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7U Lightning
The 7U Orland Park Warriors recently completed an unbelievable season. In fact, it was the “Perfect Summer”. This young group of players compiled an over-all record of 19-0 and won the championship in all 3 tournaments that they played. In their first tournament they beat Winfield, Lockport, Tinley Park & Troy Township to get to the title game. On July 15th they beat Homer Glen to capture the championship of the Tinley Park tournament. With no off days in sight and the temperatures in the 90’s, these young guns started their next tournament the very next day. During their 2nd tourney they beat Troy Township, Lockport, Bloomingdale, Channahon & Dyer to advance to the title game. In that game the bats started early and never stopped as these young Warriors toppled a previously unbeaten Plainfield team by 15 runs and captured the championship of the 14-team Homer Glen tournament. The final tournament was in Orland Park and these Warriors showed they could be just as good as hosts as they were as guests. They beat Flossmoor, Homer Glen, Tinley Park (twice) & Dyer to get to the finals. One game stood in the way to a perfect season but these kids had ice water in their veins as they dominated Dyer in the final to win their 3rd championship in 3 weeks. The 7U Warriors outscored their opponents 259-16 and threw 5 no-hitters in their short-but-sweet summer.
The team consisted of Brian Adams, Thomas Cavanaugh, Nathan Clendenning, Dylan Jacobs, Michael Lawlor, Matthew McCormick, Ryan Palmblad, Jake Pygon, Jason Pygon, Nick Skrabis, Ashley Wood & Tommy Windt. The proud and fortunate coaches were Mark Adams, Dave Pygon, Mike Skrabis & Tim Windt.
8U Lightning
The 8U Lightning placed second in the New Lenox Summer Scorcher Tournament, which concluded on July 13, 2008. The Lightning rebounded from an opening round loss to Plainfield to win three consecutive games and earn a berth in the championship game. The championship game was a rematch with Plainfield, which prevailed by a 7-6 score.
All team members contributed to an exciting weekend of play. The members of the 8U Lightning are:
Nicholas Cinquepalmi
Brendan Coghlan
Conor Evoy
Jack Gromala
Jared Guzzi
Anthony Hansler
Danny Huhn
Ryan Kaup
Jaimie Marines
Evan Tenuta
Mitchell Thompson
Alex Woo
9U Warriors
In 2008, they participated in (5) tournaments & won 4 of the 5 finishing second in Aurora in one of two triple header Sundays in 2008.
1st Place - Orland Park Tournament: On July 27th, The 9U OYA Warriors Win it all in the Orland Park July Tournament held from July 23-27th: The OP Warriors did not lose a game on the way to capturing their FORTH 1st place trophy of 2008 . The OP Warriors capped off their perfect July season by going 4-0 & sweeping pool play and winning by mercy rule 17-8 against LaGrange in the Semi finals in 4-1/2 innings & did the same in the finals against the other LaGrange Team winning 11-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning on a walk-off HR by Shane Gorman to complete the weekend. MVP honors go to Kyle Knight & Jack Darcy.
1st Place-Lisle Tournament: On July 13th, The 9U OYA Warriors Win it all in the Lisle July Tournament: The OP Warriors did not lose a game on the way to capturing their 3rd 1st place trophy of 2008 . Orland's Sunday included a triple header that ended at 10pm in a 20-7 victory against Darien.
1st Place-Plainfield Warriors hosted FT Travel Tournament:On June 29th, The 9U OYA Warriors Win it all (again) in the FT Travel Tournament hosted by Plainfield and held at Illinois Ben. University:
The weekend began with a one run loss but the depleted Warriors fought back and won four straight with only 9 players on Friday and then enlisted the help of a free agent and one of OP's rising star 8 year olds, Joe Payton, to finish out the weekend.
He turned out to be the missing ingredient as they slaughtered the next 3 opponents. In a marathon of defense and small ball, the final game was won by the Warriors 1-0. Max Lehnhart was carried off the mound in the 4th inning after a hard liner hit him in the ankle but "rubbed some dirt on it" to return limping into the hitting line up the very next inning. Mr. Miagi (Dolitsky) worked his magic and made due with some duct tape, a couple cubes of ice from a cooler and some popsicle sticks as we propped up Max in the batter’s box for his last rips.
The team responded and took the lead shortly thereafter and held on to close out the tournament. We were missing 3 players and the 9 that attended brought it home for the 12 man team. Names of those that played or missed are irrelevant as yet another team victory was gained by the record setting group. Great job!!
PARENTS- WONDERFUL JOB AND THANKS FOR LETTING US COACH THEM!!!!
Team members (in no certain order):
Shane ("Wheels") Gorman
Jake ("V") Vennetti
Kyle (silent "K") Knight
David ("where do you need me coach") Dolitsky
Will ("Getter done") Schieber
("Mad") Max Lehnhardt
Jack ("Hammer") Darcy
Tommy ("Shoe-less Tawwmayyy") Langosch
Matt (Chewy) Swanson
Zach ("Attack") Poe
Brett ("always smillin") Been
Eric ("Stinky") Papierski
12U Warriors
12U Warriors Win Hickory Hills Tournament!
The OYA 12U Warriors beat Archer Manor by a score of 13-9 to win the Hickory Hills Tournament on Saturday, July 5th. The Warriors went undefeated in pool play in this tournament.
The Warriors opened pool play with a victory over the Oak Lawn Storm. The team scored 10 runs in the fifth inning to expand its lead to 20-7 (the final score). Mike Rafferty was recognized as the game’s most valuable player (MVP) in recognition of his three hits (including a towering three run homerun), 8 runs batted in and two innings of scoreless relief pitching in this game!
