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Lake Forest Scouts Gold Finish First in 12U Division and second in tourney

By AMessner July 30, 2010 at 4:32 a.m.

LAKE FOREST SCOUTS 12U GOLD BASEBALL TEAM FINISHES FIRST PLACE IN DIVISION AND TAKES SECOND IN YEAR END TOURNEY

In their first year in the Lake Shore Feeder Baseball League (LSFBL), the Lake Forest Scouts 12U Gold Team finished first place in their division for the 2010 Summer Baseball Season. With 11 wins, 2 ties and only 3 losses, the Scouts 12 Gold Team proved that they are a formidable opponent. They entered the new league ready to play and they set high goals for themselves. "At the beginning of the season, the team and I outlined our common goals," says Coach John Muscarello. "Our number one goal was to finish the season in first place and we achieved that. I couldn't be prouder of these boys. Honestly, achieving our team goals is what this season was about and this group of boys proved they could do just that."

The LSFBL is comprised of travel baseball teams along the North Shore. In this league, the Scouts faced competition from teams in Glenview, Glencoe, Northbrook, Wilmette, Evanston and Kenilworth/Winnetka. "Our 12 Golds also competed in a Spring League, a Memorial Day Tournament and, in June, we travelled to Cooperstown, New York where we competed against players of all levels," explains Coach Muscarello. "These boys have played a lot of baseball these past 4 months. I'm very proud of how far they've come as a team and as individual players."

Four months of baseball brought depth and fluidity to the 12 Golds. By the time the LSFBL Playoff Tournament began on July 23rd, the 12 Gold Scouts were ready and as the number one seed heading into the tournament, the 12 Golds had a lot on the line defending their number one position.

In Game One, the Scouts defeated Glenview, 12-2 in 5 innings at the Deer Path baseball fields. Strong pitching by Luke Bauder and Jack Skinner helped hold the Glenview team to only 2 runs. Defensively, the Scouts' supported their pitchers. Right fielders Clayton Lawrence and Jack Corrigan, shortstop Quinn Julian, first baseman Chris Bournakis and catcher Ethan Rhine all came through with plays that ended an inning and, thus, the momentum of the Glenview team. The offense shined in this game with three players claiming doubles: Luke Bauder, Sam Brush and Matthew Peterson. RBI's by Grant Messner (3 RBIs) and Chris Murphy (2 RBIs) helped move the Scouts to their 12-2 finish.

The Scouts hosted the Ken-Win Bulldogs in the Semifinals at Townline Park on Sunday. In extra innings, the Scouts beat the Bulldogs in a 9-8 finish. Shortstop Quinn Julian saw quite a bit of action with eight put outs for the game. Left fielder Ian Griffith snagged a ball out of the air to stop a potential double in the eighth inning. Sam Brush hit a double in the bottom of the 8th. After advancing to third base, Brush stole home on a passed ball to win the game for the Scouts.

The LSFBL Championship Game was held in Glenview at the Community West Ballpark where the Scouts faced the Evanston Orange team. This was a game where the pitchers controlled the momentum. Grant Messner pitched four innings allowing only one hit, no runs and nine strikeouts. The Scouts bats were working but not enough to drive in the necessary runs. By the 5th inning, the score was 1-1 with Matthew Peterson scoring on a one out squeeze bunt by Quinn Julian. Matthew had hit a double to get on base that inning. The score remained 1-1 until the top of the 7th when Evanston scored on a passed ball. The Scouts were able to hold Evanston to 2-1 for the inning, but they couldn't score their two base runners, Chris Murphy and Matthew Peterson, in order to secure a win in the bottom of the seventh. The Scouts took Second Place in the LSBL Playoff Tournament falling to Evanston, 2-1.

The Lake Shore Feeder Baseball League hosts all age levels of Scouts ball players as well as other community based baseball teams along the North Shore. The age groups include 9U-14U baseball players. For more information on LSFBL, baseball fans are encouraged to visit the LSFBL website, www.lsfbl.com.