Rockford, IL, June 1 -- Trevian 10 Blue traveled to Rockford for the USSSA Northern Illinois State Championships the weekend of May31-June 1, playing some of the top western Illinois 10U teams. The Trevians went 3-2 for the tournament, battling back to win the consolation bracket on Sunday after losing close games to the St. Charles Comets and Plainfield Twisters.
Saturday:
Game 1 vs. New Lenox Power – The Trevians sparked off the tournament with an electrifying 10-4 win over New Lenox. Dana Dolinko lit up the game by hitting the first pitch with a drive down the third base line. Rebecca Stern had an RBI and scored the 5th run of that first inning. Reilly Knoer and Kailyn Farrell each pounded the ball for doubles in the 2nd inning. Jacqui Gossard had a single and drew a walk to help the Trevians’ offense. Grace Slowey was impressive at 3rd, making key plays and attacking the ball. Lee Fisher was solid behind the plate and earned the respect of New Lenox, as they chose her as MVP.
Game 2 vs. St. Charles Comets – The Trevians fought hard against this stellar tournament team and ended up losing 11-7 in a nail biter. Lily Novak started the Trevians off with a leadoff double, and Dana followed with a single. Olivia DeStefano’s patience at the plate earned two walks and her lightning speed scored her both times. In one of the most exciting plays of the game, Maddie Cipinko grabbed a shot to center field and relayed it to Lily at short, who proceeded to fire a rocket throw to Reilly at home, nailing the Comet attempting the score from 2nd base. Christine Kelly had a rip down the third base line, stole second, was moved to third by Grace, and then stole home. Kailyn was hit by a pitch in the hand but kept swinging and knocked in an RBI. Amanda Howell had a long ball triple to right field, which, along with her pitching, impressed the Comets and they elected her MVP.
Game 3 vs. Plainfield Twisters. The Trevs were down 6-5 in the 3rd inning, but back-to-back triples by Amanda and Lee along with a sacrifice fly by Rebecca helped the Trevs blow ahead of the Twisters 7-6. Lily and Kailyn scored in the next inning, knocking the spin out of the Twisters as the Trevs pulled ahead 9-6. Maddie’s speed in center field and smart back-up plays helped hold down the Twisters during those two big innings. But the Twisters’ tempest regained speed to score six more and blow by the Trevs in the end, settling the final score at 12-9.
Sunday:
Game 4 vs Triple Play USA / Blackhawk Athletic – Christine drew a walk in a close battle at the plate and then made 2 great sliding steals to get to 3rd and then stole home. Grace singled to first and later went on to score the final run of the game. Rebecca had several plays in the outfield stopping solid hits to center field and holding the runners at first. Lee launched a long ball homer to start off the last inning. The Trevians won 11-4, which sent them on to the consolation championship match to meet their old friend, New Lenox Power.
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Game 5 vs New Lenox Power (once again) – Maddie played strong defense, holding the runners on several outfield plays. Olivia turned on the juice to beat out a close play at first, going almost to the right field fence before she could slow down. Rebecca’s fleet-footed speed on the basepath also won a footrace to first base on a ground ball to the New Lenox second baseman to scratch out a key hit. Reilly made a do-or-die backhand catch at 2nd and pirouetted to throw out the runner at 1st by a whisker. Lily’s diving catch at short helped the Trevs close out the last inning in short order. Everyone dug down deep in the last game of a long weekend to pull ahead for the 5-1 win and become the Consolation Bracket Champions!
After a challenging weekend facing some tough competition (and a few dips in the pool) the Trevians were ready pack up their hardware and grab some ice cream before the long ride home.
For the tournament, the team played strong offense, batting .476 for the five games. The pitching team faced 125 batters and delivered 24 strikeouts, with the defense yielding 32 runs on 29 hits.
Coach Howell said, “the team really came together for this tournament, with our batting and defensive plays making us competitive in every single game – way to go Trevians!”
At the award ceremony, the tournament director congratulated the team and commented, “The Trevians had a great spirit and never quit – well done!”
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