The Warriors then faced a tough Archer Manor team in its second pool play game. With both teams featuring great pitching and solid defenses, the game was scoreless in the sixth inning. The Warriors finally pushed across the first run of the ballgame when Ronny Drabeck lined a single into rightfield to score Grant Lewis. The Warriors added two more insurance runs in the seventh inning and held on to beat Archer Manor 3-1 in one of the best Bronco baseball games played all season. Matthias Dietz was the game’s MVP after pitching four innings as the Warriors’ starting pitcher without allowing a run and just one hit.
The Warriors jumped out to an early lead on Worth and cruised to a 9-1 victory to go undefeated in pool play. Grant Lewis was the MVP in this one after pitching four scoreless innings and for getting two timely hits—including a double off the centerfield wall. Ronny Drabeck also had two hits in the game, including a line drive over the leftfield wall for his second homerun as a Warrior!
As a result of its 3-0 pool play record, the team earned a bye into the championship game. Archer Manor defeated Midway in the semi-final game to earn the right to play the Warriors for the title. Archer Manor jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over the Warriors. But, the Warriors offense kept fighting back. With the score 7-5 in favor of Archer Manor, Jayson Lenzen hammered a three run homerun over the leftfield fence to give the Warriors the lead. The Warriors would never trail again in this one as Grant Lewis closed the game with four innings of relief—striking out 11 batters. Jayson was recognized as the game’s MVP for this clutch homerun!
For the first time, the 12U Warriors (Orland Park) participated in the Chicagoland Metro League this season. The team improved dramatically as the season progressed and finished the season with 7 wins against just 1 loss. I am proud of every player and coach for the contributions they have made to the team’s progress throughout the past two seasons.
12U OYA WARRIORS TAKE 4th PLACE IN 10 TEAM OAK LAWN TOURNAMENT!
The Warriors advanced to the playoffs in the Oak Lawn tournament and finished fourth in a field of ten strong contenders.
The Warriors opened the Oak Lawn tournament wit h a 10-5 victory over SheridanPark. Ronny Drabeck blasted a homerun onto Central Avenue to give the Warriors the early lead. He later doubled and was recognized as the game’s MVP for his offensive production. Grant Lewis had a big day at the plate with three hits—including a double off the rightfield fence. Matthias Dietz threw well through the middle innings while Mike Rafferty closed the game for the Warriors.
The Warriors then defeated the Oak Lawn Storm by a score of 16-4 in the first game of a doubleheader. Jack Lebert was the game’s MVP with four hits=2 0as the Warriors’ lead-off man in the game! Ryan Novak and Sam Marc each pitched an inning in relief. Grant Lewis hit a homerun to score three runs and had 5 RBI in the game.
The Warriors then jumped out to an early 9-1 lead over Glen Ellyn in the second game of the doubleheader. Grant Lewis hit another homerun in this game and threw three innings of no-hit baseball. He was recognized as the game’s MVP. But, Glen Ellyn kept chipping away at the Warriors’ lead. With two out and two strikes on the batter in the final inning of play, the Glen Ellyn hitter lined a single down to rightfield line to defeat the Warriors by a score of 10-9. The Warriors finished “pool play” with a 2-1 record.
Evergreen Park advanced directly to the tournament’s championship game with its 3-0 record. Four other teams had records of 2-1—so the tie-breaker of runs allowed came into play. The Warriors allowed 19 runs in three games. But, the Oak Lawn Thunder only allowed 18 runs—edging the Warriors by just one run for the right to remain in contention for the championship game! Instead, the Warriors were matched up once again with Glen Ellyn to determine which team would “place” and play for the third and fourth place trophies.
In one of the better played games of the entire tournament, the Warriors shutout Glen Ellyn in a 3-0 victory to place in the tournament! Matthias Dietz held Glen Ellyn scoreless during the first three innings of play. Mike Rafferty had his best stuff and kept the Glen Ellyn batters off balance for the next three innings without allowing a run. Grant Lewis closed the game by pitching a scoreless seventh inning. The Warriors played stellar defense. Sam Marc made four putouts at his shortstop position and Ryan Tannebaum made a nice running catch on a sinking line drive into centerfield. Mike Rafferty was recognized with the game’s MVP for his three dominant innings of pitching and his two hits in the game.
The Warriors then faced MerrionnettePark in the consolation game. The Warriors jumped out to an early lead after scoring two runs in the first inning. But, MerrionnettePark played an outstanding defensive game—turning three double plays. The Warriors ran the bases aggressively, but MerrionnettePark retired two runners at the plate on strong throws from the outfield. MerrionnettePark held a one run lead in the top of the seventh inning before Jayson Lenzen singled to tie the game at six. The inning ended on another strong defensive play by MerrionnettePark when Ryan Novak lined sharply to the shortstop’s right to end the rally. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the lead off hitter for MerrionnettePark promptly ended the game with a walk-off homerun over the centerfield scoreboard. Danny Poulos was the Warriors’ MVP in this one in recognition of his two hits and aggressive baserunning during the game.
Coach Glenn Nagel
Warriors’ players: Dennis Bresingham, Matthias Dietz, Ronny Drabeck, Mike Hinde, Jack Lebert, Jayson Lenzen, Grant Lewis, Sam Marc, Robbie Maxfield, Shawn McHale, Ryan Novak, Danny Poulos, Mike Rafferty, Zach Struzik, Ryan Tannebaum, Dan Victoria
Warriors’ coaches: Glenn Nagel, Gary Dietz, Dave Lewis, Matt Rafferty, Rich Tannebaum
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