Lavale's Jack Abell Baseball team completed their march to the Championship on Wednesday, with a 7-1 victory of Frostburg's Farrady Post at Ort Field. Abell took the series 2-0.
Jack Hawkins started for Abell and got himself out of a bases loaded jam in the first inning. In the bottom of the first, Abell wasted no time in grabbing a lead that it wouldn't relinquish.
With one out, Jack Hawkins hit a single. After a walk to Josh Van Meter, Dylan Shockey hit a hard ground ball that looked to be a double play, but great hustle by Shockey beat the throw to keep the inning alive. That brought the red hot Nate Condor to the plate and he delivered a triple down the right field line to clear the bases. When a pitch got past the catcher while Knieriem batted, Condor hustled home for the third run of the inning, giving Abell a 3-0 lead after one.
Farrady scored a run in the second, but again, Hawkins got out of a jam, stranding runners on 2nd and third. Abell picked up two more runs in the third, with most of the damage done with two outs. Chad Broadway lead off with a walk, but was forced out on a Tyler Hotchkiss hard ground ball. With two outs, Colton Sivic stroked a single to put runners on the corners. Jack Hawkins came up with a double over the third base bag, scoring two more runs for Abell, which then had a 5-1 lead.
In the third inning, Brooke Knieriem belted a double to left center, advanced to third on a Broadway groundout, and hustled on a steal of home plate. In the fifth inning, Nate Condor smacked a double to the fence in center, advanced to third on Knieriems groundout, and stole home for the second time in the game later in the inning.
That was more than enough as they summoned their ace on the hill, Josh Van Meter to shut down the tough Farrady offense. Van Meter breezed through the third and fourth innings, and Abell gunned down a runner at the plate to stifle any comeback hopes. Van Meter got the final out on a strikeout, and Abell celebrated their Championship Season.
For the second game in a row, both Jack Hawkins (single, double) and Nate Condor (double, triple) had two hits. Brooke Knieriem had a double, Coltin Sivic had a hit, and Josh Van Meter had a hit to go along with two walks.
This was a very fun season for the boys and coaches, and there are a lot of people that put in a lot of effort to make everything happen.
Our Sponsor Jack Abell: Without all of the sponsors, there probably isn't baseball around here (or it gets a lot more expensive). Jack Abell has sponsored us for the last couple of years and we are extremely grateful for their support. (The first photo above is Troy giving the trophy to JD Hotchkiss of Jack Abell)
Matt Olecsik: Matt was the commissioner of the Lavale Little League (the granddaddy of thankless jobs). This was Lavales first year in the Appalachian League, so there was a lot to learn. Matt co-ordinated the draft, scheduling fields, money for umpires, disputes, went to a lot of meetings, purchases equipment, field supplies, yet still coached a team AND has a daughter that plays as well. Most people don't know how much he does behind the scenes, but we are extremely grateful for all that he does.
Tim Sivic, Mike Shockey: As you know, we had a lot of rain this year and the field often wasn't in playing shape at 4 pm. But Tim and Mike usually got to the field early and raked, or shoveled dirt, or did whatever it took to get the boys a decent field to play on. It's a thankless task and they did a great job for our kids.
Kathy Condor: Kathy did the scorebook for most of the games, keeping track of innings, at bats, etc, and entertained kids that were on the bench. Spending a lot of time in the dugout with 10 or 11 hyped up 12 year old boys can test even the most patient person, Kathy did with less than 2 shots of alcohol per game.
Dave Hawkins: I can't fathom how many batting practice pitches Dave has thrown to the boys over the last three months. I know my arm would have fallen off by now. Dave worked with every kid we had on their hitting and fielding. And no matter how tense a game or situation was, his demeanor was always a steady, positive influence on the boys. His positive attitude was a huge plus for the whole team.
Troy and Timmi Vanmeter: It's hard to list all of the things that both husband and wife do for a team when they are coaching. Of course, there is the obvious part of the job (coaching), but they do so much more that we rarely think about. When a game gets rained out late in the day, they are the ones that call 12 families to tell them the game is postponed. There are meetings to attend before the season, during the season, and at the start of the playoffs. There are uniforms and equipment to pick up and umpires to contact. There are dugouts to clean and bases and equipment to put away when the game is over. There are a lot of practices to get to early (he brings the equipment) and they are almost always the last to leave. And all of this before he ever coaches, and jockies schedules and line ups based on people being on vacation, kids being sick, etc. We are lucky that Troy knows a lot about baseball, loves baseball, and is a good role model for our team.
Parents: We had several kids that came from a bit of a distance to get to games and practice, yet the kids were always there. It's a big effort to get our children to practices (especially those with more than one child who plays on another team), but our parents made it happen. Our parents never screamed at umpires or kids, and helped set a positive setting for the boys. The boys played well together-they shared sunflower seeds, bats, and cheered each other up throughout the season, and I think they will all remember the season for a long time.
We had a good team this year, but it took a very big effort from everyone to make it happen. Thank you, and Congratulations!
