Boilermakers bond through baseball, friendship, and leadership

Boilermakers players Ryan Remaily, Cooper Burkholder, Nate Hammond. | PHOTO: Cory Nidoh

The Boilermakers' 2029 team took the field at Hatboro-Horsham High School on Thursday night with its three centerpieces, each representing a different school. Hatboro-Horsham’s Ryan Remaily was behind the plate, Germantown Academy’s Cooper Burkholder — already on varsity as an eighth grader — was on the mound, and Wissahickon’s Nathan Hammond took his spot at shortstop.

But when playing in the Philly Select League, the trio works as one, cultivating a cohesive culture for the 14U Boilermakers. Their leadership — on and off the field — has translated into success in just the team’s second season.

“You would have thought they played together growing up playing little league at 8 years old,” head coach Ken Remaily said. “But they just came together last year.”

During the school year, the three compete against one another, always looking for bragging rights — but always in a respectful manner.

“They know when to turn it on and turn it off,” Remaily said. “They know when to be teammates. They know when they go against each other, they are the enemy — and it’s time to go to work.”

“For school ball leagues, it’s fun to compete against one another,” Burkholder added.

The trio is mature beyond its years, understanding that building a brotherhood with teammates carries over to the field.

“We’ve been playing cleaner baseball,” Hammond said. “Last year, we had a lot of errors. This year, we’ve cleaned it up — playing better in the field and hitting better.”

“We’re more together throughout the winter. We’re always hanging out,” Burkholder said, after pitching four strong innings in a 5-4 loss to the Collegeville Spiders — at one point retiring eight straight batters.

From text chains and cage sessions to grabbing a slice at The Pizza Box on West Butler Avenue in Ambler, the Boilermakers have become a close-knit team. That camaraderie was on display Thursday night as they tried to rally in the sixth inning before the game ended due to darkness.

“We’ve been connecting better,” Ryan Remaily said.

Remaily, Burkholder, and Hammond were the catalysts in their near comeback. With one out in the sixth, Remaily singled to left field to spark the rally. After another Boilermaker reached, Burkholder followed with a hit to right field to load the bases. Hammond then drove in a run on a sacrifice fly — one of his two RBIs on the night — to make it a 5-4 game, before the Spiders’ Sean Ortiz recorded a strikeout to end it with the tying run stranded at third base.

Throughout the rally, the trio was vocal — cheering on teammates at the plate, high-fiving on productive at-bats, and encouraging one another in the dugout. Leadership qualities like those will continue to develop and sharpen, just like their play on the diamond.

“It’s big for the three of us to help everyone communicate and help everyone stay together,” Hammond said.

Coach Remaily raved about the skill sets and character of his foundational players.

“Burkholder is one of our leaders and our ace on the mound. Hammond is our rock in the infield. He gets us going from the start and plays the game the right way. Ryan is our utility guy — he’ll do anything you ask him to do,” Remaily said.

It might only be the second season for the talented trio and the Boilermakers, but the foundation they’re laying is built to last — with Burkholder, Hammond, and Remaily leading the way.

“I think the three of us specifically — we can step up with leadership,” Burkholder said. “We have to keep doing that and make sure everyone stays together and doesn’t get too hard on one another.”