Muddogs participate in division tournament; Finish summer with 13 wins
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
The Elmhurst American Legion Post 187 baseball team saw its season come to an end at the recent 2nd Division tournament hosted by Barrington.
Post 187, which was the runner-up at the 11th District tournament and earned a spot in the Division tournament, opened play with an 11-1 loss to Barrington Post 158.
Elmhurst jumped out to a brief 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning only to have Barrington counter with two runs in the bottom of the first.
Barrington scored two more in the bottom of the third, four in the bottom of the fourth and then single runs in the fifth sixth and eighth innings to enact the 10-run rule.
Barrington had 13 hits in the contest. Elmhurst was limited to four hits. Neither team made a fielding error.
Fenton’s Alejandro Orosco had a hit. York’s Nick Lee also had a hit and drove in Elmhurst’s only run. York’s Tamaine Durr also had a hit and Brendan Connell had a hit and scored Elmhurst’s only run.
Of Elmhurst’s four hits, three went for extra bases. Lee had a double, while Orosco and Durr each had a triple. Connell stole a base.
Elmhurst struck out 13 times against Barrington pitching.
In that Elmhurst first inning, Connell singled to right. After two outs and Connell still at first, Lee doubled to center, scoring Connell.
Orosco pitched the first 4 1/3 innings and struck out two. IC Catholic Prep product Austin Reed pitched the final three innings and recorded a strikeout.
Elmhurst then forfeited its consolation bracket game to Elgin Post 57 and was eliminated from the double-elimination tournament.
“We had two players with injuries and a few others were sick who played in the extreme heat in the game against Barrington and some others had prescheduled vacations,” noted Post 187 coach Mike Biondo.
Post 187, after a multi-year hiatus from American Legion baseball, finished the season with a 13-10 record.
“For the first year I was pleased with how our season went,” said Biondo. “We will have players coming back next year who understand the competitiveness of American Legion baseball and the high level of play that must be brought to their game every day.”
Post 187 held a team awards banquet Tuesday at the Elmhurst American Legion hall. There, five team awards were given out for MVP, pitcher of the year, offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year and a hustle award. The Independent will have those winners in next week’s edition.
Biondo noted the Elmhurst Legion baseball program will expand next year with the addition of a 17U junior Legion team in addition to the traditional 19U senior Legion squad.
Tryouts for the 17U junior Legion team will be held in late August, Biondo noted.
