LFBA Scouts Memorial Day Success!

Lake Forest Baseball Association had two different teams reach their championship game in their respective Memorial Day tournaments last weekend. The 12 Gold team finished second in the Vernon Hills Spring Bee Tournament, and the 9 Blue team lost to Deerfield in the championship game of the Libertyville Memorial Day Tournament. The nine-year-olds, started the Libertyville tournament with big wins against Mundelein (10-8), and Oak Park (13-12), and finished up round robin play with a 6-6 tie in extra innings with Libertyville. The 2-0-1 record propelled the Scouts into the playoff round, where they met up with Highland Park. The Scouts jumped out to a 3-1 lead after three innings, but Highland Park put up a big fourth inning scoring eight runs, to take a 9-3 lead. The Scouts mounted an impressive comeback, batting around and scoring eight runs, en route to the Championship game with an 11-10 win. In the Championship game, the 9U Blue Scouts lost to tough rival Deerfield, 9-1. The twelve-year-olds dominated their Vernon Hills bracket, beating Evanston White 11-3 and Northwest Travelers Blue 12-1. Once they advanced to the playoff round, the Scouts faced a formidable Lake County Lightning. Ethan Hunt kicked off the hitting with a solo home run over the fence. Brady Christoph continued his amazing hitting prowess - entering the game batting a 1.000 for the tournament. Stellar defensive plays in the field were made by Alex Alutto, Peter Haggerty, Will Manzer and Jack Klinge. Outstanding pitching by Andrew Ivinjack and Brady Christoph held the Lake County Lightning to four runs while the Scouts racked up 11 runs. The Championship game pitted the Scouts against the Northwest Travelers Gold. The pitching team of Andrew Fluri and Ivinjack dominated on the mound for five innings. In addition, the Scouts came out hitting - Christoph fired off an inside the park home run followed quickly by Donovan Perry's timely double and Matthew D'Alessandro's run producing double. Clayton Burton's combined defense in the field and steady hitting propelled the Scouts to a 12-5 lead in the sixth inning. The young Scouts battled hard to contain the Travelers but they were just shy of a victory, losing 13-12. Of note, the Scouts were missing key player Tommy Glyman due to the flu. The 9U Blue Coaching staff is Brad Seibert and Billy Fletcher. Team members include Cade Nowik, Cole Mitchell, Mikey Gray, Jake Zaffaro, Sam Gibson, Ryan Harvey, Asa Thomas, Harry Proeh, Jake Mayer, Patrick Lindemann, David Sweet, and Jake Milliman. The 9UBlue Scouts plays in the Lake Shore Feeder Baseball League this summer. The 12 Gold Coaching staff is Dan Gribble, Brian Gebhardt, and Matt Caid. Team members include Brady Christoph, Clayton Burton, Matthew D'Alessandro, Andrew Fluri, Ethan Hunt, Andrew Ivinjack, William Manzer, Jack Klinge, Alex Alutto, Peter Haggerty, Donovan Perry, and Tommy Glyman. Lake Forest Baseball Association sponsors ten teams in the 2013 campaign from ages 8-12. For more information on LFBA, please visit www.lfba.net.