games are being held at Chamberlain and Kelly Fields at the MAC complex. The full schedule and bracket can be found at the tournament page here.
