When the Rochester Youth Baseball merged with the Old Rochester Little League a few years ago, tournaments hosted by the Rochester group were put on hiatus. They were back this summer with three consecutive weekends of tournaments played in Rochester, with the ORLL U11 team coming in undefeated in the final weekend.

“It was a unique opportunity to honor and memorialize a few past members,” said ORLL President Derek Mello.”

Named the Rodney Thomas and Paul Fluegel Memorial Tournament, the event featured 8, 9 and 11 year old teams from around the area. Resuming the tournaments is a way to raise funds for the league and “take the pressure off of some parents,” said Mello.

In addition to his duties as president, Mello coaches the U11 team. The players were shaky in a few recent out of town tournaments, but showed their improvement during the weekend.

“We just kept practicing and kept working,” Mello said. “We hit our stride and as a team we played extremely well. We played some solid defense and the pitching was phenomenal.”

The team bested all of the other teams, including Swansea, Wareham and Canton.

With the season finished, Mello and his fellow volunteers still have plenty to do. Tryouts for the older players take place in August, with teams decided in the first months of the new year. And before you know it, said Mello, a new season begins.