Above: The mighty Cubs are the 2018 Cook County Little League champions. Front row, L-R: Jake Mixdorf, Rueben Youngdahl, Graham Oberholzer, Rio Tersteeg, Amos Falter, Tom MacGillivray, Issac Lein. Back row, L-R: John Oberholzer, Ryan Mixdorf, Eli Swanson, Cade Smith, Cy Oberholzer, Weston Heeren, Amber Theiner, Ethan Tate, Shem Falter. Photos courtesy of Shem Falter
Offense is exciting in baseball, but solid defense usually prevails in the playoffs. Such was the case in this year’s Parent Pitch and Little League championships.
Parent Pitch
The Lions knocked off the Lumberjacks in a July 24 playoff game 15-14 despite a Sidney Litterst second inning grand slam. The Lions’ big bats were too much and took the lead in the third, thanks to Ayden DeRosiers’ two-run homer, to send them to the championship.
The July 31 championship game pitted stars Andrew MacGillivray for the Lions against Grant Oberg of the Wildfire. Both players were playing the pitcher position and pouncing on every short hit like hungry cats. The teams knew it was a fight to the finish.
The Lions held the lead 7-5 heading into the third and final inning thanks to Gary Thompson’s grand slam. This was not the usual offense-heavy parent pitch game. This game would be won by defense. The Wildfire managed to hold the Lions scoreless in the final inning and came to bat needing just 3 runs for the victory.
Left: The 2018 parent pitch Wildfire ended their season in a blaze of glory, taking the parent pitch crown. Front row, L-R: Aricin Crotteau, Luke Oberg, Nico Tersteeg, Lucas Peters, Liam Smith, (missing Aulis Nelson). Back row, L-R: Elliot Zimmer, Grant Oberg, Adam Oberg, August Gulstrand, Eli Anderson, Marius Kannegeisser, Lauren Bergland.
The Lions retired the first three Wildfire players and then came their turn to bat. Adam Oberg was the first to get on and first home in the final inning. Nico Tersteeg and Lucas Peters each recorded hits and drove him home.
Lucas Peters scored the second run of the inning and Elliot Zimmer knocked in the winning run on a hit that scored Aricin Crotteau.
Little League
The Cubs met the Twins in the July 24 playoff and made short work of it after a 10-run third inning. The Cubs put the game out of reach early, which sent them to a rematch of last year’s championship with the Dodgers.
July 31 was a perfect day for baseball and the sun shone brightly on the freshly mown outfield grass. The infield was dragged, chalked and ready for action. Jake Carpenter was on the mound for the first place Dodgers. He threw a one-hitter against the Cubs in their previous meeting and started off the top of the first the same way, striking out the first batter, forcing a pop up for the second out and striking out the third.
Weston Heeren, on the mound for the Cubs, struggled in his half of the first walking the first two batters and loading the bases before getting his first out. They escaped disaster allowing only two runs and trailed 2-0 after one.
The Cubs managed one run in the second and Heeren settled in striking out the side in his half.
In the third, the Cubs battled back with one out singles by Issac Lein and Heeren putting two men on when slugger Amos Falter hit a triple to the right-field fence and scored both. Cy Oberholzer battled next and smashed a pitch to the left field fence, scoring Falter. He too scored and the Cubs took a 5-2 lead.
Heeren continued to pitch well in the third with another three up/three down inning punctuated by a great running catch in the outfield by Tom MacGillivray for the third out.
Carpenter shut out the Cubs in the fourth, and the Dodgers got two runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-4 on a single by Oscar Mielke.
In the 5th Carpenter’s pitch count ran high and Hunter Gomez replaced him. Heeren worked him for a walk before Falter knocked him home with another triple to right. An Eli Swanson single brought him home and the Cubs led 7-4.
Heeren finished the 5th, and Gomez matched him in the top of the sixth both pitching one, two, three innings to head into the bottom of the final inning.
The Cubs elected to bring in Oberholzer, who throws hard but at times has control issues and can be wild, to close the game. He struck out the first batter, forced the second into a grounder to third that Ethan Tate barehanded and threw perfectly to first. The count was full when Oberholzer struck out the final batter and the Cubs were once again the champs of Cook County Little League.
Two great games and a true celebration of summer baseball.
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