CRANBERRY TWP — They affectionately refer to themselves as “The Squad,” their relationships formed and cemented through baseball.

Nate Malik, Tyler Mack, Nick Merola, Alex Mortier, Patrick O'Toole and Luke Myers have grown up as teammates — or at least in the same league — from Cranberry Township Athletic Association youth baseball through Seneca Valley High School baseball.

They play summer travel ball and do winter training together at the Steel City indoor complex in Warrendale as well.

But “The Squad” extends beyond the ballplayers themselves. Their entire families have grown close.

“I treat all of those kids as if they are my own,” said Mike Mortier, Alex's father. “I'm so proud of all of these guys.

“All of us (parents) ... if one of their kids had a problem or needed help, I'd be there for him. And I know any of them would be there for my son.”

Years of spending time together through baseball will do that.

Nick and Carol Merola, Mike and Veronica Mortier, Harry and Dina Myers, Pat and Tracey O'Toole, Ben and Kristen Mack, Mike and Rachel Malik — they have become a fraternity of baseball parents.

The Mortier family moved to Cranberry from Columbus, Ohio, when Alex was 9. The Merola family moved to the area from North Carolina in 2012. The other four kids have been here a lifetime.

Now they're best friends for life.

All will be seniors at Seneca Valley next season, preparing for their final go-round as baseball teammates.

“It's not going to stop there,” Nate said. “There's going to be times we all get back together. Our families are all really close now.”

The families live on streets off Franklin Road in Cranberry, only a few minutes apart from each other.

“We live so close, we're together all the time,” Nick said. “We're best of friends. Our families are best of friends.”

With everyone living nearby, carpooling to baseball practices, games and workouts became a natural.

“Head down Franklin and start the train rolling,” Mr. Mortier said.

“It's not always in nice weather,” Nick Merola, Nick's father, pointed out. “These kids do indoor baseball drills during the winter. We've driven them through snowstorms, carpooled for years before they had a license to drive.

“It's baseball around the calendar with these guys.”

Not that anyone is complaining.

The parents have gone out to dinner and for drinks together, had cookouts, even vacationed together.

“We've traveled together to summer tournaments in Indianapolis, New Jersey, Michigan ... we've turned those trips into vactions,” Mr. Merola said.

“It's like we're all just one big family now,” Tyler said. “I respect all of their parents as much as I respect mine.”

A couple of the players were neighbors when they were little kids. By the time they were all 12, they were a tight-knit group.

“Our team chemistry started building when we were 9 or 10,” Luke said.

Nate and Patrick are pitcher-infielders. Nick and Alex are infielders, Tyler and Luke outfielders.

“My mom works with Patrick's mom, so they've always known each other,” Alex said. “With all of us at the ballpark all day, our parents would order food or something to drink, would get to talking ... After tournaments, we'd all go out to eat together.

“The relationships just grew from there.”

The parents are bracing themselves for the final year of carpools, cheering and being chums on the road.

“It's going to be strange when they're not playing together anymore and we're not going to games anymore,” Mr. Merola said. “This has been our thing for years now.”

Some of the players will go on to college baseball, some won't. All are quality high school students and will likely further their education.

Going their separate ways “will be weird,” Nate admitted.

But not permanent.

“As close as our families have become, this will last a lifetime,” he said.