Loose Atmosphere Helps Lake Forest Capture 12A League Crown

The smiles on the Lake Forest’s 12A travel baseball players were a little wider Sunday after capturing the Lake Shore Feeder Baseball League tournament championship with a 4-1 victory over Northbrook in Glenview.

The boys, an admitted bunch of goofballs, constantly pull pranks on each other. After winning the playoff final at Community Park West, one of the players poured a bottle of water on Lake Forest coach Greg Belcher’s head to celebrate.

Outside the chalk lines they love to have fun, and inside the base paths they turn their fun into serious baseball. The Scouts went 14-0-1 in league play during the regular season to earn the No. 1 seed in the tourney bracket and a first-round bye. They knocked off Lake Bluff, 2-0, in the semifinals to reach the finals.

“They work hard; they’re a talented group,” Belcher said. “They pull a lot of pranks on each other. It’s a fun team. It’s loose, sometimes a little too loose, but we have a good time with it.”

The Scouts never trailed in the final against Northbrook, and received a boost on Brad Czerniejewski's home run.

“He’s got about 20 home runs this year,” Belcher said. “Last time we played them he hit a home run.”

After the win, they received hoodies and trophies, including the Gold Glove trophy for winning the playoffs. The players immediately went back into fun mode, and all the kids were laughing and smiling the entire time.

Charlie Reinkemeyer, who carried the Gold Glove trophy around like a baby, gives the team’s pre-game speeches and, in the spirit of the team, has some fun with it. He imitates a previous coach to lead the team into a game.

“He would say ‘Guys if I could give you my heart, I would, but I can’t so I would just say play with your heart,’ ” Reinkemeyer said in character.

When asked for the favorite moment of the year, all the boys responded with “Cooperstown!” The team traveled to Cooperstown, N.Y., to play a tournament and visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Scouts’ success in the league comes without the use of a curveball. The league first allows kids to throw curveballs at 12 years old and much of the teams take advantage of it.

However, Lake Forest opts not to, instead relying on fastballs and change-ups.

“In the LFBA (Lake Forest Baseball Association), we don’t allow curveballs,” Belcher said. “That’s been a challenge.”

The team found other ways to win, and Reinkemeyer had a simple answer for why the team was successful.

“We’re just a good team and we know how to play baseball,” he said.

Lake Forest’s roster included: Jason Cast, Johnny Salm, Brad Czerniejewski, Conner Hanekamp, Cal Wonham, Paul Turelli, Charlie Reinkemeyer, Brian Heidbreder, Andrew Athenson, Jason Folker, Elliot Georges, and Tyler Grumhouse.